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The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee expressed opposition today to Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to give civilian trials to the 9/11 plotters.

Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) penned a letter to Holder and Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggesting military trials would be a more appropriate venue for the accused terrorists. 

"As a former prosecutor, I am not yet convinced that the right decision was made in these cases, nor that the presumption in favor of federal criminal trials over military tribunals for these detainees should continue," Skelton wrote.

The Missouri Democrat argued that legislation passed in 2007 brought military commissions up to constitutional standards. He also invited Holder and Gates to testify about the administration's decision before the Armed Services Committee.

"The decision to terminate the prosecution of these self-confessed terrorists in military commissions, transfer them to the United States, and bring them into a federal courthouse for trial raises many serious questions which I would like you both to address in a full committee briefing on December 3, 2009, at 1:00 PM," Skelton requested.

Read the full letter after the jump.

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One former House Speaker is helping another former Speaker's son get elected to Congress.

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) will headline a fundraiser Dec. 11 for Illinois congressional candidate Ethan Hastert.

Hastert, an attorney, is running for the seat of his former House Speaker father, Dennis (R). He faces primary opposition from state Sen. Randy Hultgren, among others, but he has secured much of the establishment's support.

According to the younger Hastert's campaign, the event will be a breakfast held in St. Charles, Ill.

“In addition to Speaker Gingrich’s support, we have the support of an impressive host committee and hundreds of small donors from around the district," Hastert said. "I am humbled by all the support my campaign is receiving."

Dennis Hastert replaced Gingrich as Speaker in 1999.

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Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), one of two Democratic centrists still not committed to supporting a crucial test vote on healthcare reform Saturday night, will not announce her decision until that morning.

"I would say I’m still neutral," said Landrieu, who explained she was still reviewing the legislation introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Wednesday but would make a statement Saturday morning ahead of the upper chamber's vote on a procedural motion that would enable a full debate on the legislation after Thanksgiving.

Landrieu, however, hinted that her position has been shifting toward supporting the vote and moving the bill to a stage at which she and other senators could amend and change it. "I was leaning against. I moved yesterday to neutral after meeting with Harry Reid and that’s where I am right now until I decide," Landrieu said, who called Reid's bill the "best version I’ve seen overall" of healthcare reform.

"In some ways, you can’t fix anything unless you keep the debate moving forward but in the other ways, you’ve got to use the leverage when you’ve got it to get some things that are important," said Landrieu, who also maintained that failure of Democrats to unite behind healthcare reform during the procedural vote Saturday evening would not spell doom for the entire project. "There are always ways to come back," she said.

Landrieu praised Reid's bill even as she criticized parts of it. "This effort is a remarkable effort – in many ways unprecedented. It’s historic and it’s going to take all of us to continue to work together," she said.

But with Landrieu not making her intentions known on Friday and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) still undeclared, Reid will open a rare Senate session Saturday morning without knowing for certain whether he will prevail and unify all 60 members of his caucus in advancing President Barack Obama's signature domestic policy initiative. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who had also been holding out, said Friday he would vote for the motion but reserved the right to participate in a Republican filibuster on the bill itself.

Landrieu insisted that her ongoing reticence was not hampering the healthcare reform effort and that her aim is to influence the legislation. "I’m making a decision about whether I want to go forward or not  -- not because I want to, you know, limit debate. I’m using as much leverage as I have for the issues that I think are important not just to Louisiana but to broad constituencies throughout this country," she said.

Among Landrieu's outstanding concerns is her view that the bill would not offer adequate assistance to workers at small-business or to the self-employed. Specifically, Landrieu, who chairs the Small Business Committee, said that self-employed people should get the same tax-free treatment of health insurance enjoyed by workers who get health benefits from their employers. In addition, she wants to see the effective date for the assistance in the bill moved up from 2014.

Landrieu continues to have misgivings about a proposal to create a government-run public option insurance program that would compete with private plans, despite Reid's compromise version that would allow states to opt out. Instead, Landrieu said she has been trying to devise other proposal including the "trigger" touted by Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine) that would institute the public option only in states where private insurance proves to be unaffordable or unavailable.

"I also want to be very sensitive to Sen. Snowe because I think we’re going to need her vote in the end," she said. Snowe voted for the Finance Committee's version healthcare reform but withdrew her backing when Reid put a public option in the bill he introduced.

A separate development Friday could help answer some of Landrieu's concerns. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) won support from Reid and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) for his amendment that would allow more workers to turn down their employer-sponsored insurance and obtain vouchers to buy coverage on the health insurance exchanges in the bill. Wyden's amendment is based on an alternate healthcare reform bill he authored -- and which Landrieu co-sponsored. "I'm very happy" about the deal between Wyden, Reid and Baucus, Landrieu said.

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Republican senators tried to make the case today that new recommendations on breast cancer screening foreshadow the rationing that would take place under Democratic healthcare reform.

A preventive medicine task force recommended last week that women not necessarily get mammograms before age 50, and even then get them only two years.

"This is how rationing starts, and that's the point," Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the Republican Whip, said at a press conference today.

"Delay of care, that's how it begins. Then denial of care. At first, it's guidelines, then the insurance companies...adopt those guidelines," he said.

"One of the real dangers, I think, that we are talking about with this health care proposal that the Democrats have put before us is the concern about rationing," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said at a leadership press conference today.

"And we're seeing that play out a little bit this week in the news with the recommendations that came out from the Preventative Services Task Force and the recommendations on when women should receive mammograms."

Sarah Palin made a similar argument in a message posted to Facebook early this morning.

"Did costs play any role in these decisions to change the recommendations on breast and cervical cancer screenings?" she asked. 

"We need assurances that everything we’ve heard this week about fewer tests for women’s cancers is a result of patient-focused research and providing the best care for the right reasons, and not because of bureaucratic pressure to control costs."

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has said that her department does not agree with the panel's recommendation and urged women to continue regular screenings at age 40.

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Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's (D) wife, Diane, will endorse Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) on Saturday in the race for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat.

Gov. Patrick remains unpopular in the state, but his wife's backing will at least signal the governor's feelings to potential supporters.

Of course, about the only endorsement that is likely to be a game-changer in this race would be that of Kennedy's widow or one of his sons.

Here is Diane Patrick's statement: “Mike and Barbara offered us tremendous support and friendship throughout the course of Deval’s campaign. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to reciprocate with my own endorsement now. Mike has proven leadership on issues important to me such as improving education and fighting to protect our cherished civil liberties."

The primary is Dec. 8.

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The White House is distributing a joint statement signed by former Wisconsin GOP Gov. Tommy Thompson to tout the bipartisan credentials of the Senate healthcare bill.

The joint statement from Thompson and former House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt states that the Senate bill represents a milestone in achieving meaningful healthcare reform.

“While we both have specific concerns with the bill in its current form, we believe a bipartisan consensus must emerge to address the healthcare crisis in America,” the statement said. “We can all agree that the opportunity before us is far too great to let specific differences stand in the way of reaching consensus legislation needed this year.”

Thompson is a former Bush administration Health and Human Services secretary who has previously spoke of the need for healthcare reform.

The White House has previously touted statements by former Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole (Kansas) and other prominent Republicans on the need for healthcare reform.

No Senate Republicans are expected to vote in favor of a motion to proceed to debate on the Senate bill. That vote is scheduled for Saturday.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine.) vote for the Senate Finance Committee’s healthcare bill, while Rep. Joseph Cao (R-La.) voted for the House healthcare bill. They are the only Republicans to cast favorable votes so far.

Read the full statement after the jump.

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) have taken a long stride toward locking down the support of Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

The three senators announced an agreement Friday on an amendment that would allow many more people who get health insurance at work to opt out and instead purchase coverage on the new health insurance exchanges the bill would create.

More important to the debate on the healthcare reform bill that would kick after Thanksgiving -- presuming Senate Democrats unite to clear a procedural vote Saturday evening -- is that the deal could quiet Wyden's frequent complaints that the bill as introduced would do too little to offer consumers more health insurance plans from which to choose or to create a more competitive insurance marketplace that would drive down healthcare costs.

“As I have long said, empowering Americans to choose the health insurance that works best for them and their family is the single best way to hold health insurance companies accountable,” Wyden  said in a statement.  “While this is just one step in the direction of guaranteeing choices for all Americans, it is a major step because – for the first time – it introduces the concept of individual choice to a marketplace where it has long been foreign. This is a significant step toward real reform.”

Throughout this year's healthcare debate, Wyden has remained a steadfast and very vocal proponent of his own reform legislation. One of the signature aims of Wyden's bill, which is co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Bob Bennett (Utah), is to transition people away from employer-sponsored insurance and into a competitive marketplace that offers them more choices of health plan than most people get at work.

With Reid needing all 60 members of his caucus unified as the healthcare reform debate moves forward, answering Wyden's criticisms is a crucial step. “Sen. Wyden has worked tirelessly to reform our health system, and I am pleased to have his support," Reid said.

The Wyden-Reid-Baucus amendment does not go that far, but it would open up the health insurance exchanges to considerably more people than the bill as currently written. Under Reid's version of the Senate bill and under the House-passed bill, the vast majority of people who receive health benefits from their jobs would be ineligible to shop for insurance on the exchanges, which instead would primarily be accessed by individuals and workers at small businesses.

The agreement between Wyden, Reid and Baucus would change that."The agreed to amendment will make it possible for these individuals to convert their tax-free employer health subsidies into vouchers that they can use to choose a health insurance plan in the new health insurance exchanges. The Congressional Budget Office estimates a previous version of this provision will expand coverage to more than a million Americans," according to a statement from Wyden's office.

Wyden tried to bring a similar amendment to a vote during the Finance Committee's consideration of an earlier version of the healthcare reform but Baucus blocked him. The deal unveiled Friday brings to fruition Baucus's promise to work out a solution with Wyden.

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ACORN and its affiliates received $200,000 in Justice Department grants between 2002 and 2009, according to a report issued Friday by the department's inspector general.

No DOJ grants went directly to ACORN, but a handful of grants were awarded either to ACORN affiliates or to other organizations that sub-contracted projects to ACORN.

The report, requested by House Judiciary Committee ranking member Lamar Smith (R-Texas), also found a few instances of ACORN mismanagement of federally contracted work.

(Read the full report here.)

For example, ACORN received a $20,000 sub-contract to do community outreach on crime prevention in New York. The organization that contracted with ACORN has not released the funds yet, claiming that ACORN submitted reimbursements "outside the scope of the agreement," including "fringe benefits" for the salaried staffer working on the project.

In another instance the city of Phoenix contracted with the "ACORN Institute" to receive about $9,000 to canvass citizens and raise awareness about a tax credit and a tax assistance program. The city hasn't paid ACORN yet due to "poor reporting by the ACORN Institute regarding another project not related to DOJ grant funds." Phoenix is trying to terminate its contract with ACORN.

The DOJ did not audit the funds that went to ACORN or its affiliates, but did conduct an audit of one of the organizations that contracted with an ACORN affiliate. That audit concluded that the organization "did not properly manage the grant and did not adequately monitor some of its 36 sub-grantees, including the [American Institute of Social Justice]," an ACORN affiliate.

Smith seized on the report to call for a broader review of ACORN activities.

"Given the willingness of some ACORN employees to ignore the law, it comes as no surprise that the IG’s report found several instances in which ACORN and its affiliates failed to adhere to proper procedures," Smith said in a statement.

"Because the Justice Department’s review found only small amounts of taxpayer dollars going to ACORN, it is imperative that the Inspectors General from federal agencies that have provided millions to ACORN undertake the same kind of review. The Justice Department IG’s report may prove to be just the tip of an iceberg-sized fraud."

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Rep. Frank Kratovil (Maryland) would be one of the first Democrats to go if Republicans make significant gains during mid-term elections, and a new poll shows he has reason for concern.

The Tarrance Group poll, which was conducted for state Sen. Andy Harris’s (R) campaign and obtained by The Hill, shows Harris taking a 52-39 lead in a rematch of his 2008 contest with Kratovil.

To members in districts that went heavily for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the presidential race, the poll should serve as notice that the political environment can have localized consequences. Kratovil maintains a 43 percent favorable rating and only 30 percent unfavorable, yet just 29 percent of voters say he “deserves reelection.”

Nearly half of voters — 49 percent — would prefer somebody new.

The polling memo states that Kratovil is suffering from the environment but also doesn’t appear to have done himself any favors. Notably, the incumbent has voted with his party on the stimulus bill and cap-and-trade, while other members in such districts sided with Republicans on those votes.

“Incumbent Democrat(ic) Congressman Frank Kratovil is not likely to be a part of the next Congress once it is convened in 2011,” the memo says bluntly.

The poll was conducted Sunday, Monday and Tuesday among a relatively small sample of 300 likely voters in Maryland’s 1st district. It has a margin of error of 5.8 percent.

Kratovil defeated Harris 49-48 last year, even as the district went 59-40 for McCain. Harris was hurt in part by a bloody primary with centrist Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R), after which Gilchrest crossed party lines and backed Kratovil.

It is one of the reddest districts held by a Democrat.

Harris might not have the GOP field to himself, though. Wealthy fellow state Sen. E.J. Pipkin looks like a good bet to contest the primary for the second straight cycle. Pipkin finished third in the primary last year.

UPDATE 2:35 p.m.: Kratovil spokesman Kevin Lawlor responds with the following: "If there is one lesson to be learned from 2008, it is that Andy Harris polls aren't worth the paper they are printed on."

Lawlor's reference is a July 2008 poll Harris released showing him leading Kratovil 44-28. It's a valid point, in that Harris eventually lost the race, despite his poll showing a big early lead.

But it should also be noted that, at that point, Harris's hard name recognition was 49 percent and Kratovil's was only 28 percent. So Harris's big lead could have been more a reflection of his superior name ID and the partisan breakdown of the district.

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The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) outraised it's GOP counterpart in October, but both committees spent more than they raised thanks to the New York special election.

The DCCC will report raising $3.8 million and spending $4 million for the month. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) will report that it raised $3.4 million and spent $3.6 million.

The DCCC has $14.5 million cash on hand and $3.3 million in debt, while the NRCC has $4.2 million on hand and $2 million in debt.

The Democrats spent about $1.1 million in New York's 23rd district in a winning effort. Republicans spent about $900,000.

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