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The Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight is currently holding a hearing, "War Powers for the 21st Century: The Congressional Perspective." Witness include former U.S. Representatives David E. Skaggs, a Democrat, and Mickey Edwards, a Republican, as well as sitting Republican Rep. Walter Jones.

Watch the hearing live >>

Rep. Patrick Murphy (PA-08), an Iraq Veteran of the 82nd Airborne where he was awarded the Bronze Star for service, leads Congress in a moment of silence for our fallen troops and those still fighting.

Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in response to reports that Chinese police forces have arrested, detained and fired tear gas on hundreds of Tibetan Buddhist monks peacefully protesting near the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. There have also been reports of sightings of People's Liberation Army troop transport vehicles traveling to Drepung monastery and reports of gunshots and beatings from inside the monastery.

From the Education and Labor Committee:

Roadblock Republicans in Congress Kill Legislation to Boost Community Service across America

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Republican leaders in Congress today killed bipartisan legislation (the GIVE Act, H.R. 5563) that would improve American communities by supporting and increasing the ranks of community service volunteers who perform essential services like mentoring at-risk young people, tutoring schoolchildren, improving public safety, and rebuilding communities devastated by natural disasters. U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and a co-sponsor of the legislation, said the Republicans defeated the legislation out of pure political partisanship.

Today, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and 19 Members of the Judiciary Committee issued a statement regarding telecommunications immunity, as the House prepares to consider the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. Following a review of classified information relating to the warrantless surveillance program and immunity for telecommunications companies, the Members reported their conclusion that the Administration has not established a valid and credible case to justify granting blanket retroactive immunity at this time.

The following Members joined Chairman Conyers in signing on to the statement: Representatives Howard L. Berman (D-CA), Rick Boucher (D-VA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Robert C. Scott (D-VA), Melvin L. Watt (D-NC), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), William D.

Today the House has begun considering the FY 2009 Budget. The budget is fiscally responsible, returning to balance in 2012, and complies with the House pay-as-you-go rule that requires all mandatory spending and revenue provisions to be deficit-neutral. The budget resolution also provides reconciliation protection for a repair of the Alternative Minimum Tax that is fully paid for, contains initiatives to crack down on wasteful spending, and its deficit-neutral reserve funds will ensure that new initiatives are offset by reductions in lower priority spending. The budget relies on realistic economic assumptions from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

The Education and Labor Committee held a hearing this morning on legislation to help prevent worksite explosions like the one at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia, in early February that killed 12 workers and critically injured 11 others. The Combustible Dust Explosion and Fire Prevention Act (H.R. 5522) would force the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue rules regulating combustible industrial dusts, like sugar dust, that can build up to hazardous levels and explode.