Senate Coverage -- (April '05)

Thomas ^ | 4-04-05 | US Congress

[OXENinFLA]

Since "Free Republic is an online gathering place for independent, grass-roots conservatism on the web. We're working to roll back decades of governmental largesse, to root out political fraud and corruption, and to champion causes which further conservatism in America.", I and others think it's a good idea to centralize what the goes on in the Senate (or House).

So if you see something happening on the Senate/House floor and you don't want to start a new thread to ask if anyone else just heard what you heard, you can leave a short note on who said what and about what and I'll try and find it the next day in THE RECORD. Or if you see a thread that pertains to the Senate, House, or pretty much any GOV'T agency please link your thread here.

If you have any suggestions for this thread please feel free to let me know.

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Here's a few helpful links.

C-SPAN what a great thing. Where you can watch or listen live to most Government happenings.

C-SPAN 1 carries the HOUSE.

C-SPAN 2 carries the SENATE.

C-SPAN 3 (most places web only) carries a variety of committee meetings live or other past programming.

OR FEDNET has online feed also.

A great thing about our Government is they make it really easy for the public to research what the Politicians are doing and saying (on the floor anyway).

THOMAS where you can see a RECORD of what Congress is doing each day. You can also search/read a verbatim text of what each Congressmen/women or Senator has said on the floor or submitted 'for the record.' [This is where the real juicy stuff can be found.]

Also found at Thomas are Monthly Calendars for the Senate Majority and Senate Minority

And Monthly Calendars for the House Majority and Roll Call Votes can be found here.

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OTHER LINKS

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Congress.org

The Founders' Constitution

THE WHITE HOUSE

THE WAR DEPARTMENT (aka The Dept. of Defense)

LIVE DoD Briefings

NEWSEUM: TODAY'S FRONT PAGES

THE HILL

CNSNEWS

Iraqi Blogs

CANADIAN PARLIAMENT

[OXENinFLA]

Not sure..........

[firewalk]

Thanks

[ken5050]

Maybe the GOP wants to sett he predicate foe the nuclear option..brings them all up..then invoke cloture..you have to wait three days I believe, for that vote..so, we're loooking at the first week in May..

[OXENinFLA]

I think I was wrong, looks like Owens is going to be the 1st up...

[ken5050]

You're never "wrong"...my friend..just occasionally a little "ahead of the curve" (G)

[Mo1]

Thanks for the ping

[Txsleuth]

Have you guys been watching the Senate---

Kerry just gave his first campaign speech for the 2008 election---

Crying the whole time---especially that Frist would have the audacity to be political---

Now, John McCain is up trying to give a pro-Bolton speech and he keeps cracking up and laughing, especially when he starts to talk about Bolton's people skills---yeah, everyone with think he is serious about that!

[OXENinFLA]

Awwwwww I missed Kerry.

He was crying?

[Mo1]

No I missed it ... just turned it on

BTW .. Have you seen this???

Dems try to kill Clinton probe
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1388341/posts

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who introduced the amendment with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), said last week that the disgraced HUD secretary paid a $10,000 fine in 1999 for lying to the FBI and that then-President Bill Clinton pardoned Cisneros, so the probe "should have ended years ago."

[Txsleuth]

Rush was talking about that today--he said he didn't think an investigation into wrongdoing could be stopped by a bill on the Senate floor---

He said that this is Hillary trying to clear out anything that points back negatively to her husbands terms---

I think that this BETTER be voted down, because Rush said there are names, lotsa names that would come out of that investigation that WE need to know about, but if voted in, the amendment would cover all up----which, he said, prolly would help all dems, but mostly Hillbilly.

BTW, just because Owens and Brown got voted out, doesn't mean all is Okay, right---cause there is a thread with people all celebrating--I told them the floor vote is when the poo-poo is gonna hit the fan, because the dems are gonna want a 60 vote for confirmation, and the GOP are gonna say no 51---Am i right?

[Mo1]

Thanks for the info

I can't get Rush on the radio today .. Phillies game is on instead

[ken5050]

If, I say IF, she runs..all the pardons are gonna get resurrected, and the idea of Slick back in the Oval Office..complete with "sinks"..it's gonna be a BIG problem for her. and it's not yet recognized in the polls, because the American peole have basically, IMHO , blocked it out..and they won't be happy about being reminded of it again..

[Bahbah]

the dems are gonna want a 60 vote for confirmation

I don't think so, Tx. Once the nomination gets to the floor, the vote is a simple majority. Nothing the dims can do about it. My thought is that they will let the women through to give themselves some creds but they will be the last we see of anyone coming out of committee, or they have decided to save it for the Supremes.

[OXENinFLA]

just because Owens and Brown got voted out, doesn't mean all is Okay, right

Right.

And the day you see VP Cheney sitting in a Seante Pres. be prepared to see the fit hit the shan!

[Txsleuth]

What I don't understand though, about your scenario is, if they let Owens and Brown through with 51 votes or anything less than 60, they couldn't THEN make it a 60 vote minimun for future nominees, could they?

[ken5050]

No..but the point I was trying to make, and did so badly, I suspect, is that once allowed to the floor for a vote..they will get 60 give or take a few...and that destroys the Dem argument that these judges are sout of the mainstream and thus deserving of the filabuster..

[OXENinFLA]

Yeah, if the dems allow cloture (the 60 votes) then they would proceed the a simple majority vote(51 votes).

If the dems object to cloture then Frist will call for a ruling from the chair, which will be the VP.

[Txsleuth]

Okay, you guys are just way to smart for me--- I wasn't thinking about the cloture vote---

On that other thread someone asked me if Obama, who said he would vote for Brown, WOULD vote for her, and I said only if his isn't the deciding vote in a cloture vote or a vote for confirmation---

So, there was a time sometime today that I remembered a cloture vote---ah, my mind is so tricky sometimes!!!!

BTW, OXEN, has that amendment that Rush was talking about on the Cisneros investigation, passed yet---? Cause if it has, I can't believe that it did...and if it did then I think we need to contact someone to get it taken out of the bill during the house/senate conference.

[OXENinFLA]

BTW, OXEN, has that amendment that Rush was talking about on the Cisneros investigation, passed yet---?

Don't know. But I'd like to find out the Amendment #.

[OXENinFLA]

91. S.AMDT.399 to H.R.1268 To prohibit the continuation of the independent counsel investigation of Henry Cisneros past June 1, 2005 and request an accounting of costs from GAO.
Sponsor: Sen Dorgan, Byron L. [ND] (introduced 4/13/2005) Cosponsors (2) Drubin & Kerry
Latest Major Action: 4/19/2005 Senate amendment agreed to. Status: Amendment SA 399 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent.

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SA 399. Mr. DORGAN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 1268, making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, to establish and rapidly implement regulations for State driver's license and identification document security standards, to prevent terrorists

[Page: S3599] GPO's PDF

from abusing the asylum laws of the United States, to unify terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility and removal, to ensure expeditious construction of the San Diego border fence, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of the bill, add the following:

SEC. __. (a) None of the funds appropriated or made available in this Act or any other Act may be used to fund the independent counsel investigation of Henry Cisneros after June 1, 2005.

(b) Not later than July 1, 2005, the Government Accountability Office shall provide the Committee on Appropriations of each House with a detailed accounting of the costs associated with the independent counsel investigation of Henry Cisneros.