Legislative Update

Congress will be well rested after their 11-day weekend and primed for shreding the shreds of our constitution (it is actually really hard at this point-- they are getting an atom smasher installed to help them out next month). CNN is covering, live and all day, the democratic party hearing to give Michigan and Florida votes. For anyone watching that, who is cheering in the background? What compells someone to compuslively cheer during comittee proceedings?

The House meets Tuesday, and they will try to get to the Iraq/Afghanistan appropriations bill, but if they run out of time they will put it off until next week. Many of the bills this week are somewhat important, so they are unlikely to get there IMO.

HR 3058- Extends and reduces funding for a previous bill which authorized payments to local governments for the services (utilities, police, etc) rendered to national parks. The amount appropriated this year is 80% what was spent last year, next year is 90% of that, and 2010 and 2011 are at the 2009 levels.

HConRes 138- Supporting national Men's Health week (is there a women's health week? why do we need either of these?)

HRes 923- Celebrating the 150th year of Minnesota's statehood.

HRes 1114- Supporting Arbor day.

HR 1734- Naming a Post Office in Portland

HR 5744- Naming a Post Office in San Gabriel

HR 5683- Assorted GAO reforms. Creates a minimum annual pay rise and performance based rewards. Creates an Inspector General, who can shoot lasers out of his eyes, to audit and inspect. Departments that have GAO audits will pay the GAO. More GAO employees are more accountable for ethics violations.

HR 3774- Improving diversity in the Senior Executive Service by demanding departments devise diversity plans. Also establishes a Senior Executive Service Resource Office that will ensure diversity, professionalism, and efficiency by formulating plans and providing oversight.

HR 4106- Regaurding Telecommuting for government employees. Basically, allows any government employee to telecommute, with permission, 20% of their hours, unless that would be silly for some reason.

HR 4791- Various reporting standards for potential data breaches. I will go through this with a fine tooth comb.

S 2420- Encourages the government and its contractors to donate excess food to poor people.

HConRes 311- Authorizing use of capitol grounds for a soap box derby.

HConRes 335- Authorizing use of capitol grounds for the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority party.

HR 3712- Naming a courthouse.

HR 5599- Naming a census building.

HR 1343- Allocating $14,051,333,605 until 2012 for government health centers.

HR 5669- renewing funding for and reauthorizing aspects of the national poison control centres.

HR 1553- Establishes "special programs of research excellence in the area of pediatric cancers" and a fellowship of excellence. These people and programs will cure cancer in children. A grant is established to build a childhood cancer database. A grant program is establish to reward exceptional doctors and researchers. All of this gets $30,000,000 per year through 2012.

HR 5940- A bill to "advance" nanotechnology. It is a good thing congress is capable of creating new technology by decree, because otherwise we would still be stuck in the stone age. In all honesty, I get the impression that this bill was written when some old congressman said to his aid "I was promised nanotechnology! Where is it! Waa-Waa." And thus this bill was born.

HConRes ___- Expressing the sense of congress that math and science should be a national priority, but not doing anything about it.

HRes 1180- Recognizing women in science.

HR 5893- Reauthorizing funding for the Library of Congress's sound and film preservation program.

HR 5972- Minor clarifications about the rules relating to the Capitol Hill Police force, and creating a CEO of the police to serve under the chief of police.

HR 5540- Currently, there is a public law on the books which authorized $3,000,000 per year from 1999-2003 to build improvements to Chesapeake Bay. This bill replaces that bit with "(c) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section." Essentially, congress is writing a blank check for this project with no expiration date. This is not what is commonly meant by "fiscal responsibility"

HR 3021- grants and loans to finance green schools. This will be examined in more detail later.

Note that S 70, the 2009 budget, is being reported on this week and there is some chance that it may get pushed up. If it doesn't happen this week, they are likely to debate it for the next few weeks until the democratic leadership has made everyone happy. Then it will come up for a vote.

Note also that HR 2642, the Iraq/Afghanistan supplemental appropriations bill, could be brought up on Friday. I suspect that it will be rolled over until next week, but I will be watching.

Senate will begin debate on the Lieberman-Warner global warming bill, S 3036, on Monday. I will cover that bill when it passes the Senate, because otherwise it will be amended to all hell and I will have to cover it a second time when it hits the house.