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Today in a letter to Council of Environmental Quality Chairman Connaughton, Chairman Henry Waxman of the Oversight Committee expressed deep concern over the Administration's use of emergency powers to facilitate training exercises that could harm whales off the coast of southern California, and releases a list of previous uses of CEQ's emergency powers. These powers have historically been used only in response to true emergencies, and have never before been used to effectively override a court order.

CEQ chart listing its uses of emergency powers (pdf) >>

Full text of the letter (pdf):

Congressional Democrats and Republicans and President Bush announced a bipartisan economic stimulus package that will help hardworking American families and jumpstart our slowing economy. It will:

" Put hundreds of dollars into the hands of 117 million Americans -- who will spend it into the economy;

" Significantly expand the child tax credit;

" Help Americans in danger of losing their homes because of the mortgage crisis; and

" Promote small business investment, which will produce new jobs.

We will take additional action to help American workers and businesses.

Today, Congressional Democrats and Republicans and President Bush reached an agreement on a bipartisan stimulus package to immediately jumpstart the slowing economy.

Our goals were to provide working Americans who are struggling in these difficult economic times with timely, targeted and temporary relief and to quickly give our economy a shot in the arm. We have accomplished both goals.

The House will move quickly to approve this stimulus initiative that will provide broad-based help to the American people and effectively invigorate the economy. We hope the Senate will do the same.

Read the Gavel archives on this case >>

Full text of the letter:

Members of Congress Question FDA Proposal Designed To Create Liability Shield For Drug and Device Companies

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today Representatives Henry A. Waxman, John D. Dingell, Frank Pallone, Jr., Rosa L. DeLauro, and Edward Markey, and Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Patrick J. Leahy, and Christopher J. Dodd, questioned the basis for a new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposal that was apparently designed to shield pharmaceutical and device companies from liability for injuries sustained by American consumers as a result of unsafe products.

Find more information in the Committee release issued after the hearing >>

Acting Chairwoman Mazie Hirono:

The House is currently debating the override of the President's veto of the revised bipartisan SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) bill. The President's veto on December 12 denied health care to children of hardworking families across America just as the country began experiencing an economic downturn, with families increasingly struggling with the costs of heat, food, gas and health care.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks in favor: