Here's something no one could have predicted...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday announced joint appointments to a landmark ethics review board that for the first time will allow private citizens to review allegations against members.

Still, four out of six members of the board for the newly created Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) will be former members of Congress, including former CIA Director Porter Goss (R-Fla.), who will serve as co-chairman.

Well, golly-gee! Wow. The ex-chief spy -- in an era where insane FISA "reforms" have already made people suspicious of political spying -- being put in charge of sorting out the dirt on Members of Congress.

By the way, go read the article. It's a masterwork of news-in-context. Porter Goss, named to co-chair the ethics panel, written up in a DC insider publication, with no mention whatsoever of Dusty Foggo or Duke Cunningham.

Spies, bribes, hookers... ethics panel. Yeah, this is gonna be great.

Accountability, here we come!

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2008

House meets at 10:00 a.m.: Legislative Business
Ten "One Minutes" Per Side
Last vote predicted: 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.

H.Res. 1367 - Providing for consideration of motions to suspend the rules (Rep. Slaughter – Rules)

Suspension (1 Bill):

1.     H.R. 6578 – Consumer Energy Supply Act of 2008 (Rep. Lampson – Energy and Commerce)

H.R. 5501 - Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Rep. Berman – Foreign Affairs) (Subject to a Rule)

H.Res. 1368 - Relating to the House procedures contained in section 803 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (Rep. Slaughter – Rules)

Complete Consideration of H.R. 3999 - The National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act (Rep. Oberstar –Transportation and Infrastructure) (Subject to a Rule)

Postponed Amendment Votes:

·         Childers Amendment

Postponed Suspension Bill (1)

1.     H.Res. 1296 – Supporting the designation of a National Child Awareness Month to promote awareness of children's charities and youth-serving organizations across the United States and recognizing their efforts on behalf of children and youth as a positive investment for the future of our Nation (Rep. Calvert - Education and Labor)

• Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.
• Motions to go to Conference should they become available.
• Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Convenes: 9:30am

9:30am - 10:30am equally divided and controlled between the Leaders or their designees with the Majority controlling the first half and the Republicans controlling the final half.

10:30am - 5:30pm Equally divided and controlled in 30 minute-alternating blocks of time with the Majority controlling the first 30 minutes.

1:00pm filing deadline for all first degree amendments to S.3268, the Energy Speculation bill.

3:40pm Moment of silence in remembrance of the fatal shootings of U.S. Capitol Police Officers, Officer Jacob J. Chestnut and Detective John M. Gibson. All Senators are encouraged to be on the Senate floor prior to 3:40pm.

Note the 1:00pm deadline listed above for all "first degree amendments" to S. 3268. What's a "first degree amendment?" That's the term for amendments  proposed directly to the text of a bill. An amendment to an amendment is a second degree amendment. Senate rules prohibit taking this any farther, and there are no third degree amendments permitted. See this explanation of the "amendment tree" for more information. Harry Reid is employing the strategy of "filling the amendment tree" on two bills this week: the energy speculation and housing bills discussed below.

On the Radar:

• Republican delays on the Energy Speculation bill have spilled over beyond expectations, and chewed up more floor time than anticipated, and yesterday's House action on the housing bill (H.R. 3221) puts that ball back in the Senate court with the August recess looming. That almost certainly means a weekend session is in store in the Senate, and it's also pushed consideration of the "Coburn Omnibus" (S. 3297) back into next week. Expect cloture votes on the energy and housing bills this Friday, keeping the Senate occupied with post-cloture debate over the weekend.
• The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee meets this morning at 10 to consider a subpoena to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, in pursuit of documentation that would expose White House interference in EPA compliance with the Massachusetts v. EPA ruling and state-based greenhouse gas standards. Good luck to Senator Barbara Boxer, as she heads into the exact same stone wall that met Henry Waxman in late June, prompting him to issue the required Stern Words.

Memo to Republican candidates: There is actually an outer limit to fake outrage stories. Let's allow NJ-03 Republican candidate Chris Myers to demonstrate, shall we?

Release Date: Jul 22 2008

Myers Demands Adler Apologize to Troops, Veterans, Military Families for Web Video Comments

Adler referred to radical liberal bloggers as "the new citizen soldiers"

         Mount Holly, July 22, 2008-Decorated combat veteran and congressional candidate Chris Myers (NJ-3) today demanded that his opponent, career Trenton politician John Adler, apologize to United States active duty troops, veterans and military families for comments he made in a YouTube video posted on his web site.

         In the video, entitled "John Adler: a progressive," Adler admiringly refers to radical liberal bloggers from the Daily Kos and other liberal blog sites as "the new citizen soldiers".  The video can be found at Adler's campaign web site (www.adlerforcongress.com/video), or on YouTube at the following link: http://youtube.com/...

         "On behalf of our active duty military personnel and their families, and the tens of thousands of veterans living in the 3rd Congressional District, I am calling on John Adler to remove this video and apologize for his outrageous comments," said Myers, himself a former Navy Lieutenant and decorated combat veteran of the Persian Gulf War.  "These radical liberal bloggers are in no way, shape or form ‘soldiers,' and referring to them in that way is an affront to the brave men and women in uniform fighting to defend our freedoms around the globe, the veterans who have done so in generations past, and their proud families."

Without even bothering to get into the fact that the progressive netroots do in fact encompass many actual soldiers (which should come as no surprise, since all you need to have is a computer and a modem -- there are lots of dentists, too, but Republicans don't get outraged about dentists, even "radical liberal dentists"), I think we can safely say that Myers' ridiculous tirade is about as stupid a thing as anyone could ever imagine a candidate attaching his name to.

Thank God for geniuses like Myers, who can finally save confused New Jerseyans from metaphors, analogies and all sorts of linguo-fascism! They hate us for our figurative language, you know!

Does anyone think Myers would ever be able to find us the critical mass of soldiers who demand this apology? Who need it more than, say, some body armor and a lift home for their buddies?

The "falling off a log" response to this idiocy (note to Myers: I'm not actually on a log) would be to name some of the prominent members of our community who've served. But that understates the mendacity of his comments and legitimizes them. Better for residents of New Jersey's third district to take a closer look at Myers' own rhetoric and remember that everything he says must be taken literally. Anyone care to scour his web site and see who's owed an apology next?

With the need for constant vigilance against comparisons of mass destruction, one wonders when Myers will find time to campaign. By which I mean campaign for office, not conduct a military campaign! My apologies to everyone who ever has conducted such a campaign, or watched one on the History Channel!

What a friggin' dork.

UPDATE: Local color and the Adler response at (where else?) BlueJersey.

Race tracker wiki: NJ-03

USAToday reports:

Democrats in Congress hope to ignite a drive to reverse the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy Wednesday with the first hearing on the subject since 1993, when President Clinton said gays could serve in uniform if they kept quiet about their sexual orientation.

Without this hearing, said former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman John Shalikashvili, "you will never repeal the law. It's a great idea." He is among more than 50 retired generals and admirals who have said it is time to rethink the policy.

Solid thinking by General Shalikashvili. That seems to me to be exactly right. That is, that Democratic Members of Congress need to be thinking ahead now about exactly how they propose to manage drinking from the firehose of needed reforms and repairs coming after Liberation Day in January of next year.

But it's not just the Bush-bots who are to blame for the fact that there hasn't even been a hearing on the subject for 15 years:

Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee tried to have a hearing on the policy in April 2007, but opposition from conservatives in their party sank the idea.

More and better, people. More and better.

The conditions are right for revisiting this issue:

[T]he volunteer armed forces struggle to retain troops to fight two wars. Changing attitudes are seen in polls such as one by The Washington Post, published Saturday, showing that 75% favor allowing gays to serve openly, up from 44% in 1993.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, has said that if elected, he would work to repeal the bar on open service — and the "don't ask" compromise designed to work around it. His Republican rival, John McCain, wants no change.

"At a time when the military is relaxing every possible standard to attract new recruits, and at the same time is losing mission-critical specialists such as Arabic linguists, medical professionals and others, one would hope and expect that Defense Department leaders would be first in line to call on Congress to repeal the law," says Steve Ralls of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

They're not, of course. Because active duty military personnel generally feel restrained from challenging policy.

But the numbers tell the hidden part of the story:

The military has booted 12,500 servicemembers under "don't ask, don't tell." Annual discharges peaked at 1,273 in 2001. Discharges have declined sharply since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Pentagon discharged 627 servicemembers last year.

"Don't ask, don't tell" is just one of many legislative fixes needed, of course. Kudos to Military Personnel Subcommittee chair Susan Davis (D-CA) for holding the hearing, and to Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), who's been beaten up plenty around these parts before, for sponsoring the bill designed to enact the repeal.

Hopefully an early success -- meaning that it comes shortly after the current maniac is finally purged from the White House -- will embolden Democrats in the 111th Congress to move quickly on repeals promised more recently, such as that of the Military Commissions Act and the recent FISA disaster.

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2008

House meets at 10:00 a.m.: Legislative Business
Fifteen "One Minutes" Per Side

Last vote predicted: 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Suspensions (8 Bills):

1.     H.J.Res. 93 - Approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 (Rep. Crowley – Ways and Means)

2.     H.R. 6532 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to restore the Highway Trust Fund balance (Rep. Rangel – Ways and Means)

3.     H.Res. 1360 - Honoring and commemorating the selfless acts of heroism displayed by the late Detective John Michael Gibson and Private First Class Jacob Joseph Chestnut of the United States Capitol Police on July 24, 1998 (Rep. Edwards (MD) – House Administration)

4.     H.Res. 645 - Expressing the gratitude and appreciation of the House of Representatives to the professionalism and dedication of the United States Capitol Police (Rep. Mario Diaz–Balart (FL) – House Administration)

5.     H.Res. 1286 - Recognizing and celebrating the 20th anniversary of the National Black Arts Festival (Rep. Lewis (GA) - Education and Labor)

6.     H.Res. 1355 - Expressing support for designation of Disability Pride Day and recognizing that all people, including those living with disabilities, have the right, responsibility, and ability to be active, contributing members of our society and fully engaged as citizens.  (Rep. Davis (IL) – Education and Labor)

7.     H.Res. 655 – Honoring the life and accomplishments of Katherine Dunham (Rep. Rangel – Education and Labor)

8.     H.Res. 1296 – Supporting the designation of a National Child Awareness Month to promote awareness of children's charities and youth-serving organizations across the United States and recognizing their efforts on behalf of children and youth as a positive investment for the future of our Nation (Rep. Calvert - Education and Labor)

H.R. 3221 - American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 (Rep. Frank– Financial Services) (Subject to a Rule)

H.R. 3999 - The National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act (Rep. Oberstar –Transportation and Infrastructure) (Subject to a Rule [That rule is contained in H. Res. 1344])

Postponed Suspension Bill (1)

1.     H.R. 6545 - National Energy Security Intelligence Act of 2008 (Rep. Cazayoux – Intelligence)

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Convenes: 10:00am

Resume motion to proceed to S.3268, Energy Speculation, post cloture.

Time until 11:00am equally divided and controlled with the Republicans controlling the first half and the Majority controlling the next half. The time from 11:00 until 4:00 controlled in 30 minute alternating blocks with Republicans controlling first 30 minutes and the Majority controlling next 30 minutes.

Recall that post-cloture debate can go on no longer than 30 hours, with no Senator speaking for more than one hour during that time. (See Rule XXII). Cloture was invoked by a vote of 94-0 at 11:28 a.m. yesterday, and will wind up at 4:00 p.m. today, technically about an hour and a half short of 30 hours, but with the benefit of not having to stay up and in session all night to run the 30 hour clock. The Senators, by agreement, just gave themselves the 30 hours that Republicans could have forced them all to sit through, provided they had enough of them lined up to eat that clock up one hour at a time.

Considering that the cloture vote was 94-0, it might seem an unlikely prospect. But as a matter of courtesy, the 30 hours were preserved. Without that courtesy, it's possible that Republicans may well have found enough malcontents willing to inconvenience everyone, just to make the point that you shouldn't stick your finger in anyone's eye if you don't have to. I mean, if you can vote against your own filibuster -- which is exactly what they just did -- then anything's possible.

On the Radar:

• The "Coburn Omnibus" has been introduced and assigned a bill number: S. 3297.
• The House Judiciary Committee has Attorney General Michael Mukasey before them today, for a general DOJ oversight hearing. But look for some close questioning of the AG on topics including Karl Rove's claim of "absolute immunity" from subpoena, Mukasey's own refusal to turn over FBI reports of their interview with Dick Cheney regarding the Valerie Plame outing, and the enforcement of contempt of Congress charges against various officials, possibly to include Mukasey himself.

Off the Radar:

• Senate appropriators are likely giving up on moving their bills forward for the rest of the 110th Congress. Just as with their House counterparts, Republicans trying to shoehorn offshore drilling into every bill has frayed the Democrats' last nerve.
• A Senate "resolution of disapproval" aimed at blocking the Bush "administration's" heap of new rules making it harder for states to expand their SCHIP programs may now be doomed, a victim of poor clock management. The resolution, permitted under a procedure for negating executive rule-making established by the Congressional Review Act of 1996 (PDF), was submitted too late to qualify under the rules as privileged, which puts a motion to proceed to consideration of the motion at risk of a filibuster. Whose job was it to be watching the deadline? Why, none other than Health Subcommittee Chairman Jay Rockefeller. Where do you suppose his head has been, lately? Whoops! Sorry, kids! But at least we'll be able to tell when you're sick by monitoring your calls to the doctor. And maybe the phone companies will pick up your health care bills, now that they don't have to spend their money on lawyers.

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2008

House meets at 12:30 p.m.: Morning Hour, 2:00 p.m.: Legislative Business
Unlimited "One Minutes" Per Side
Last vote predicted: 7:00 p.m.
Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (17 Bills):

1.     H.R. 6362 - To amend title 35, United States Code, and the Trademark Act of 1946 to provide that the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, shall appoint administrative patent judges and administrative trademark judges (Rep. Berman – Judiciary)

2.     S. 2565 - Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Act of 2008 (Sen. Biden – Judiciary)

3.     H.R. 6531 - The Vessel Hull Design Protection Amendments of 2008 (Rep. Berman – Judiciary)

4.     H.Res. 1241 - Congratulating Ensign DeCarol Davis upon serving as the valedictorian of the Coast Guard Academy's class of 2008 and becoming the first African-American female to earn this honor (Rep. Thompson (MS) – Transportation and Infrastructure)

5.     H.R. 6493 - The Aviation Safety Enhancement Act of 2008 (Rep. Oberstar – Transportation and Infrastructure)

6.     H.R. 5949 - The Clean Boating Act of 2008 (Rep. LaTourette – Transportation and Infrastructure)

7.     H.R. 6556 - To clarify the circumstances during which the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and applicable States may require permits for discharges from certain vessels, and to require the Administrator to conduct a study of discharges incidental to the normal operation of vessels (Transportation and Infrastructure)

8.     S. 294 - The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007 (Sen. Lautenberg - Transportation and Infrastructure)

9.     H.R. 4049 - Money Service Business Act of 2007 (Rep. Maloney – Financial Services)

10.   H.Res. 1139 - Recognizing the 100th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and congratulating the men and women who provide exceptional service to our military and keep our Pacific Fleet "fit to fight".  (Rep. Abercrombie – Armed Services)

11.   H.Con.Res. 364 - Recognizing the Significance of National Caribbean-American Heritage Month (Rep. Lee – Oversight and Government Reform)

12.   H.Res. 1311 - Expressing support for the designation of National GEAR UP Day (Rep. Fattah – Oversight and Government Reform)

13. H.Res. 1202 - Supporting the goals and ideals of a National Guard Youth Challenge Day (Rep. Tom Davis (VA) – Oversight and Government Reform)

14.   H.Res. 1128 - Expressing support of the goals and ideals of National Carriage Driving Month.  (Rep. Davis (IL) – Oversight and Government Reform)

15.   H.R. 6226 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 300 East 3rd Street in Jamestown, New York, as the "Stan Lundine Post Office Building" (Rep. Higgins – Oversight and Government Reform)

16.   H.R. 5235 - The Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act (Rep. Gallegly – Oversight and Government Reform)

17.   H.R. 6545 - National Energy Security Intelligence Act of 2008 (Rep. Cazayoux – Intelligence)

• Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.
• Motions to go to Conferenceshould they become available.
• Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Convenes: 10:00am

Resume motion to proceed to S.3268, the Energy Speculation bill.

12:15pm - 2:15pm Recess for the weekly caucus luncheons

If cloture is invoked on the motion to proceed to S.3268, the time from 2:15pm - 6:15pm will be equally divided and controlled in 30 minute alternating blocks of time, with the Majority controlling the first 30 minutes and the Republicans controlling the next 30 minutes.

Votes:
At approximately 11am, Roll Call Vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.3268.

On the Radar:

• A second domestic economic stimulus package may be unveiled shortly. A markup originally scheduled for today has been postponed, but is expected to happen shortly, with an announcement on the package (expected to be in the neighborhood of $50 billion in total) by week's end. The White House is skeptical of the need for such a bill.
• The White House is also looking askance at the housing bill still making its way through Congress (H.R. 3221), and has issued a veto threat if the final product contains a program of federal grants to buy out and rehabilitate foreclosed properties.

July 26, 2007: Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenas Karl Rove.

August 2, 2007: Karl Rove fails to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

December 13, 2007: Senate Judiciary Committee votes to approve contempt citation for Karl Rove. The full Senate takes no action.

May 22, 2008: House Judiciary Committee subpoenas Karl Rove.

July 10, 2008: Karl Rove fails to appear before the House Judiciary Committee.

July 10, 2008: The House Judiciary Committee gives Karl Rove until July 15, 2008 to declare whether he will comply with the subpoena he defied earlier in the day.

July 15, 2008: ?

July 19, 2008: The first question for Speaker Pelosi at Netroots Nation is about holding Rove in inherent contempt. Speaker Pelosi expresses support for the efforts of Chairman Conyers.

July 21, 2008: Tick, tick, tick...

There are only about five weeks of active work left in the House of Representatives for the 110th Congress. On August 1st, they will adjourn for a month, returning on September 8th. The target adjournment date thereafter is September 26th.

What do you think our Rove timeline entry will be for that day?

Look for Harry Reid to start the ball rolling today on the "Coburn Omnibus" (what's an "omnibus?") today:

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is planning a "Coburn Omnibus" for July that would wrap most if not all of the bills held by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) into one large measure to be voted on by the Senate, according to a Coburn aide and two Democratic leadership staffers.

Coburn is blocking roughly a hundred bills that are generally non-controversial or have broad support. By placing a hold, Coburn prevents the bills from passing quickly through the Senate under a unanimous consent request. With floor time at such a premium, Reid would have trouble bringing up each bill for an individual debate and vote.

But in a stroke of legislative creativity that may have no precedent, Reid could lump all of the bills into one package and bring up the Coburn Omnibus for a single vote. Coburn can still object, but the broad popularity of the bills means that there would likely be more than enough support for veto-proof passage.

Reid will likely start with a motion to proceed and an immediate filing of a cloture motion on that motion to proceed. It will take two days for the cloture motion to "ripen" so that there can be a vote.

By the way, do you want to see some seriously crazy Senate-ese? Look at how they express the fact that it takes two days to get to a vote on cloture:

[O]ne hour after the Senate meets on the following calendar day but one, [the Presiding Officer] shall lay the motion before the Senate and direct that the clerk call the roll, and upon the ascertainment that a quorum is present, the Presiding Officer shall, without debate, submit to the Senate by a yea-and-nay vote the question....

One hour after they meet on the following calendar day but one.

Or to you and me, "two days later." But because both the House and the Senate will sometimes play with the time-space continuum for procedural reasons, creating "legislative days" that don't coincide entirely with the "calendar days" you and I recognize as being the standard measurement of time, we have to have a definition like this one.

So that means it will take until one hour after the Senate convenes on Wednesday before they can even vote on whether or not to end debate on the question of whether or not to begin debate on the Coburn package (that is, a vote on the motion to proceed to consider the omnibus bill). Should there be 60 votes for cloture, Coburn (and any allies, if he has any left) will still be entitled to 30 hours of post-cloture debate. The number of allies Coburn can round up will determine how far he can push it:

Thereafter no Senator shall be entitled to speak in all more than one hour on the measure, motion, or other matter pending before the Senate, or the unfinished business, the amendments thereto, and motions affecting the same, and it shall be the duty of the Presiding Officer to keep the time of each Senator who speaks.

After no more than thirty hours of consideration of the measure, motion, or other matter on which cloture has been invoked, the Senate shall proceed, without any further debate on any question, to vote on the final disposition thereof...

So if Coburn has 29 other supporters, that could bring us into late evening Thursday or even Friday before we get done with post-cloture debate on the motion to proceed, and get to the actual Coburn package itself. Then, the package too is subject to yet another filibuster by Coburn, if he's so inclined. Reid will likely file immediately for cloture on that, too. But that will take two days to come to a vote also, meaning they'll still be waiting to vote for cloture until Tuesday of next week, barring a weekend session (which we may actually see) or Coburn's early surrender. Should cloture be invoked, Coburn and any allies get another 30 post-cloture hours, possibly dragging the vote on final passage out until at least Wednesday or Thursday of next week.

If it's literally only Coburn, the chances of him staying on his feet long enough to get to "the next calendar day but one" is virtually nil, and the moment he sits down, an opponent can ask for unanimous consent to proceed right to the bill, and Coburn will be unconscious and unable to object.

More likely, though, is a scenario in which very few of Coburn's colleagues are willing to join him in chewing up the clock. If it's Coburn and just a handful of allies and no alternative arrangement is agreed upon by unanimous consent beforehand, then Coburn and each of his friends get an hour after the cloture vote on Wednesday. That would mean just a few hours of post-cloture debate thereafter, and then on to the omnibus bill, with the second cloture vote able to be scheduled on Friday, and a final vote after each member of the Coburn gang uses up his or her one hour of post-cloture time late on Friday.

Courtesy of the Office of the House Majority Leader:

First vote of the week: Tuesday 6:30 p.m.
Last vote predicted: Friday p.m.

MONDAY, JULY 21, 2008

On Monday, the House will meet in Pro Forma Session at 12:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2008

On Tuesday, the House will meet at 12:30 p.m. for Morning Hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed [cl. 8, Rule XX, in case you forgot over the Netroots Nation break] until 6:30 p.m.

Suspensions (21 Bills):

1.     H.R. 6362 - To amend title 35, United States Code, and the Trademark Act of 1946 to provide that the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, shall appoint administrative patent judges and administrative trademark judges (Rep. Berman – Judiciary)

2.     S. 2565 - Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Act of 2008 (Sen. Biden – Judiciary)

3.     H.R. 6531 - The Vessel Hull Design Protection Amendments of 2008 (Rep. Berman – Judiciary)

4.     H.Res. 1241 - Congratulating Ensign DeCarol Davis upon serving as the valedictorian of the Coast Guard Academy's class of 2008 and becoming the first African-American female to earn this honor (Rep. Thompson (MS) – Transportation and Infrastructure)

5.     H.R. 6493 - The Aviation Safety Enhancement Act of 2008 (Rep. Oberstar – Transportation and Infrastructure)

6.     H.R. 5949 - The Clean Boating Act of 2008 (Rep. LaTourette – Transportation and Infrastructure)

7.     H.R. _ - To clarify the circumstances during which the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and applicable States may require permits for discharges from certain vessels, and to require the Administrator to conduct a study of discharges incidental to the normal operation of vessels (Transportation and Infrastructure)

8.     S. 294 - The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007 (Sen. Lautenberg - Transportation and Infrastructure)

9.     H.R. 4049 - Money Service Business Act of 2007 (Rep. Maloney – Financial Services)

10.   H.Res. 1139 - Recognizing the 100th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and congratulating the men and women who provide exceptional service to our military and keep our Pacific Fleet "fit to fight".  (Rep. Abercrombie – Armed Services)

11.   H.J.Res. 93 - Approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 (Rep. Crowley – Ways and Means)

12.   H.Res. 1286 - Recognizing and celebrating the 20th anniversary of the National Black Arts Festival (Rep. Lewis (GA) - Education and Labor)

13.   H.Res. 1355 - Expressing support for designation of Disability Pride Day and recognizing that all people, including those living with disabilities, have the right, responsibility, and ability to be active, contributing members of our society and fully engaged as citizens.  (Rep. Davis (IL) – Education and Labor)

14.   H.Res. 655 – Honoring the life and accomplishments of Katherine Dunham (Rep. Rangel – Education and Labor)

15.  H.Res. 1296 – Supporting the designation of a National Child Awareness Month to promote awareness of children's charities and youth-serving organizations across the United States and recognizing their efforts on behalf of children and youth as a positive investment for the future of our Nation (Rep. Calvert - Education and Labor)

16.   H.Con.Res. 364 - Recognizing the Significance of National Caribbean-American Heritage Month (Rep. Lee – Oversight and Government Reform)

17.   H.Res. 1311 - Expressing support for the designation of National GEAR UP Day (Rep. Fattah – Oversight and Government Reform)

18.   H.Res. 1128 - Expressing support of the goals and ideals of National Carriage Driving Month.  (Rep. Davis (IL) – Oversight and Government Reform)

19.   H.R. 6226 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 300 East 3rd Street in Jamestown, New York, as the "Stan Lundine Post Office Building" (Rep. Higgins – Oversight and Government Reform)

20.   H.R. 5235 - The Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act (Rep. Gallegly – Oversight and Government Reform)

21.   H.R. 6545 - National Energy Security Intelligence Act of 2008 (Rep. Cazayoux – Intelligence)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2008 AND THE BALANCE OF THE WEEK

On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business.  On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business.

H.R. 3221 - American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 (Rep. Frank– Financial Services) (Subject to a Rule)

H.R. 3999 - The National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act (Rep. Oberstar –Transportation and Infrastructure) (Subject to a Rule [That rule is contained in H. Res. 1344])

H.R. 5501 - Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Rep. Berman – Foreign Affairs) (Subject to a Rule)

Possible Consideration of Energy Legislation.

• Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.
• Motions to go to Conferenceshould they become available.
• Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate:

Convenes: 3:00pm

Resume motion to proceed to S.3268, Energy Speculation

Votes:
There will be no roll call votes on Monday, July 21

On the Radar:

• Look for Harry Reid to start the ball rolling on the "Coburn Omnibus" today, likely with a motion to proceed and an immediate filing of a cloture motion on that motion to proceed. With the basic tools of filibuster and delay, Coburn could by himself (if he's got either the stamina or the allies it would take) drag this out until Wednesday or Thursday of next week.
• The House Judiciary Committee has Attorney General Michael Mukasey before them on Wednesday, for a general DOJ oversight hearing. But look for some close questioning of the AG on topics including Karl Rove's claim of "absolute immunity" from subpoena, Mukasey's own refusal to turn over FBI reports of their interview with Dick Cheney regarding the Valerie Plame outing, and the enforcement of contempt of Congress charges against various officials, possibly to include Mukasey himself.
• Also on the agenda before the Judiciary Committee this week: a hearing on "Executive Power and Its Constitutional Limitations." That's the title of the hearing Conyers is granting to Dennis Kucinich, in compliance with his demands for hearings on his impeachment resolutions.

Courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2008

House meets at 10:00 a.m.: Legislative Business
Fifteen "One Minutes" Per Side

Last vote predicted: 7:00 p.m.

H.R. 5959 - FY09 Intelligence Authorization Act (Rep. Reyes – Intelligence) (Subject to a Rule)

H.R. 415 - To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the Taunton River in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers (Rep. Frank – Natural Resources) (Subject to a Rule [H.Res. 1339])

Postponed Suspension Vote (1 Bill)

1.     H.Con.Res. 295 - Expressing the deepest appreciation of Congress to the families of members of the United States Armed Forces (Rep. Bilirakis – Armed Services)  

Ah! Finally a nice, normal, short schedule! This is what a normal mid-week schedule looks like. We've been on a real suspensions run since I started putting these schedules up, and it's probably given you something of a warped idea of what normally goes on in the House, mid-week.

Anyway, it turns out that there will be no amendment offered to prohibit torture on this Intel authorization bill. The prospective sponsors, Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) opted not to offer the amendment, because there's already language similar to theirs in the Senate authorization bill. Which would be great, if it survives conference. It'd be a lot easier to assure a conference report with the language intact if both houses passed it. I can't say what the odds of keeping it in there are, since Bush vetoed the last Intel bill that had similar language, and has promised he'd veto it again.

In the Senate:

Convenes: 9:30am
Morning Business for up to 1 hour. Majority controls the first 30 minutes and the Republicans control the second 30 minutes. (10 minute limitations)

Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of S.2731, Global AIDS.

Roll call votes are expected to occur throughout the day.

ON THE RADAR:

• The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee meets today at 10 a.m. to consider contempt of Congress proceedings against Attorney General Michael Mukasey, for failure to comply with a subpoena for the production of the FBI's transcripts of their interviews with Cheney regarding the Valerie Plame outing.
• What ever happened to that idea about bringing a "Coburn omnibus" to the floor, consisting of a package of some combination of the 100 or so bills Crossword Tommy Coburn is holding in the Senate? Is this coming back on the radar?

UPDATE: As if on cue, here comes the Coburn Omnibus!

UPDATE 2: The House Oversight hearing is streaming video now. Waxman just said he wouldn't ask the committee to act on contempt today, though. Shocker.

UPDATE 3: Having said he wouldn't move ahead on contempt today, Ranking Member Davis now doesn't even want to allow Waxman let Democrats speak to the general issue of contempt. Huzzah!

UPDATE 4: Sorry, but a "curious moment" update is needed. Having tabled contempt for the time being, Waxman now moves to a markup of H.R. 6388, granting the GAO authority to sue on its own behalf for access to executive branch documents. Why? This bill is meant to address the decision in Walker v. Cheney, the suit to access Cheney's energy task force documents. That suit was dismissed by Judge John Bates, the same judge who is slated to consider the suit by John Conyers on behalf of the Judiciary Committee, seeking to compel... the Attorney General to prosecute the contempt of Congress citations against Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten.

Courtesy of my special "relationship" with the Majority Leader (a/k/a, the ability to access his web site):

FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2008

House meets at  9:00 a.m.: Morning Hour; 10:00 a.m.: Legislative Business
Unlimited "One Minutes" Per Side

Last vote predicted: 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Suspensions (16 Bills):

1.     H.R. 4049 - Money Service Business Act of 2007 (Rep. Maloney – Financial Services)

2.     H.R. 6455 - To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Rep. Jackson-Lee – Financial Services)

3.     S. 3145 - A bill to designate a portion of United States Route 20A, located in Orchard Park, New York, as the "Timothy J. Russert Highway" (Sen. Clinton – Transportation and Infrastructure)

4.     S. 496 - The Appalachian Regional Development Act Amendments of 2008 (Sen. Voinovich – Transportation and Infrastructure)

5.     H.Con.Res. 299 - Supporting the goals and ideals of National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month (Rep. Markey – Energy and Commerce)

6.     H.Res. 1259 - Congratulating the Hamilton College Continentals on winning the NCAA Division III women's lacrosse championship (Rep. Arcuri – Education and Labor)

7.     H.Res. 1088 - Recognizing and commending the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for 50 years of service as a vital American cultural ambassador to the world (Rep. Nadler – Education Labor)

8.     H.Res. 1323 - Commending the Arizona State University softball team for their victory in the 2008 Women's College World Series (Rep. Mitchell – Education and Labor)

9.     H.Res. 1327 - Congratulating the 2008 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Baseball Champions, the Fresno State Bulldogs, on an outstanding and historic season (Rep. Nunes – Education and Labor)

10.   H.Res. 1261 - Congratulating East High School in Denver, Colorado, on winning the 2008 "We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution" national competition (Rep. DeGette – Education and Labor)

11.   H.Res. 1090 - Honoring the esteemed former President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela on the occasion of his 90th birthday (Rep. Jefferson – Foreign Affairs)

12.   H.Con.Res. 385 - Condemning the attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 1994 (Rep. Ros-Lehtinen – Foreign Affairs).

13.   H.Con.Res. _ - Providing for the concurrence by the House in the Senate amendment to H.R. 3890 - Burma Democracy Promotion Act of 2007 with amendments (Rep. Lantos – Foreign Affairs)

14.   H.R. 3032 - To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to permit candidates for election for Federal office to designate an individual who will be authorized to disburse funds of the authorized campaign committees of the candidate in the event of the death of the candidate (Rep. Jones (NC) – House Administration)

15.   H.R. 6296 - To extend through 2013 the authority of the Federal Election Commission to impose civil money penalties on the basis of a schedule of penalties established and published by the Commission (Rep. Brady (PA) – House Administration)

16.   H.R. 5803 - To direct the Election Assistance Commission to establish a program to make grants to participating States and units of local government which will administer the regularly scheduled general election for Federal office held in November 2008 for carrying out a program to make backup paper ballots available in the case of the failure of a voting system or voting equipment in the election or some other emergency situation, and for other purposes (Rep. Lofgren – House Administration)

Possible Vote to Override the President’s Veto of H.R. 6331 - Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (Rep. Dingell/Rangel – Energy and Commerce/Ways and Means)

Possible Vote to Refer Kucinich Privileged Resolution Regarding an Article of Impeachment against the President to Committee of Jurisdiction (Judiciary)

Postponed Suspension Vote (1 Bill)

1.  H.Con.Res. 295 - Expressing the deepest appreciation of Congress to the families of members of the United States Armed Forces (Rep. Bilirakis – Armed Services)  

In the Senate:

Convenes: 10:00 am
Up to one hour of morning business, 10 minute limitations with the Republicans controlling the first half and the Majority controlling the final half.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of S.2731, the Global AIDS/HIV bill and the Majority leader or his designee will be recognized to table the DeMint amendment #5078.

Senators should expect the first Roll Call Vote as early as 11am Tuesday.

The following amendments are pending to S.2731
DeMint amendment #5077 (funding reduction)
DeMint amendment #5078 (limit countries)
DeMint amendment #5079 (coercive abortion) to amdt #5078

The Senate will stand in recess from 12:30 until 2:15pm for the weekly policy luncheons.

Because Senate scheduling is so unpredictable (see the earlier discussion of holds, filibusters, and their derivatives) compared with the House, it's often meaningless to tell you just the little bit that's known ahead of time about what the Senate will be doing. In order to keep any kind of tabs on what happened, what you'll really need to see is...

Yesterday in the Senate:

Convenes: 2:00pm
Morning Business for up to 1 hour with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

6:50pm Proceed to consideration of S.2731, Global AIDS/HIV bill.

The following amendments are pending to S.2731:
Biden-Lugar Subsitute amendment #5075 (agreed to by unanimous consent)
DeMint amendment #5077 (funding reduction)
DeMint amendment #5078 (limit countries)
DeMint amendment #5079 (coercive abortion) to amdt #5078

There will be no roll call votes today. Senators should expect votes to occur Tuesday morning.
Unanimous Consent:

H.R.3985, Over-the-Road Bus Transportation Accessibility Act

S.Res.611, SoS [Sense of the Senate, a non-binding resolution] - Zimbabwe

S.Res.612, G8 Summit

S.Res.613, designating week of September 8, 2008 as "National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week."

You'll notice that for right now, the links for the above resolutions are blanks. That's because the text of the legislation, and indeed, the fact that a bill has actually been assigned those numbers, have not yet been entered into the clerk's computer system. The info should get there shortly.

But the reason I'm showing you what happened yesterday in the Senate is that if you compare it to the information describing the Senate's schedule that was publicly available ahead of time yesterday, you'd see only this:

   Convenes: 2:00pm

   Morning Business for up to 1 hour with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

   There will be no roll call votes today. Senators should expect votes to occur Tuesday morning.

Not much help. Sometimes you just can't get a handle on what the Senate is going to be up to before they're up to it. So we'll look back, just to keep tabs on things.

ON THE RADAR:

• Veto override on the Medicare bill will get some extra attention, though it's expected to pass in the House. Margins are smaller in the Senate, and the "administration" is working overtime to come up with an excuse for Republicans to switch their votes back.
• The House Rules Committee meets to consider the rule governing the upcoming Intelligence Authorization bill. Will they or won't they permit amendments to ban torture?

George W. Bush thinks there are no such things as laws. So I suppose it comes as no surprise to learn that he thinks there are no such things as veto-proof majorities, either.

H.R. 6331, the Medicare payments patch legislation that would prevent at 10.6% cut in payments to physicians, passed the House by a margin of 355-59 on June 24, and passed the Senate by voice vote after a 69-30 vote on cloture. But Bush, apparently working to "encourage cooperation across the aisle," as they say, will spit in the faces of Members of both parties tomorrow as he vetoes the bill.

The veto is given little chance to be sustained, but it's interesting to watch Bush go through the motions even when he "doesn't have the votes."

Why tomorrow and not today? Because President Bush is a petulant, vindictive and childish dick, that's why:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services had issued a temporary delay on physician pay cuts until July 15 to allow lawmakers more time to pass the legislation.

Tomorrow's date, of course, is July 15. This way, Bush assures either that the bureaucrats have to go through an embarrassing scramble again, or that medical care providers actually get hurt by his veto crayon.

The "grown up" in charge, ladies and gentlemen. They can't get this asshole out of the White House fast enough.

Courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR MONDAY, JULY 14, 2008

House meets at 12:30 p.m.: Morning Hour; 2:00 p.m.: Legislative Business

Unlimited "One Minutes" Per Side

Last vote predicted: 7:00 p.m.

Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m. [How? Why? Come on, you know!]

Suspensions (18 Bills):

1.     H.R. 5618 - To reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant College Program Act, and for other purposes (Rep. Bordallo - Natural Resources)

2.     H.R. 1714 - To clarify the boundaries of Coastal Barrier Resources System Clam Pass Unit FL-64P (Rep. Mack - Natural Resources)

3.     H.R. 3227 - To direct the Secretary of the Interior to continue stocking fish in certain lakes in the North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (Rep. Hastings (WA) - Natural Resources)

4.     H.Res. 984 - Expressing support for the designation of July 26, 2008 as "National Day of the Cowboy" (Rep. Giffords – Oversight and Government Reform)

5.     H.R. 5506 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 369 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the "Bishop Ralph E. Brower Post Office Building" (Rep. Sires – Oversight and Government Reform)

6.     H.R. 4010 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 100 West Percy Street in Indianola, Mississippi, as the "Minnie Cox Post Office Building"(Rep. Thompson (MS) – Oversight and Government Reform)

7.     H.Res. 1067 - Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the crossing of the North Pole by the USS Nautilus (SSN 571) and its significance in the history of both our Nation and the world (Rep. Courtney – Armed Services)

8.     H.Res. 1080 - Honoring the extraordinary service and exceptional sacrifice of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), known as the Screaming Eagles (Rep. Whitfield – Armed Services)

9.    H.Con.Res. 295 - Expressing the deepest appreciation of Congress to the families of members of the United States Armed Forces (Rep. Bilirakis – Armed Services)  

10.   H.Con.Res. 297 - Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the integration of the United States Armed Forces. (Rep. Rogers (AL) – Armed Services)

11.   H.R. 3564 - Regulatory Improvement Act of 2007 (Rep. Cannon - Judiciary)

12.   H.Con.Res. 381 - Honoring and recognizing the dedication and achievements of Thurgood Marshall on the 100th anniversary of his birth. (Rep. Payne - Judiciary)

13.  H.Res. 1182 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that American flags flown on Federal Government buildings and on Federal property be made in the United States (Rep. Filner – Judiciary)

14.   H.Con.Res. 369 - Honoring the men and women of the Drug Enforcement Administration on the occasion of its 35th anniversary (Rep. Souder – Judiciary)

15.   H.R. 5057 - Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act (Rep. Maloney – Judiciary)

16.   S. 3218 - Criminal History Background Checks Pilot Extension Act of 2008 (Sen. Biden – Judiciary)

17.   H.R. 5464 - A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center Act (Rep. Klein – Judiciary)

18.  S. 231 – A bill to authorize the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program at fiscal year 2006 levels through 2012 (Sen. Feinstein - Judiciary)

No, you're not crazy if you think you've seen some of these bills listed before. Several of the suspension bills listed today are bills scheduled for action earlier, but that the House never got to. Hence, for instance, we'll be trying again to honor Thurgood Marshall on the 100th anniversary of his birth this Monday (the 14th), even though he was born on July 2.

In the Senate:

Convenes: 2:00pm

Morning Business for up to 1 hour with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

There will be no roll call votes today. Senators should expect votes to occur Tuesday morning.

Though no votes are expected, the Senate will be debating S. 2731, the "Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008," a/k/a, global AIDS relief.

ON THE RADAR:

• The House Government Oversight Committee meets this Wednesday to consider a resolution citing Attorney General Michael Mukasey for contempt of Congress for his failure to comply with a subpoena demanding that he turn over transcripts of the FBI's interviews with Vice President Dick Cheney regarding his role in the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame.
• The House will have to dispense with Rep. Dennis Kucinich's latest move to impeach President Bush, which he gave notice of his intention to raise as a question of the privileges of the House on Thursday. Under clause 2 of Rule IX, when a Member other than the Majority or Minority Leader raises a question of the privileges of the House from the floor, the chair may designate a time for its consideration within two legislative days. The expectation is that the resolution will be referred to the Judiciary committee as were Kucinich's previous three impeachment resolutions (two for Cheney, one for Bush). Those resolutions have received no consideration in the committee, so Kucinich vowed to continue bringing such resolutions every 30 days until there was some action.

  Perhaps because the rules permit Kucinich to continue to bring impeachment resolutions and receive privilege for them each time (no matter how often he brings them, as I've mentioned from time to time), the Judiciary committee is expected for the first time to try to find a way to accommodate some sort of action on the question.

• Also expected this week in the House: H.R. 5959, the FY09 Intelligence Authorization bill. In order to avoid a presidential veto threat, Intel chair Silvestre Reyes (D-TX)  -- the man who just brought you the FISA bill -- has fought back amendments seeking to ban torture, and continues to fight to keep such amendments from being offered on the floor. So that should be fun.

Think Progress has the story, and the video.

There's no other way to describe this, but to say it:

The Sunday Times reports Stephen Payne, a Bush pioneer and a political appointee to the Homeland Security Advisory Council, was caught on tape offering access to key members of the Bush administration inner circle in exchange for "six-figure donations to the private library being set up to commemorate Bush’s presidency."

In an undercover video, Payne is seen promising to arrange a meeting for an exiled leader of Krygystan with Dick Cheney or Condoleezza Rice. (Not President Bush because "he doesn’t meet with a lot of former Presidents these days," Payne says. "I don’t think he meets with hardly anyone.") All it will take for him to arrange this high-level meeting, says Payne, is "a couple hundred thousand dollars, or something like that."

That's bribery.

I mean, that's it. That's what it is.

Is there a bus big enough to throw this guy under?

Here's an interesting item from CongressDaily:

House Centrists Look To Start Own Gang

Fri. Jul. 11, 2008
by Darren Goode
A group of House lawmakers are looking to replicate an effort among Senate centrists by bypassing their party leaders and putting together a compromise plan to address gas prices.

Reps. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, and John Peterson, R-Pa., are gathering a group of rank-and-file lawmakers — preferably split evenly between the two parties — for a meeting Monday in the hopes of quickly piecing together a legislative package. They plan to formally announce the group’s formation Tuesday.

The "gang" model is mirrored on the Senate side:

New House and Senate efforts have sprouted due to growing frustration that Democratic and Republican leaders are doing little more than fighting a public relations war over gas prices.

The 10-member Senate group held a second meeting Wednesday evening and decided to try to have a framework for a package done before the August recess and to introduce a bill by early September, caucus member Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said.

And more than that. The model for the "gang" is, I think, very clearly the House Blue Dogs. Observe:

The details of the broader proposal and size of the House group will probably start taking shape at Monday’s meeting. Peterson is looking to limit the group to about five to seven representatives from each party from different regions of the country that have a large energy policy portfolio.

"I think the bigger you get, the harder it’ll be to come up with an agreement," Peterson said. "We don’t have a lot of time." The idea would be to propose and possibly move something by the time lawmakers leave for the summer.

The 10-member Senate group held a second meeting Wednesday evening and decided to try to have a framework for a package done before the August recess and to introduce a bill by early September, caucus member Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said.

Compare that to this description of the Blue Dogs' situation in Roll Call (subscription) back in May:

With House Democrats increasingly looking to conservative candidates to grow their majority, members of the fiscally austere Blue Dog Coalition are signaling they will lift their year-old admission cap to accommodate an influx of like-minded freshmen.

The group last February took the unusual step of restricting its membership rolls to 20 percent of the size of the full Democratic Caucus to guard against growing unwieldy.

"Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better," an aide to one Blue Dog said. "Our guys, because they end up in the minority in our caucus, need to produce a voting bloc. The larger you get, the harder it is sometimes to produce voting blocs."

The group has to muster two-thirds of its membership to take an official position on an issue. And members pride themselves on their closeness: The group boasts consistently high attendance at its weekly meetings, and on the House floor, Blue Dogs usually huddle in the same spot, close to the center aisle.

"They’re almost like a family," another Blue Dog aide said.

And who could blame the gas price gang for doing this, even if it's highly unlikely that there's any legislative remedy to this particular problem? Have not the Blue Dogs been given an extraordinarily wide berth by the leadership? They've been enormously successful at least in projecting an image that they need to be massaged with every vote, lest they flake out and join the Republicans... to save their own political hides... lest the Democratic majority be threatened. Hmm.

It's hard to regard these new splinter groups as anything but evidence of a lack of caucus cohesiveness and discipline, though to be honest, I can't say what alternative (or what leverage) the leadership has to prevent it just now.

Consider again the first paragraph of the Roll Call story:

With House Democrats increasingly looking to conservative candidates to grow their majority, members of the fiscally austere Blue Dog Coalition are signaling they will lift their year-old admission cap to accommodate an influx of like-minded freshmen.

And then this one:

But with the special election victories this month of two Blue Dog-backed candidates — Don Cazayoux (La.) and Travis Childers (Miss.) — and a host of once-long-shot Democratic candidates running in GOP strongholds now looking more competitive, the coalition’s leaders said they are likely to re-evaluate the cap after the November elections.

There's no disputing the dynamics. You certainly won't find gas price gang-bangers disputing it. They aim to do exactly the same thing. Why wouldn't they? The door's been left open.

FISA's over. Now back to our regularly scheduled defiance of the law and lack of punishment:

Former White House adviser Karl Rove defied a congressional subpoena to testify Thursday about allegations of political pressure at the Justice Department, including whether he tried to influence the prosecution of a former Democratic governor of Alabama.

Rep. Linda Sanchez, chairman of the House subcommittee that called Rove, ruled with backing from fellow Democrats on the panel that Rove's claim of immunity was invalid -- perhaps the first step toward holding him in contempt for refusing to cooperate.

Hmm. The president and his advisors appear to be above the law. I wish we had been alerted earlier to the necessity of the legislative branch asserting its powers against the expanding executive, so as to preserve what's left of the Constitution's checks and balances. But everyone knows that every battle is a discrete and unconnected event floating in the vacuum of space, so what would be the difference even if someone had?

Ah, me!

Anyway, what happened was that Rove's lawyer wrote to the committee the other day to say he wasn't gonna show, and decline to appear "on the grounds that Executive Privilege confers upon him immunity from process to respond to a subpoena directed to this subject." That's a new one on me. Executive privilege not with respect to declining to answer specific questions or produce specific documents, but a new breed of executive privilege that manifests itself as an absolute immunity from Congressional subpoenas.

In today's "hearing" (for which no one showed up to be heard), subcommittee chair Linda Sanchez ruled Rove's assertion of the privilege to be without merit, which could be the first step toward holding him in contempt of Congress. Of course, Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers have both been held in contempt, and we already know what happened there: the Bush "administration" has instructed the US Attorney not to prosecute the case. And this is actually Rove's second subpoena. The Senate Judiciary Committee issued the first one a year ago, but Rove never showed for that one, either. The Committee then voted to hold Rove in contempt in December of last year, but there has never been a vote before the full Senate, which would be required to refer the charges to the same US Attorney who wouldn't prosecute Miers and Bolten.

But Rove's claim could perhaps add another layer of ridiculousness to these proceedings. He claims executive privilege, but the White House says nothing. So who's right? Has he been instructed to assert this newly invented kind of immunity/ privilege or not? Well, let's hold hearings to find out whether the White House told him to do it. Only the White House surely won't testify, no doubt claiming... executive privilege. And Double Secret Immunity, too, no doubt.

Perhaps it won't matter, in that the subcommittee has ruled the claim inapplicable in any case. But it'll make for interesting (and slow) litigation if Rove's lawyer moves to block the contempt citation by demanding that a court review the question of whether or not his claim of immunity was valid, and in the alternative whether good, old-fashioned executive privilege would have applied. Would a court review it, given that there's already been a Congressional determination on it? Would we have to litigate whether or not a court can review it before we even get to what they might or might not say about it? Would it all just run out the clock until the Congress adjourned and Bush left the White House?

Mind you, there's not that much clock left. The House's schedule adjournment date is September 26th, and for the first time in a long time, the House leadership is talking about actually sticking to it or close to it, with no lame duck session planned. Remember that even if lightning were to strike and the House were to go with inherent contempt, Rove could not be detained after the House adjourned sine die. If they do that on or about September 26th, well, you can figure out the rest. Can they adjourn informally and just have pro forma sessions every once in a while until January? Sure. And if they had Rove in jail, they doubtless would consider that.

Or maybe not. Perhaps it would be enough to assert the right to hold him for inherent contempt, keep him for a few days or even a few hours, and then adjourn. It wouldn't be very satisfying, but it would be a way to at least be clear about whether the power exists or not.

Anyway, Rove didn't show up, and he invented a totally new line of bullshit about why he didn't have to along the way. So that's just great. Have a nice day!

AP, July 9th:

Democrats controlling the House have called a halt to efforts to pass the 12 annual bills that fund Cabinet agency budgets.

Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis. ... has suspended his panel's work on spending bills for the budget year beginning Oct. 1.

But with President Bush promising veto after veto of the Democratic bills -- and Senate action unlikely for most of them as well -- there's little enthusiasm among either rank and file Democrats or their leaders to pass all the bills.

Instead, Congress is likely to pass a stopgap measure funding the government into next year. Democratic leaders such as Reid have little to no desire to engage in a confrontation with the lame-duck Bush, who has vowed to veto spending bills that exceed his February budget request.

Daily Kos, June 4th:

Ordinarily, tops on the list of major legislation would be the 12 regular appropriations bills that will fund the government during Fiscal Year 2009, which begins on October 1, 2008. Lately, however, Congress has had great difficulty (for a variety of reasons) in getting those bills done by October 1st, and has instead bought time for itself by adopting continuing resolutions, allowing them to carry work on the new appropriations bills over past the starting date of the new fiscal year, without having the government run out of money while they work.

That's what often happens even under normal circumstances. But when you have a lunatic Republican president who threatens to veto every Democratic appropriations bill unless they're rewritten to exactly his specifications, and you're looking at the very real possibility of electing both a Democratic president and a tidal wave of new Democrats to Congress, you can bet that there's some strong sentiment out there for just passing CRs and waiting for the 44th president and the 111th Congress to set the spending agenda.

Hey, AP, I'm suing you!

Anyway, I approve. They're not gonna get honest budget dealings from these clowns. And frankly, we haven't exactly been on a hot streak when it comes to getting our way on things.

Courtesy of the office of the House Majority Leader:

FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2008

House meets at 10:00 a.m.: Legislative Business
Ten "One Minutes" Per Side
Last vote predicted: 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

H.R. 1286 - Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail Designation Act (Rep. Hinchey – Natural Resources) (Subject to a Rule)

Motion to Go to Conference on H.R. 3121 - Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2007 (Rep. Frank – Financial Services) Motion to Instruct Conferees.

Postponed Suspension Votes (2 bills):

1.     H.Res. 1313 - Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the first American woman in space, Dr. Sally K. Ride, and honoring her contributions to the space program and to science education (Rep. Lampson – Science and Technology)

2.     H.Res. 1315 - Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Rep. McCaul – Science and Technology)

Also on the calendar on the House side, a 10 A.M. meeting of the House Judiciary Committee's Commercial and Administrative Law subcommittee entitled, "Hearing on the Politicization of the Justice Department and Allegations of Selective Prosecution." Witnesses: Karl Rove. Witnesses who will actually honor their subpoenas: None.

That leaves the committee free at 10 this morning to consider "appropriate action."

Here's one idea:

President Bush and his minions have consistently ignored legitimate requests and demands from Congress - and they continue to get away with it.

It's time for Congress to stop talking and start invoking "inherent contempt" - a kind of congressional bench warrant - to arrest Rove. It's a rarely used - some would say extreme - procedure, but it's Congress' duty to show that no one is above the law. Not even Bush. Nor his "Brain."

Anyway...

In the Senate:

Convenes: 9:30am

Resume House Message with respect to H.R.3221, Housing Reform. At approximately 10:30am the Senate will proceed to a cloture vote on the motion to disagree with respect to the Housing bill.

By the way, the procedural history of H.R. 3221 is fascinating. If you have no life, that is. Did you know that the bill started off as an energy bill, passed the House in August 2007, but never passed in the Senate? It later had most of its provisions shoehorned into H.R. 6 (the "Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007") which was passed in December of last year. That left the mostly hollowed-out shell of H.R. 3221 available for use as a housing bill.

Why do that? Because the original H.R. 3221 contained things like renewable energy tax credits, which means it was technically a tax bill, which the Constitution says must originate in the House. But the Senate had a package of housing provisions, among which were tax measures, but which couldn't be brought forth as an original bill in that chamber. With a bill in their hands that had been originated in and passed by the House that was a tax bill, they could add their provisions as amendments, removing all the energy-related stuff that had passed in H.R. 6, anyway.

And that's at least part of the story of how the " New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act" became the "Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007," which became the "Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008" when the Senate amended it, and then became the "American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008" when the House amended the Senate's amendments.

I sh*t you not. At least I don't think so.