Tag: U.S. House

Pelosi seizes on anti-corruption message against GOP

The following article by Melanie Zanona was posted on the Hill website August 14, 2018:

Leader Nancy Pelosi

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) is moving full steam ahead on a Democratic strategy to paint the GOP as corrupt ahead of the midterm elections, a case that got new legs after the arrest of Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) on insider trading charges last week.

Pelosi has decided to make ethics a core pillar of House Democrats’ push for the majority this fall, seizing on Collins’s arrest in a way she hasn’t done with past GOP scandals involving Trump administration officials.

But with Collins, a sitting member of Congress and Trump’s earliest congressional backer, Pelosi believes that Democrats have a ripe opportunity to draw a connection between the president and House Republicans who are on the ballot this November.

View the complete article here.

Congress Isn’t Perfect but the Politicians Aren’t Always to Blame

The following commentary by Nathan L. Gonzales was posted on the Roll Call website August 8, 2018:

Fixing the Hill is easier said than done

U.S. Capitol Building. Credit: Sarah Silbiger, CQ Roll Call file photo

After 30 years of covering Congress, David Hawkings has a good idea of how Capitol Hill works — or more important, how it doesn’t — and he laid out five key reasons why Congress is broken.

But whether it’s money, maps, media, mingling or masochism, there are no easy solutions. Nor are they entirely the responsibility of the politicians to address.

Map mess

The redistricting process, including how congressional districts are drawn and the lack of competitive seats, gets a lot of blame for the dysfunction in Congress.

View the complete article here.

House Intel chair calls for ban on electronic voting systems

The following article by Julia Machester was posted on the Hill website July 26, 2018:

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) called for a ban on electronic voting systems in an interview that aired Thursday on Hill.TV’s “Rising.”

“The one thing we’ve been warning about for many, many years on the Intelligence committee is about the electronic voting systems,” Nunes told Hill.TV’s Buck Sexton, who sat with the lawmaker on Wednesday.

“Those are really dangerous in my opinion, and should not be used. In California — at least in the counties that I represent — they do not use an electronic system,” he continued.

View the complete article here.

House to Codify Guidelines for Virtual Town Halls

The following article by Katherine Tully-McManus was posted on the Roll Call website July 25, 2018:

Measure would provide spending guidance on joint events

Members wishing to conduct joint virtual town halls will get some guidance from legislation set for approval by the House Administration Committee. (Douglas Credit: Graham, CQ Roll Call file photo

New rules are coming to the House for members hosting virtual town hall meetings with constituents back in their districts.

The House Administration Committee takes up a resolution Wednesday that will codify regulations for lawmakers teaming up to do joint town hall meetingson the internet.

The resolution will make changes to the Members’ Congressional Handbook, which lays out the rules and regulations for what House members can spend money on and what they can’t. For joint virtual town halls, the proposed change details how expenses should be split.

View the complete article here.

‘That was not the deal’: McCarthy, Ryan renege on immigration vow

the following article by Rachael Bade was posted on the Politico website July 24, 2018:

The California Republican aiming to be speaker backs away from a promised vote on a guest worker program.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has been asking members to support him for speaker next year, when Paul Ryan is set to retire. But the standoff on a vote McCarthy promised could alienate some would-be allies. Credit: Alex Wong, Getty Images

House GOP leaders are reneging on a vow to hold an immigration vote before the August recess, a move that puts House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in a particularly awkward spot as he seeks to become the next speaker.

In June, McCarthy (R-Calif.) personally promised several rank-and-file members a vote on a new guest-worker program for farmers, an offer backed by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). The assurance was critical at the time: It persuaded Reps. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) not to sign on to an effort — which Republican leaders were desperately trying to stop — to force a vote on legislation creating a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, the immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. The so-called discharge petition ultimately fell two signatures short.

But now, Republican leaders have no plans to take up the guest-worker program before the summer break, according to four sources in leadership. Ryan does not want to hold a vote that’s certain to fail, they said — though proponents of the guest-worker bill said McCarthy’s original promise to hold a vote was unconditional.

View the complete article here.

Rod Rosenstein shuts down Jim Jordan over Fox News report

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website June 28, 2018:

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is the Republicans’ designated attack dog on the House Judiciary Committee. He’s the guy pushing conspiracy theories about the FBI and President Trump. And he’s the guy whose push for a second special counsel based on these theories earned a sharp rebuke from Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

On Thursday, Jordan again found himself getting shut down by one of the embattled leaders of the Justice Department — this time in somewhat embarrassing fashion. Continue reading “Rod Rosenstein shuts down Jim Jordan over Fox News report”

Thank you, Adam Jennings

Want to know what class looks like and sounds like? It sounds and looks like Adam Jennings.

Adam, thank you for running and showing us your heart. Megan, thank you for standing with Adam and being the amazing person you are (as well as a fabulous first responder today for a delegate with a medical condition).

To everyone who supported Adam, thank you. Thank you for standing up and working hard to support your choice. We know Adam and Megan are not going anywhere. CD3 thanks you.

House Republicans Are Realizing Premature End to Russia Probe Made Them Look Ridiculous: Report

The following article by Cody Fenwick was posted on the AlterNet website March 15, 2018:

By contradicting the CIA and FBI, the House Intelligence Committee damaged its credibility.

House Republicans appear to be realizing that they undermined their credibility when they reported their conclusions about the Russia investigation this week.

According to a report from Politico, aides to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) had to corral the communications staffers of House Republicans after Intelligence Committee members discussed their widely criticized conclusions on the investigation into 2016 election meddling. Continue reading “House Republicans Are Realizing Premature End to Russia Probe Made Them Look Ridiculous: Report”

Gowdy steps down from Ethics Committee, citing ‘challenging workload’

The following article by Max Greenwood was posted on the Hill website January 13, 2018:

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) has resigned from his post on the House Ethics Committee, citing a challenging workload that also includes his chairmanship on the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

In a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) dated Jan. 10, Gowdy said that he would “treasure” his experience on the Ethics panel, but acknowledged that it was difficult balancing that assignment with his work on other committees. Continue reading “Gowdy steps down from Ethics Committee, citing ‘challenging workload’”

House Defeats Amendment to Cut One-Third of CBO Staff

The following article by Lindsey McPherson was posted on the Roll Call website July 26, 2017:

The House on Wednesday night rejected, 116-309, an amendment that would have eliminated one-third of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The amendment, offered by Virginia Republican Morgan Griffith to the four-bill appropriations minibus the House is currently debating, would have abolished CBO’s 89-employee budget analysis division and saved a total of $15 million in salaries. Roughly half of Republicans joined Democrats in voting down the amendment.

House Freedom Caucus leaders designed the amendment to have CBO cut down on in-house staff and aggregate analyses from outside groups. Continue reading “House Defeats Amendment to Cut One-Third of CBO Staff”