House GOP sets vote for spending cuts
Washington (CNN) - While House Republicans grapple with exactly how much money to try to cut from the federal budget, their leadership announced Tuesday that the first big spending vote will take place sooner than expected – the week of February 14.
The federal government is currently operating under a $1.1 trillion stopgap spending measure that funds departments and programs at largely FY 2010 levels, which expires on March 4.
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Republicans change the House rules
Washington (CNN) - How a bill becomes a law is the educational building block of every American civics class. But as House Republicans take control of the House today, they will shift, ever so slightly, that civics lesson.
First, all bills and joint resolutions submitted for approval will be required to have an accompanying statement explaining their Constitutional authority. Republicans and the members of the Tea Party have argued that Democrats regularly overreached the Constitutional powers granted to the House of Representatives and believe this rule will refocus legislative priorities.
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House Republicans agree to continue ban on seeking earmarks
Washington (CNN) - House Republicans agreed Thursday to continue their ban on requesting earmarks in the upcoming session of Congress.
The moratorium on pet projects will be written into the rules of the House when Republicans officially take control in January, therefore denying Democrats in that chamber the ability to receive such funds.
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John Boccieri: the happy loser
Washington (CNN) - John Boccieri shouldn't be happy.
The first term Congressman from Ohio lost his re-election effort two weeks ago, running a campaign that emphasized his support for Democratic initiatives like health care reform, cap and trade, and the stimulus bill.
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Hill Hallways: Elevator inquiries
Washington (CNN) - Riding in the elevator on the Senate side of the Capitol, I stopped at the first floor, the doors opened and before me stood Massachusetts Republican Senator Scott Brown and Connecticut's independent Democrat Joe Lieberman, chatting as they waited for the "senators only" lift.
In the 15-seconds my elevator door was open, I saw Brown pat Lieberman on the arm and ask about his future electoral prospects.
"How are you going to work your magic this time? Run as an independent?" Brown asked Lieberman, who lost his Democratic primary in 2006, forcing him to run as an independent.
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Biden Advice to Coons: Don't Stay the Night
(CNN) - Senator-elect Chris Coons of Delaware, who will be sworn in later today to fill out the final four years of Joe Biden's Senate seat, got some advice Monday from the Vice President: don't spend the night in Washington.
"He said make it as physically uncomfortable as possible to spend the night," Coons recalled to a handful of reporters.
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Who Is Pelosi's role model?
Washington (CNN) - Nancy Pelosi's decision to try and remain leader of the House Democrats after a disastrous showing in Tuesday's election may have defied some conventional wisdom, but it is not without precedent. In fact, Pelosi is hoping to emulate one of the most powerful House Speakers in American history: Sam Rayburn.
Rayburn, a Texas Democrat, became Speaker of the House in 1940 and remained in that role until the mid-term election of 1946, when an angry electorate gave Republicans the majority. That election, a referendum on the policies of Democratic President Harry Truman, resulted in a loss of 46 seats for the Democrats and the loss of the Speaker's chair for Rayburn.
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DNC Chairman takes home state losses hard
(CNN) - Democratic National Committee chairman Tim Kaine is taking the loss of three Virginia House Democrats quite personally.
Kaine, the former governor of the commonwealth, called the electoral defeat of Reps. Rick Boucher, Glenn Nye and Tom Perriello "very, very tough."
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Pelosi remains optimistic
Washington (CNN) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remains optimistic this evening that Democrats will be victorious in the midterm elections.
"We will be on pace to maintain the majority in the House of Representatives," Pelosi said to media assembled at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. "The people have to speak and this election will not be determined by the pundits."
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Arkansas Dems expected to take losses, follow Southern shift to GOP
Little Rock, Arkansas (CNN) - In the shadow of the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library, an ironic occurrence is taking shape. As the former two-term president traverses the country, rallying support for Democrats facing tough electoral prospects, his party is bracing for severe losses in his home state of Arkansas.
Embattled two-term Sen. Blanche Lincoln faces a bleak outlook in her bid for re-election, while Reps. Vic Snyder and Marion Berry are opting to retire, opening the door to Republican takeovers of their seats. A Republican and a Democrat are in Arkansas' two other congressional districts, and they're considered safe for the incumbent parties.
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