Tag Archives: Congress

Via Politico: Rep. Barney Frank will soon introduce legislation to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana, the Massachusetts Democrat said during an appearance on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.” Frank offered no details on his legislation, and it’s not at all clear that he could ever get it to the House floor for a vote. A Frank aide was unaware …

Sen. Larry Craig is retiring. For real real. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), encumbered by a scandal since last summer, did not file for reelection by his state’s deadline Friday, keeping a promise he made and officially marking the end of his congressional career. Craig’s political future has been in doubt since his arrest and guilty plea on disorderly conduct charges filed …

Via Think Progress: In a rare Senate appearance yesterday, McCain failed to attract support for a halt to pork-barrel spending, losing on a 71-29 vote. An angry McCain told voters today that he was only “doing the Lord’s work” but unfortunately was doing it in the city of Satan.” “We were voting on major issues of profound consequences with no …

One step closer: The Senate Foreign Relations committee on Thursday approved legislation that would repeal a travel and immigration ban on people with HIV. The measure now moves to a full vote on the Senate floor. The ban was originally enacted in 1987, and explicitly restated in 1993, despite efforts in the public health community to remove the ban when …

Dr. Jack Kevorkian is planning to run for Congress from Michigan. He plans to run on a platform of prison reform (no surprise there) and “bringing integrity” to Congress. Make your death machine jokes….now.

Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) and Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) have authored a provision to an upcoming AIDS funding bill that will end the United States’ ban on tourists and immigrants with HIV. Using the global AIDS reauthorization bill as a vehicle for repealing the HIV immigrant and visitors ban dramatically improves chances for passing the repeal because the global AIDS …

Have you planned your summer yet? For Immediate Release:February 26, 2008 Craig Accepting Applications for Summer InternsDeadline Quickly Approaching WASHINGTON, D.C. – Idaho Senator Larry Craig is currently seeking intern applications for the summer term, which runs from May to August. The application deadline is March 15, however if more time is needed for the application process, please contact Senator …

A bipartisan Senate ethics panel admonished Sen. Larry Craig yesterday, telling him that they believe he did the crime of which he was accused and that he’d improperly attempted to use his Senate position to evade charges. The six members of the committee – three Democrats and three Republicans – told Craig they believed he “committed the offense to which …

Congress returns from their holiday break over the next week with three major pieces of pro-gay legislation still to be resolved: the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, and the bill that ripped apart LGBT and progressive groups – the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). With so many issues facing this session of Congress (the …

The Twelve Days Of Christmas, from the National Republican Senatorial Committee. (Via – Daimeon @ Pam’s House Blend.)

From the ABC News blog, The Blotter: Teenaged congressional pages performed oral sex in front of their colleagues for weeks before they were caught and expelled from the program, according to a new report in Roll Call newspaper. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has pledged to reform the page program, which brings dozens of 15- and 16-year-old students to live …

Harper’s Magazine is speculating that Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott may be resigning because of his possible interference in the FBI’s investigation of his brother-in-law, Richard “Dickey” Scruggs, a Mississippi lawyer who, with three other lawyers, has been indicted for attempting to bribe a state circuit court judge. Scruggs, described as “arguably the most famous and possibly the wealthiest trial …

House Resolution 847, to be presented today by Rep. Steve King (R-IA): Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith. Whereas Christmas, a holiday of great significance to Americans and many other cultures and nationalities, is celebrated annually by Christians throughout the United States and the world; Whereas there are approximately 225,000,000 Christians in the United States, making Christianity …

Democratic Senate leaders, acquiescing to their anti-war constituents, yesterday stripped the Matthew Shepard Act from the defense funding bill to which it was attached. Matthew Shepard’s mother has released a statement regarding yesterday’s decision: We are truly dismayed to find that Congress now will put aside its leadership on passage of federal hate crimes legislation that includes sexual orientation and …

From the Washington Blade: Capitol Hill sources are telling the Blade that the hate crimes measure has been stripped from the National Defense Authorization Act. The House passed a freestanding hate crimes bill in May, but lawmakers in the Senate, led by Sen. Edward Kennedy, attached it to the spending bill as part of a strategy to avoid a presidential …

It gets mysteriouser. BigHeadDC is now claiming that Larry Flynt has confirmed the Trent Lott / hooker story. Here’s what has been posted on LarryFlynt.com under a pull-quote about the BigHeadDC story: HUSTLER Magazine has received numerous inquiries regarding the involvement of Larry Flynt and HUSTLER in the resignation of Trent Lott. Senator Lott has been the target of an …

Mere hours after the announcement of his resignation, Sen. Trent Lott is the subject of a rapidly spreading story regarding his possible involvement with a gay hooker. It’s Blovember 2006 all over again! Political blog Big Head DC has broken the story, but the site has crashed due to overwhelming traffic. Here’s their complete post in the meantime: Once upon …

Hmm, this is interesting. What’s brewing backstage at the Lott home? JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, plans to resign his seat before the end of the year, The Associated Press has learned. Lott, 66, scheduled two news conferences in his home state later in the day to discuss his plans. According …

Here’s how the Dems are preventing Bush II from appointing Dr. James Holsinger as Surgeon General during the congressional holiday recess: Three senators have been tapped to remain in Washington: Sens. Jim Webb (D-Va.), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), and Jack Reed (D-RI). Twice a week they will go into the chamber. The gavel will be banged down, and the Senate declared …

Today Nancy Pelosi is expected to announce a postponement of the final vote on the defense funding authorization bill to which the Matthew Shepard (hate crimes) Act is attached. The Out Of Iraq Caucus, a group of as many as 20 gay-supportive Democrats, are threatening to vote against the act because it would provide funding for President Bush to continue …