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Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.), the House Democrats’ point man in negotiations on an overhaul of intelligence surveillance law, is keeping his eye on conservative Blue Dog Democrats who might defect on the issue under Republican pressure. The topic has reached a critical point because surveillance orders granted by the director of national intelligence and the attorney general under the authority of the Protect America Act begin to expire in August. If Congress does not approve an overhaul of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by Memorial Day, intelligence community officials will have to prepare dozens of individual surveillance warrants,...

House Republicans, changing course midway through a vote, tried to force Democrats into a debate on a resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney on the grounds he purposely led the country into war against Iraq. The GOP tactics reversed what had been expected to an overwhelming vote to table, or kill, the resolution by longshot Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich. Midway through the vote, with instructions from the GOP leadership, Republicans one by one changed their votes from yes — to kill the resolution — to no, trying to force the chamber into a debate and an up-or-down vote...

I emailed Pelosi and my Congress Critter - Steny Hoyer - today. I also called their offices and voiced my objection to the two month supplemental bill. I provided their phone numbers and email addresses below, if anyone wants to do the same. Also, is the text of my email.

CAIRO — The United States has been quietly holding a dialogue with the banned Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. On April 5, U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer met a Brotherhood leader twice. One meeting was at Egypt's parliament, where the Brotherhood controls about 20 percent of the 454 seats, and the other was at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Egypt, Francis Ricciardone. Western diplomats and Brotherhood sources said American officials have been meeting members of the Islamic opposition in Alexandria and Cairo. They said the meetings, which focused on the positions of the Brotherhood and the future of...

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) A top U.S. Democratic congressman said he did not have "personal meetings" with a member of Egypt's largest opposition group, the banned Muslim Brotherhood, during a recent official trip, a spokeswoman for the American lawmaker said Sunday. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's spokeswoman, Stacey Bernards, said the Maryland Democrat and his bipartisan delegation participated in a meeting Thursday with members of Egypt's parliament including Mohammed Saad el-Katatni, who is the leader of the Brotherhood's parliamentary bloc. Hoyer also "spoke briefly" with el-Katatni later Thursday at a reception at the U.S. ambassador to Egypt's home, Bernards said. "However,...

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...

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...

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...

January 7, 2007 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 all options, including nuclear, were on the table. March 6, 2007, Senator Kennedy, “There is no question that Iran’s developing nuclear capability is a clear threat, and must be removed by any means necessary”. April 10, 2007, Senator Clinton, “Iran is threatening to destroy Israel with...

Since Fox News is planning a new comedy show, I will occasionally be posting skit ideas as part of a blatant shilling attempt to get a writing position with that show. This is the first of my self-promoting attempts. I got the basic premise of this idea from Rush Limbaugh who recently speculated that with Steny Hoyer seeking protection for his supporters against the wrath of Nancy Pelosi, that it sounded like the Mafia was running the Congress. In that spirit, I now present a satirical script in which Hoyer seeks help from the Godfather in protecting his supporters......

As promised, I will be posting ideas for the new Fox News comedy show on a semi-regular basis. This is my idea here but feel free to add in your own ideas based on the recent news. I admit that I got the basic premise for this idea from Rush. He mentioned yesterday that Steny Hoyer seeking protection for his supporters from the wrath of Nancy Pelosi for voting for him reminded him of something out of the Godfather like maybe finding a horse's head in his bed. Anyway, here is what I would like to see the new comedy...

Imagine the utter embarrassment and humiliation of Jack Murtha. On November 15, speaking about his bid to become House Majority Leader, he boasted to Chris Matthews on Hardball that "We’re going to win. We got the votes." The very next day that blowhard LOST by a large margin to his rival, Steny Hoyer, in that race. All Murtha got was a spot standing behind Nancy Pelosi and Hoyer as the latter's win was announced. The sour look on Blowhard Murtha's face was priceless since his expression did not hide the fact that he was ENRAGED over his loss. So...

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...

Opinion was mixed among black leaders in Prince George's County yesterday about whether a top Democrat's comment that Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele is "slavishly" devoted to the Republican Party is racist. "If there are those that feel offended, then I guess it has merit," said the Rev. Joel Peebles, assistant pastor at Jericho City of Praise, a large black church.

by Mark Finkelstein June 13, 2006 What's gotten into Campbell Brown? I'd had her pegged as a conventional MSM liberal, but in recent times, she has manifested a refreshing streak of independence that was very much on display in her interview of Howard Dean on this morning's Today show. Things came to a head over the Dems' vague and conflicting positions over Iraq. Began Brown: "Let me ask you about Iraq. I want to ask a straightforward question. What is the Democrats' position on Iraq? What solution do Democrats have?" Dean: "We believe that the President is wrong to say...

WASHINGTON -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had just finished a typically discursive floor speech shortly before the year-end adjournment when a very liberal member approached her second-in-command, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, and whispered in his ear: "Steny, is it not time for a coup?"

A group of 11 representatives in the House want Congress to add "sexual orientation" to the list of protected characteristics used in regulating workplace discrimination in federal employment. Government employment discrimination and whistleblower-protection issues are handed by the Office of Special Counsel, which is empowered to prosecute managers believed to have violated the law. During the Clinton administration, Special Counsel Elaine Kaplan – an avowed lesbian, according to Concerned Women for America – incorporated "sexual orientation" under the "conduct unrelated to the job" portion of the regulation, thus elevating homosexuality to a protected status. Last year, Scott Bloch, who now...

IS THAT SO, MR. MINORITY WHIP? "The government isn't obligated to keep paying what it currently pays out." Democrats Have Half a Game Plan on Social Security House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer dropped by our offices yesterday, so we put him in the hot seat on Social Security. It was fun, if heated at times, and what we learned is just how much this issue is still turning on politics, not the merits of reform. He also told us the current Democratic thinking behind the party's decision not to offer a plan of its own. To do so now, he...

WASHINGTON - House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer criticized the Republican-controlled Congress on Saturday for "surrendering to its own intransigence and admitting that it cannot complete the work the people sent us here to do." "The 108th Congress has failed, and the American people know that we can, and must, do better," the Maryland congressman said in the Democrats' weekly radio address. Hoyer, his party's No. 2 leader in the House, said Republicans "hardly broke a sweat" this year and "worked fewer hours than any single session of Congress since 1948." He criticized Republican leaders for failure to enact intelligence...

'A Big Win for Central Kentucky' WASHINGTON - PRNewswire - Feb. 17 WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer released the following statement in praise of Ben Chandler's win today in Kentucky's Sixth Congressional District special election: "Ben Chandler's victory today is a big win for central Kentucky and a big win for Democrats across America. The people of Kentucky said today that Democrats are right on the issues and that bodes well for us as we head into a big election in November. "This victory also gives lie to the Republican's favorite new talking point,...

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) speech Monday to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) will cap a yearlong strategy aimed at preventing an exodus of Jewish voters from Democratic ranks. In response to renewed Republican efforts to capture Jewish voters and donors from the Democrats’ traditional base, Hoyer has implemented a multiprong plan to make support for Israel a touchstone of Democratic policy, say lawmakers, aides and party operatives. In addition to leading a 29-member congressional delegation to Israel last August, Hoyer has urged non-Jewish Democrats to voice support for Israel. At the same time, he has sought...

<p>House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer yesterday announced his support for a war to disarm Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, saying that the United States must act if the United Nations won't.</p> <p>"The United States and the nations of the world that are prepared to defend freedom must not be frozen into inaction by the international community's inability to marshal anything more than mere words," Mr. Hoyer said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.</p>