Free Republic

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Monday morning that the newest Democratic energy bill will be brought to the floor under normal rules and will be subject to a vote on a Republican alternative that is likely to call for even more drilling than Democrats are prepared to swallow. Hoyer, holding his weekly session with reporters, would not discuss details of the new Democratic energy bill — which was first outlined by caucus Vice Chairman John Larson (D-Conn.) over the weekend. But Hoyer did outline the process for bringing the bill to the floor, and said it will be...

WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Hoyer Steny Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today:   “A smattering of House Republicans are engaging in stunts on the House floor in a transparent political effort to manufacture headlines.  Meanwhile, most of their Republican colleagues returned home burdened with trying to explain why they blocked efforts to combat high gas prices.  Republicans voted against expanding drilling in Alaska, against promoting renewable energy, against establishing the first new vehicle efficiency standards in 32 years, against repealing taxpayer subsidies for major oil companies that are making record profits, against cracking down on price gouging, and against...

(CNSNews.com) – House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told CNSNews.com on Wednesday that homosexuals should be allowed to serve openly in the U.S. military. Homosexual conduct is currently prohibited by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and is cause for removal from the service. Under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy instituted by President Clinton in 1993, however, the military does not ask recruits if they are homosexual, and homosexuals may serve as long as they do not talk their orientation or engage in conduct prohibited by the UCMJ. According to a February 2005 study by the Government...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rep. Roy Blunt, the House Republican whip, on July 8 introduced a resolution demanding that the Defense Department better enable U.S. military personnel overseas to vote in the November elections. That act was followed by silence. Democrats normally leap on an opportunity to find fault with the Bush Pentagon. But not a single Democrat joined Blunt as a co-sponsor, and an all-Republican proposal cannot pass in the Democratic-controlled House. Analysis by the federal Election Assistance Commission, rejecting inflated Defense Department voting claims, estimated overseas and absentee military voting for the 2006 midterm elections at a disgracefully low...

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats moved Thursday to counter a Republican push for more domestic drilling with a proposal that would increase oil production from areas of Alaska already open to drilling. [...] "Democrats support increasing the domestic production of petroleum and other energy resources," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) said Thursday. The issue cuts both ways for Democrats. They don't want to alienate environmental-minded supporters who are against additional drilling, but they don't want to cede the issue of increasing oil supplies to the Republicans.

Jun 10, 2008 Washington - Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) today issued the following statement on a discharge petition filed by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) to force Democratic leaders to schedule a vote on the No More Excuses Energy Act (H.R. 3089), legislation authored by Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) to increase U.S. energy production and invest in alternative sources of energy: “The Democratic Majority’s callous indifference as American families and small businesses struggle with $4 per gallon gasoline is both inexcusable and irresponsible.  By flatly refusing to schedule votes on the House GOP plan to help reduce fuel costs and achieve...

The House has voted to send articles of impeachment against President Bush to a committee that is not likely to hold hearings before the end of his term. By 251-166, House members dispatched the measure to a committee on Wednesday — a procedure often used to kill legislation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi long ago declared the prospects for impeachment proceedings "off the table." Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who ran for president earlier this year, insists that his resolution deserves more consideration. He spent more than four hours Monday night reading his 35 articles of impeachment into the record, including charges...

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md) will testify tomorrow afternoon in an unprecedented hearing before the Select Committee investigating how the Democrats violated House rules to produce a fraudulent result on August 2, 2007. According to a “notice of hearing” obtained by HUMAN EVENTS, and as explained to us by House sources, Hoyer – along with Cong. Michael McNulty (D-NY) – will be the first members to testify in such a hearing in the history of the Congress. Members often testify in behalf of bills they introduce or in behalf of presidential nominees they favor (or against those they oppose)....

Dem Leader: It's Not 'Practical' to Stop War-Funding Vote By Josiah Ryan CNSNews.com Staff Writer May 09, 2008 (CNSNews.com) - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told Cybercast News Service Thursday that he does not think it would be "practical" to stop the war in Iraq simply by not allowing a war-funding bill to come up for a vote on the House floor, something that it is within his power as Majority Leader to do. Hoyer also said that the troops in harm's way in Iraq need support from Congress. "I don't personally believe it's a practical alternative not to...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., center, accompanied by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., right, and others, gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Thursday, April 10, 2008, in response to President Bush's earlier remarks on the Iraq war. Representative James Clyburn (D-SC) (L-R), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) walk away after talking to reporters at the White House in Washington April 9, 2008. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., center, joined by family members and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., right, participates in a mock swearing in on Capitol Hill in...

President Bush (C) meets with bicameral and bipartisan Members of Congress in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, January 22, 2008. Bush is joined by House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)(L), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)(2nd L), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, right, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, second from left, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, center,and Sen Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., left, speak to reporters at the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008, in Washington, after meeting with President Bush about the global...

An ugly fight continued to take shaped Wednesday on Capitol Hill as House Democratic leaders planed to bring a $50 billion emergency war funding bill to a vote even though it had little chance of passing either through Congress or beyond President Bush's desk. The bill, at first expected be taken up in the morning, remained under wraps well into the afternoon, and leaders didn't expect to start voting until past nightfall. The so-called "bridge" funding bill — named so because it would temporarily span the gap in the budget to pay combat costs in Iraq and Afghanistan — is...

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that Democrats won't approve more money for the Iraq war this year unless President Bush agrees to begin bringing troops home. By the end of the week, the House and Senate planned to vote on a $50 billion measure for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill would require Bush to initiate troop withdrawals immediately with the goal of ending combat by December 2008. If Bush vetoes the bill, "then the president won't get his $50 billion," Reid, D-Nev., told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,...

In a closed-door meeting before the last vote on the children’s health care bill, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer appealed for the support of about 30 wavering Republican lawmakers. What he got instead was a tongue-lashing, participants said. The GOP lawmakers, all of whom had expressed interest in a bipartisan deal on the SCHIP legislation, were furious that the Democratic leader from Maryland had not reached out to them in a more serious way early on. They also criticized him and Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois for failing to stop his allies outside Congress from running attack...

The House of Representatives almost turned into the Fight Club Thursday night, when Democrats ruled that a GOP motion had failed even though, when the gavel fell, the electronic score board showed it winning 215-213 along with the word FINAL. The presiding officer, Rep. Mike McNulty (D., N.Y.), actually spoke over the clerk who was trying to announce the result. In the ensuing confusion several members changed their votes and the GOP measure to deny illegal aliens benefits such as food stamps then trailed 212-216. Boiling-mad Republicans stormed off the floor. The next day, their fury increased when they learned...

White House budget director Rob Portman is stepping down and will be replaced by former Iowa Republican congressman Jim Nussle, senior administration officials said today. The president is scheduled to make the formal announcement at the Roosevelt Room later this afternoon. Administration officials described the decision as motivated by Portman's desire to spend more time with his wife and three teen-aged children. Since returning to Washington as a congressman 14 years ago, Portman has been commuting weekly to his Cincinnati home, and his press secretary said he had tired of that. SNIP Still, the news of Portman's departure seemed to...

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland, outlined Democrats' post-veto plans for the Iraq supplemental spending bill Wednesday morning in a briefing with reporters. Hoyer said Democrats will craft a new bill and aim to pass it in the House shortly. "My hope is within the next two weeks," he said, with the aim of sending a bill through the whole Congress "before the Memorial Day break." He hinted that Democrats would drop language in the vetoed bill that detailed a timeline for troop withdrawal, opting to take it up in other upcoming bills. "There will be two opportunities...

As amateurish and ill-advised as Nancy Pelosi's highly publicized meetings with the leaders of Israel and Syria were, the real problem with her recent disastrous foray into diplomatic territory normally reserved for experienced hands at the State Department is that she might not be smart enough to realize what a blunder she's committed. Indeed, given that the Democrats have all along recognized the legitimacy of terrorist states such as Iran and North Korea, she and her fellow useful idiots on the left might simply be oblivious to the enormity of her gaffe. In fact, Pelosi's Middle East trip, during which...

The Egyptian opposition daily Al-Masryoon reported that high-level diplomatic sources said that Muslim Brotherhood General Guide Muhammad Mahdi 'Akef, several members of his office, and Muslim Brotherhood MPs had been invited by U.S. Democrat congressmen to visit the U.S. next month and to speak to Congress. Source: Al-Masryoon, Egypt, April 12, 2007http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/1181.htm I'm new at this please forgive me if I didn't do this correctly.

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- A top U.S. Democratic congressman met a leader of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's most powerful rival, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, U.S. officials and the Islamist group said Saturday. Visiting House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer met with the head of the Muslim Brotherhood's parliamentary bloc, Mohammed Saad el-Katatni, twice on Thursday -- once at the parliament building and then at the home of the U.S. ambassador to Egypt, said Brotherhood spokesman Hamdi Hassan. U.S. Embassy spokesman John Berry would confirm only that Hoyer, who represents Maryland, met with el-Katatni at U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone's home at a...

CAIRO, Egypt - A top U.S. Democratic congressman met a leading member of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, an outlawed opposition group, during a recent visit to the country, the Islamic fundamentalist group and U.S. officials said Saturday. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (news, bio, voting record) met with the Muslim Brotherhood's parliament leader, Mohammed Saad el-Katatni, twice on Thursday — once at the parliament building and then at the home of the U.S. ambassador to Egypt, said Brotherhood spokesman Hamdi Hassan. U.S. Embassy spokesman John Berry would only confirm that Hoyer, who represents Maryland, met with el-Katatni at U.S. Ambassador Francis...

From a May 3, 2006, press release from Rep. Steny Hoyer, now the House majority leader: "The greed and flagrant abuses of convicted felons, former Republican member Duke Cunningham and Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, hang over this house like a dark cloud. The "K Street" Project proudly promoted by Tom Delay, Rick Santorum and the Republican Leadership--in which quid pro quo was the blatantly articulated standard of conduct--is the most flagrant example of the aptly named "culture of corruption." From Wonkette.com, Feb. 21, 2007 (ellipsis in original): "House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has a great vacation planned for May: He's...

Some of you are probably rusty. Others are too young to recall what life was like in Democratland before 1995. Now, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's majority well into its vaunted "100 hours," you are getting a refresher course. Call it the American Idyll. It is a world in which facts always bow to feelings. What matters is not so much that you do good, but that you feel virtuous, or perhaps more to the point, are seen to be virtuous. Consider the increase in the minimum wage Congress passed by a vote of 315-116 (more than 80 Republicans joined...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic and Republican leaders predicted on Sunday the U.S. Congress would pass an immigration law this session after scuttling President George W. Bush's plan last year. Democratic leaders also said they were looking at ways to provide middle class tax relief, with one hinting of possibly ending some tax breaks for the wealthy. House of Representatives Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said on "Fox News Sunday" that immigration was one of the topics discussed when congressional leaders were invited to the White House last week to meet with Bush. "He (Bush) smiled and he said, 'You...

Iran with nuclear weapons is unacceptable, new House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told The Jerusalem Post hours after entering the party leadership position. The Maryland Democrat said the view is shared by his party, rejecting assertions that the Democrats would be weaker than the Republicans on Iran. He also said that the use of force against Teheran remained an option. Hoyer, second only in the hierarchy of the House of Representatives to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is charged with articulating and strategizing on party policy. He spoke to the Post on Thursday, the opening day of the 110th Congress, after making...

WASHINGTON - American support for the fledgling Iraqi government is not unconditional, and Iraq should expect changes in the U.S. role, incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Saturday. "In the days ahead, the Iraqis must make the tough decisions and accept responsibility for their future," Hoyer, D-Md., said during the weekly Democratic radio address. "And the Iraqis must know: Our commitment, while great, is not unending." Hoyer's comments were taped Wednesday, before an escalation in sectarian violence in Iraq. At least 215 Shiites were killed in bomb and mortar attacks Thursday in Sadr City. Shiites retaliated Friday by burning...

As We See It: Pelosi faces big challenge We can only hope Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi will live up to her promises to clean house in Congress and to steer a moderate and ethical course. For Democrats, this remains their best hope of capturing the White House in 2008 and retaining control of Congress. Pelosi's actions earlier this month, however, give pause. The San Franciscan first blundered when she attempted to vault Rep. John Murtha into the post of House majority leader, ahead of Rep. Steny Honer, who Pelosi dislikes. Honer was overwhelmingly elected by colleagues. Although Murtha has gained national...

So let's review the "New" leaders of our country.

#1: #2: #3: #4:

“I endorsed Jack Murtha because I knew he would lose to Steny Hoyer,” said Rep. Pelosi, “and I also knew that after years of suffering low self-esteem due to our minority status, my colleagues needed another confidence booster.” By defeating the Speaker’s apparent choice, she said, “149 Democrats experienced the adrenaline rush that comes from rebelling against authority and speaking truth to power.” Rep. Pelosi said teaching Democrats to oppose her leadership is just part of her strategy to prepare them to stand up against the dictatorial rule President George Bush.

Just days after winning control of the House and Senate, Democrats have stopped gloating over their victory long enough to turn on each other in a spasm of self-destructive behavior. To start their triumphant march towards January, when they will assume actual control over the House, Democrats handed Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi a humiliating defeat in her first effort to assert her control of her party. By a vote of 140 to 86, they rejected her hand-picked candidate to be Majority Leader, the ethically challenged John Murtha, and elected her current number-two man in the leadership, Steny Hoyer, with whom she...

Yes, I know. Leadership fights on Capitol Hill are the ultimate political insider contests. Voters don’t care about them, and once they are over, they are quickly forgotten. Having said that, Nancy Pelosi’s decision to pick a public fight with her second in command, Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, is so incomprehensible, so politically stupid that it has raised eyebrows among political journalists and insiders of all type. For weeks, I have been suggesting that Pelosi will be a lot smarter and more subtle that her conservative critics warned, and that she won’t drive the Democratic bus off the cliff. But...

Nancy Pelosi showed us something important about herself this week. If Tip O'Neill thought that all politics was local, Pelosi's view is that it's personal. But what may have more significance in the long run is what her caucus showed her — that, unlike the Republicans they are replacing, they will not march lockstep at every dictate from their leaders. And if there is any good news for the Democrats from the entire episode, that is it. Congressman Steny Hoyer, the man what had waited in line for the job, gave Pelosi's candidate John Murtha a thumpin', as the...

BREAKING NEWS: Conservatives with Attitude! insiders are informing us that Congressman John Murtha will DROP OUT of the running for the number 2 spot in the House as Majority Leader. Even if he does stay in the race, he will fall short by a few votes. This will serve as a big blow to Nancy Pelosi. Michael

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) was elected House majority leader this morning, defeating Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi's candidate, Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.). Hoyer won the No. 2 leadership job easily -- 149 to 86. But the showdown divided the Democratic House caucus only a week after the party won a majority of seats in the Congress that convenes in January. Before the caucus vote, a number of Democrats had complained that Pelosi and her allies used strong-arm tactics and threats to try to elect Murtha to the job. Democrats this morning unanimously chose Pelosi (D-Calif.) to be the speaker of...

WASHINGTON - Democrats picked Rep. Steny Hoyer to be House majority leader on Thursday, spurning Rep. Nancy Pelosi handpicked choice moments after unanimously backing her election as speaker when Congress convenes in January.

Democrats defy Pelosi, elect Hoyer House leader WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A week after winning back control of the U.S. Congress, divided Democrats in the House defied incoming speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday and elected Steny Hoyer to be majority leader, a Democratic Party aide said. Pelosi, a California liberal, had endorsed Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, who helped lead the charge against the Iraq war that was a key factor in races for the House of Representatives and the Senate. The aide said the vote behind closed doors was 149-86. But Democrats embraced Hoyer, a Maryland moderate who has been...

Pelosi Splits Democrats With Push For Murtha Speaker-to-Be Accused Of Strong-Arm Tactics By Jonathan Weisman and Lois Romano Washington Post Staff Writers Thursday, November 16, 2006; A01 A showdown over the House majority leader's post today has Democrats bitterly divided only a week after their party took control of Congress and has prompted numerous complaints that Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and her allies are using strong-arm tactics and threats to try to elect Rep. John P. Murtha (Pa.) to the job. Murtha, 74, a former Marine who was among the first on Capitol Hill to call for a U.S. troop...

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats picked two women for senior posts Tuesday, and their choice as majority leader, Sen. Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), said a top priority is getting a new secretary of defense confirmed. Reid told The Associated Press that he supports replacing Donald Rumsfeld with former CIA Director Robert Gates by year's end, as President Bush has urged. "I hope we can move it forward quickly," Reid, of Nevada, told the Associated Press after the Democratic caucus in the Old Senate Chamber. "The sooner we can move it forward the sooner we can get rid of Rumsfeld,"...

They can't be serious, can they? Oh, yes they are. The Hill newspaper reports. You deride: Speaker-in-waiting Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) threw her support behind Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) for majority leader Sunday, giving a significant boost to Murtha in his race against Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), in line to become Speaker in January, is throwing her support to Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) in the race for Majority Leader, a move that will be an early test of her influence and will weigh heavily on Murtha's contest with Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) for the post. Pelosi, in a letter distributed Sunday to newly elected House Democrats, wrote that Murtha's outspoken opposition to the war in Iraq helped change the electoral campaign for the House this fall. Murtha began calling for a U.S. pullout from Iraq a year ago, and his open opposition to...

Heres even more fuel for America's "new direction" of "cut and run". ?Your strong voice for national security, the war on terror and Iraq provides genuine leadership for our party, and I count on you to continue to lead on these vital issues,? Pelosi wrote Murtha Sunday in a letter obtained by The Hill. ?For this and for all you have done for Democrats in the past and especially this last year, I am pleased to support your candidacy for majority leader for the 110th Congress.?? ?Nancy told me some time ago that she would personally support Jack. I respect...

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), "in line to become Speaker in January, is throwing her support to Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) in the race for Majority Leader, a move that will be an early test of her influence and will weigh heavily on Murtha's contest with Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) for the post," Roll Call reports. "Pelosi, in a letter distributed Sunday to newly elected House Democrats, wrote that Murtha's outspoken opposition to the war in Iraq helped change the electoral campaign for the House this fall." The Hill: "Her endorsement has the potential to turn the race, especially if she...

Maryland Republicans decried as "racist" a Democratic congressman's comment that lieutenant governor and Republican Senate candidate Michael Steele "slavishly" supports the GOP. Steele, a former chairman of the state Republican Party, is black. Rep. Steny Hoyer made the remark Sunday as he introduced Steele's campaign rival, Democratic Rep. Ben Cardin, to a group of black business owners. Hoyer told the group that Steele had a career of "slavishly supporting the Republican Party." Although the House Minority Whip's word choice did not cause a visible reaction from the crowd, Maryland Republicans were quick to take offense. State Republican Party executive director...

Bills introduced in Congress to repeal 8-year restriction of 22nd Amendment WASHINGTON – One thing is certain about the 2008 presidential election campaign that begins in one year: It won't involve George W. Bush as a candidate. But bipartisan legislation to repeal the 22nd Amendment restriction of two terms for U.S. presidents could change that certainty for future presidents. Two of the most passionate congressional advocates of such a move – Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-MD, and Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-WI – have teamed up to sponsor a resolution that would represent the first step toward that change in the U.S....

House and Senate Democratic leaders have joined together to urge President Bush to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq this year. The move is part of an effort to shake the notion that Democrats are split on the Iraq war and keep the focus on what they see as a winning issue against Republicans. Twelve Democrats, including the Senate and House minority leaders and ranking members of key committees, wrote President Bush on Sunday about the matter. "In the interests of American national security, our troops and our taxpayers, the open-ended commitment in Iraq that you have embraced cannot...

A moderate Democratic representative is on the phone, relating a thought he had a few days earlier about his party's prospects for winning back the House in November. "Things look really good," he had mused to himself. "You've got to wonder how we're gonna screw it up." As if on cue, House Democrats--who had been coasting on GOP scandal and disunity--turned against one another. Last Friday, Pennsylvania Democrat Jack Murtha picked a leadership fight over the central issue that splits his party: Iraq. Murtha, who wants a near-immediate withdrawal from Iraq, announced plans to challenge House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer,...

The chances that Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) will keep his seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee grew slimmer yesterday as House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) issued a stinging assessment of the embattled Louisianan’s legal situation. “He sits on a tax-writing committee, and he had $90,000 found in his freezer. I think he’s got a tax problem if nothing else,” Hoyer said, responding to reporters’ questions about whether Democrats would seek to oust Jefferson forcibly from the panel even though he has yet to be charged with a crime. Jefferson pointedly declined a recent request from House Minority...

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) took on a rare role yesterday as a defender of President Bush. Hoyer came to the defense of the commander in chief after Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, where the president took a drubbing from comedian Stephen Colbert. “I thought some of it was funny, but I think it got a little rough,” Hoyer said. “He is the president of the United States, and he deserves some respect.” “I’m certainly not a defender of the administration,” Hoyer reassured stunned observers, but Colbert “crossed the line” with many jokes that were “in bad taste.”...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had just finished a typically discursive floor speech shortly before the year-end adjournment when a very liberal member aproached her second-in-command, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, and whispered in his ear: ''Steny, is it not time for a coup?'' It obviously was not time to oust Pelosi and replace her with Hoyer. House Democrats do not get rid of their leaders with coups, as Republicans have during the last half-century. Nevertheless, dissatisfaction with Pelosi's performance is pervasive across the ideological spectrum. Her colleagues grumble that under her leadership, the party lacks focus and a clear agenda...