Tag Archives: U.S. House

Via the Washington Post: President Obama suffered a major defeat to his Pacific Rim free trade initiative Friday as House Democrats helped derail a key presidential priority despite his last-minute, personal plea on Capitol Hill. The House voted 302 to 126 to sink a measure to grant financial aid to displaced workers, fracturing hopes at the White House that Congress …

Via Chicago’s WGN-TV: Federal prosecutors have indicted former U.S. House Speaker House Dennis Hastert on bank-related charges. According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office was 73-year-old Hastert was charged “with structuring the withdrawal of $952,000 in cash in order to evade the requirement that banks report cash transactions over $10,000, and lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation …

Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed: On Tuesday morning, Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California will introduce a federal bill to ban commercial efforts to change people’s sexual orientation or gender identity — often called conversion therapy. “The public views conversion therapy as quackery, as something that harms people,” Lieu told BuzzFeed News on Monday afternoon, just after landing back in …

“One of the benefits of putting conservatives in charge of Congress is that the agendas in most committees change — and issues that weren’t getting as much attention under liberal leaders are now front and center. Tomorrow [today], one of FRC’s greatest priorities, religious liberty, will be the subject of a Senate hearing in the Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign …

The GOP put forward a bill to fund Homeland Security for the next three weeks only. Democrats just refused and unless another vote is taken tonight, the agency will effectively shut down at midnight. As you can see, 50 Republicans refused to even vote for three more weeks. The Senate has approved a bill to fund Homeland Security until the …

Via the Associated Press: Republicans have muscled legislation through the House tightening federal restrictions on abortions, as thousands of abortion foes staged their annual protest march just down the street. The House approved the broadened abortion curbs by a near party-line 242-179 vote. The White House warned that President Barack Obama would veto the measure, all but ensuring that it …

The 114th Congress took office this week and the Tea Things wasted no time in introducing a barrage of batshittery. Here are just a few items that I’ve pulled from the House site. Rep. Steve King (R-IA) introduced a resolution to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment, which authorizes Congress to levy income tax. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) introduced a resolution that …

With the intent of preventing Texas gays from bringing home their filthy marriage rights, yesterday Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) reintroduced the State Marriage Defense Act, which would ban the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages conducted outside of the state in which the couple resides. Weber first introduced the bill in January 2014, but it died in a House subcommittee …

The Washington Post has list of votes against Boehner. Loony Louie Gohmert only got three votes, including his own. Final tally: Boehner 216, Pelosi 164.

Just posted to Breitbart: Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL), one of the Republican alternatives to John Boehner for Speaker, tells Breitbart News he predicts Boehner will not win re-election on the first ballot in the speakership election coming shortly after noon on Tuesday. Yoho says he’s hearing an outpouring of support from members conference-wide. “There will be more against the Speaker,” …

The vote is today.

Via the wingnut Heritage Foundation: In announcing his bid today for speaker of the House of Representative, Rep. Louie Gohmert promised to be the engine of change that conservatives have been calling for in their rebellion against the establishment wing of the Republican Party. “It is time for a change; it really is time for a change,” Gohmert said on …

Via the Washington Post: Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), the House majority whip, acknowledged Monday that he spoke at a gathering hosted by white nationalist leaders while serving as a state representative in 2002, thrusting a racial controversy into House Republican ranks days before the party assumes control of both congressional chambers. The 48-year-old Scalise, who ascended to the House GOP’s …

CNN reports: Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown that was slated to take effect at midnight. The House approved a $1.1 trillion spending bill that keeps the government open through September. The Senate agreed to a two-day extension of current funding levels to give itself time to approve the House bill. After a tumultuous day, the House passed the spending …

Via Wonkette: Michele Bachmann gave her farewell address to the House of Representatives Tuesday, and while we were worried that she might just stand up and announce that all her email should be forwarded to [email protected], she actually did deliver a thoroughly Bachmannian speech. It hits all the required notes: Freedom, In God We Trust, Why the House is the …

At #1 is GOP car thief (seriously) Rep. Darryl Issa, who is worth at least $357M. Issa lists seven high-yield bonds as being worth more than $50 million — the highest disclosure category. How much those bonds are actually worth is unknown; they could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars each. But just as his wealth could be many …

Via CBS Miami: Rodrigo Lehtinen grew up in a household grounded in Republican politics. His mother, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, was the first Cuban-American elected to Congress and has served in the House for the last 25 years. His father, Dexter Lehtinen, is the former US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida who oversaw the indictment of Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega. …