Economy & Budget

The Hill's Sam Youngman has the story.

Internet giant Google rebuffed Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-Conn.) request Tuesday to remove internet video content produced by terrorist organizations, claiming the action would stifle the "free speech" the Google-owned site YouTube encourages.

On its blog, the company said that while it "respects his views" it disagrees with Lieberman "about the details of our policies."

"YouTube encourages free speech and defends everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. We believe that YouTube is a richer and more relevant platform for users precisely because it hosts a diverse range of views, and rather than stifle debate we allow our users to view all acceptable content and make up their own minds," the company replied.

In the letter Lieberman sent Monday, he asked Google to "immediately remove content produced by Islamist terrorist organizations from YouTube."

"Islamist terrorist organizations use YouTube to disseminate their propaganda, enlist followers, and provide weapons training Read more...

The economically conservative Club for Growth released its congressional scorecard for 2007 today. Four lawmakers received perfect scores for their 2007 performances: Reps. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).

Those four, along with five other senators and 46 other representatives, received the Club's "Defender of Economic Freedom" award. See the Club's scorecard here.

Texas Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee (D) and Pete Sessions (R) engaged in a fierce debate over the economy on the House floor Wednesday afternoon.

After Sessions disputed Jackson Lee's claim that the country is in a recession, Jackson Lee responded, "Are you calling me a liar?"

Sessions and Jackson Lee talked over each other until order was restored, but not before Jackson Lee called on Sessions's comments to "be taken down."

Her initial call for a parliamentary inquiry was denied and she walked away from the well of the House.

Later, she revisited the issue and made her case again on the state of the economy.

The Senate has passed a two-week farm bill extension. The House has begun debate on the extension lasting until May 16.

The farm bill has been repeatedly extended since debate began on the bill last year. Reports indicate some House and Senate members are looking to cut subsidies granted to more wealthy farmers.

Top leaders of the Republican Party are attacking Democrats Tuesday for the high cost of gas.

As The Hill's Klaus Marre reported, President Bush blamed Democrats in a speech Tuesday for blocking administration plans to address high prices at the pump.

"One of the main reasons for high gas prices is that global oil production is not keeping up with growing demand," Bush said. "Members of Congress have been vocal about foreign governments increasing their oil production, yet Congress has been just as vocal in opposition to efforts to expand our production here at home."

As Bush was speaking, GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) put out a statement blasting Democrats for stalling in their release of a touted "commonsense plan" to lower gas prices.

"As Americans continue to pay higher and higher prices at the pump, the Democrat leadership has yet to reveal their

Answering a question on the economy during a joint appearance with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, President Bush characterized the economy as in a "rough patch."

Bush noted though that "we had a good run."

The Senate agreed on Thursday to extend the farm bill deadline to April 25th by a voice vote, giving lawmakers another week to pass the $280 billion 5-year bill.

On Wednesday, the House passed an extension after lawmakers were unable to resolve disputes over tax breaks.

Unable to resolve disputes over tax breaks in the farm bill, the House has passed a week-long extension of the current law.

The $280 billion five-year bill has been a constant point of contention between members since last summer when lawmakers began work on the new farm bill.

The current sticking point involves tax breaks in the Senate bill that House members find objectionable.

One of the many argued over breaks goes to help owners of race horses. The provision is a priority of Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.).

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated today the the Colombia Free Trade Agreement may not be dead yet. Pelosi was speaking to the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and, according to Reuters, said:

Perhaps we can get some of the trade agreements through. We did get the Peru trade agreement recently in a bipartisan way.

I've told the White House we stand ready to discuss with them how we can proceed in bringing this legislation to the floor. I said "you want to do it the way you want to do it, it will lose. You just want to jam it down the throat of Congress, it will lose."

On Monday, The Hill's Mike Soraghan reported that President Bush said the Colombia FTA "is dead unless the Speaker schedules a definite vote."