by Congressional Quarterly

The C-SPAN cameras were gone and the microphones were off, but that didn’t stop a small group of Republicans from taking over the floor after the House adjourned Friday to attack Democrats for starting a five-week summer recess without doing something to lower gas prices. “Madame Speaker, Where art thou?’’ Rep. Ted Poe , R-Texas, shouted from the well of the House. “This room is vacant of most members of Congress. Where, oh where, has Congress gone?’’ he yelled to about a dozen other Republicans, the tourists in the gallery, some House pages, and Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio, the lone Democrat who witnessed the unusual proceeding. Republicans want Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., to call the House back into session to vote on the GOP’s energy plan, which calls for lifting a long-standing ban on drilling off the east and west coasts, drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and more conservation and research on alternative energy sources. “Bring the Congress back. Let’s have a real up or down vote,’’ Minority Leader John A. Boehner said after coming into the chamber from a press conference. “The American people expect Congress to represent the will of the American people.’’ Pelosi and most other Democrats oppose GOP efforts to drill in the Alaska refuge or end the offshore ban. They say tens of million of acres of federal land and ocean floor are already open to drilling, and have proposed legislation to force oil and gas companies to explore their existing leased areas or give them up. Around 12:30 p.m., the bright TV lights in the House chamber were turned off, as Chief Deputy Minority Whip Eric Cantor , R-Va., was speaking. Cantor didn’t miss a beat, declaring, “Turn off the lights, turn off the mikes, kick out the press because they [the Democrats] don’t want to deal with this important issue.” Pelosi’s staff was unperturbed. “The House is in adjournment. The lights are off, the mikes are off,’’ said Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly. “They can talk all they want. We’re just doing what we normally do.’’

Pelosi Says Second Stimulus Must Have Bipartisan Support

July 31, 2008

   by Congressional Quarterly

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., said Thursday that getting President Bush and congressional Republicans to agree on the need for a second stimulus package is vital for moving legislation to help boost the nation’s economy. “This has to be bipartisan. We have to have a signature,” Pelosi said. Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert C. Byrd , D-W.Va., kicked off the second round of the stimulus debate Wednesday, unveiling a summary of a proposal that totals $24 billion. Pelosi said that a second stimulus package would need to adhere to the same criteria Democrats sought for the first measure earlier this year: that it be “temporary, targeted and timely” and “create jobs, grow the economy and provide for disaster assistance.” “Much of what Sen. Byrd has fulfills that bill,” Pelosi said. The Speaker earlier had vowed to enact a second measure, totaling at least $50 billion, before Congress leaves this year. But the president and congressional Republicans have been less enthusiastic about the idea, repeatedly arguing that lawmakers should wait to assess the impact of the tax rebates and other incentives enacted in February. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner , R-Ohio, said that he doubted a second package is needed, and added that if one is negotiated he wants to see something similar to the first bill’s tax rebates. “I have serious doubts about whether we really need a second stimulus, and I have greater doubts about what it will look like under a Democrat Congress,” he said. “It will just be a giveaway that will be well-meaning, well-intentioned but a big waste of taxpayers’ dollars.” The first stimulus “worked and is working,’’ Boehner said. Pelosi also touted the benefits of the first package. The economy grew 1.9 percent in the second quarter of 2008, strongly aided by the legislation, she said. Bush has yet to express any support for a second stimulus, saying he wants to see the impact of the first one.

War of Words Over Energy Policy Rages As August Recess Looms

July 30, 2008

   by Congressional Quarterly

With the August recess fast approaching, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill continued to squabble over energy policy Wednesday, with only faint signs of a possible compromise. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky., after several days of resistance, on Wednesday said he would accept an offer from Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., to move forward on an energy speculation bill with four amendments permitted from each party. That list would include a GOP proposal to lift a longstanding moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling. But Reid did not immediately accept McConnell’s latest offer. And Sen. Charles E. Schumer , D-N.Y., a member of the Democratic leadership, described it as too little, too late. “Every time the Republicans say they’ll accept something, but every time you get down in the weeds, they want five or six more,” said Schumer. Schumer said Democrats would rather try to pass a package to renew expiring tax breaks, including incentives for renewable energy, such as wind and solar power. “I think the extenders is more important for energy than any of their amendments....Why should we go forward on drilling if we can’t go forward on extenders? That’s the most important thing we can do for energy right now,” Schumer said. A spokesman for Reid said he and McConnell were still talking, but that a deal was unlikely on Wednesday. Across the Capitol, House Minority Leader John A. Boehner , R-Ohio, called the 110th Congress “the drill-nothing Congress’’ and urged Democrats not to adjourn for the five-week recess without allowing a vote on GOP-backed legislation that takes an “all of the above’’ approach to the energy issue. “Our members will do everything we can to keep Congress here until we get a vote on an energy plan,’’ Boehner said. Democratic leaders promptly smacked down an adjournment resolution that will send members home at the end of the week until Sept. 8. The House adopted it, 213-212.

Sen. Stevens Indicted in Alaska Corruption Probe

July 29, 2008

   by Congressional Quarterly

Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, the senior Republican in the Senate, was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Washington on seven counts of making false statements on his financial disclosure forms. The 28-page indictment claims Stevens concealed his receipt of more than $250,000 dollars worth of benefits from oil services company Veco Corp. and its former chief executive, Bill Allen, from 1999-2006. The benefits allegedly included substantial home improvements to his house in Girdwood, Alaska, household goods and automobiles that were significantly more valuable than ones he offered in exchange. The indictment also claims Stevens used his Senate position to aid Veco at the request of Allen and other company employees. Stevens, 84, an icon in Alaska politics since first winning his seat by appointment in December 1968, has denied wrongdoing but his home was raided in July 2007 by the FBI and the IRS, which was reportedly investigating whether Veco may have covered Stevens’ home renovation costs. Allen and former Veco vice president Richard L. Smith pleaded guilty in May 2007 to providing more than $400,000 in corrupt payments to Alaska public officials. Two lobbyists and three Alaska state lawmakers have also been convicted in the scandal, including Peter Knott, the former speaker of the Alaska House, who was convicted of extortion, bribery and conspiracy last year and sentenced to six years in prison. There was no immediate comment from Stevens’ office or his lawyer regarding the indictment. But his closest friend in the Senate and a fellow World War II veteran, Hawaii Democrat Daniel K. Inouye , said Stevens should be considered “innocent until proven guilty,” adding that the indictment should not impact Stevens’ ability to do his job. Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator in history, ranks seventh in all-time Senate seniority. He is ranking Republican on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and was chairman of the Appropriations Committee from 1997 to 2005.

Deficit Estimate Soars as Slump Takes Its Toll

July 28, 2008

   by Congressional Quarterly

The Bush administration Monday projected a budget deficit of $482 billion in fiscal 2009 — a record high in dollar terms. The previous record was $412.7 billion in fiscal 2004. The better way to gauge the size of the deficit, according to economists, is as a percentage of gross domestic product, or GDP. Deficits in the mid-1980s were in the 5 percent range. In that light, the fiscal 2004 figure, 3.6 percent of GDP, was not particularly high by historical standards. The projected 2009 deficit would be 3.3 percent of GDP. The new fiscal 2009 deficit number is higher than the $407 billion the administration projected early this year as part of President Bush’s budget proposal. The deficit for the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, is now projected to be $389 billion, or 2.7 percent of GDP. That is down from the $410 billion projected initially, but still higher than the final fiscal 2007 deficit of $162.8 billion. Administration officials also attributed the higher fiscal 2009 projection to the slowing economy, which is depressing tax receipts, and to the economic stimulus package enacted earlier this year, which the Congressional Budget Office projected would cost $133.9 billion over five years with most of that cost occurring in fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2009. But fiscal 2009 does not even begin until Oct. 1, and the economy could recover in time to drain some of the red ink now projected, officials said. They also said the number could come in lower if the Democratic-controlled Congress keeps spending in check. The release of the deficit number always provides an opportunity for both parties to spar over fiscal policy. “If these reports prove accurate, they confirm the dismal legacy of the Bush administration: Under its policies, the largest surpluses in history have been converted into the largest deficits in history,” said House Budget Chairman John M. Spratt Jr. , D-S.C.

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