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January 22, 2009, 2:08 pm
By
Hill Staff
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has announced a 6 p.m. Monday vote on Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner.
Geithner won approval from the Finance Committee Thursday, but still faces skepticism from Republicans over his tax delinquency that became public last week.
Thursday's committee vote was 18-5, with Republicans Chuck Grassley (Iowa), Jon Kyl (Ariz.), Jim Bunning (Ky.), Pat Roberts (Kan.) and Michael Enzi (Wyo.) voting against confirmation.
-J. Taylor Rushing
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January 22, 2009, 1:45 pm
By
Hill Staff
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) added his voice to the growing list of lawmakers complaining of their ticket-holding constituents being denied entry to President Obama
Read more...
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January 22, 2009, 11:49 am
By
Chris Good
On the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling, President Obama praised the decision and reaffirmed his commitment to abortion rights.
The president also hit a note that he had repeated during the presidential campaign: that opponents and supporters of abortion rights can find common ground in working to reduce the number of abortions and unwanted preganancies.
Obama also used the anniversary as an occasion to call for equal opportunities for women in schools and workplaces.
See his full statement below:
On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are reminded that this decision not only protects women
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January 22, 2009, 10:00 am
By
Chris Good
The Washington Post Company today launched Who Runs Gov, a site containing profiles of people who serve in top posts in the U.S. government.
The site launched today with 250 profiles, from President Obama to prospective attorney general Eric Holder to a handful of Hill staffers like Blue Dog Coalition Communications Director Kristen Hawn.
Profiles outline each power player's path to power, resume at a glance, why he/she matters, and politics.
The site uses a wiki format, though registered users will not be able to edit profiles until later this year, the site says. The site is powered by MindTouch, a company that sells wiki-style web platforms.
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January 22, 2009, 8:18 am
By
Chris Good
President Obama signed executive orders this morning reversing Bush administration detainee interrogation practices and requiring the prison at Guantanamo Bay to be closed one year from now.
As expected, Obama ordered a review process for Guantanamo detainees, with the goal of releasing, transferring to other nations, or prosecuting the 245 detainees currently held at the facility. Obama largely left the question of how to prosecute detainees unanswered, though recommended that federal courts or regular military courts would be preferable. Military tribunals with revised authority could also be used.
Read more...
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January 21, 2009, 2:14 pm
By
Hill Staff
House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) was quick to issue a concerned statement when reports of President Obama's intention to shut the prison at Guantanamo Bay hit the press.
"There are important questions that must be answered before the terrorist detainee facility at Guantanamo Bay can be closed," he wrote.
"The key question is where do you put these terrorists?
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January 21, 2009, 1:16 pm
By
Chris Good
Ticket holders left out in the cold at President Obama's inauguration yesterday deserve answers--and an apology--Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) says.
Young is circulating a harshly worded letter to the congressional committee that orchestrated the official ceremonies, Obama's inaugural committee, and the chief of the Capitol Police. The aforementioned Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC), meanwhile, expressed regret at ticket holders' denials at security gates and said it would examine its planning procedures.
"Those Americans who were shut out deserve an apology. They were promised admission to the historic Inauguration of President Obama and they were denied the opportunity, no matter how far they traveled, how much money they spent or how long they waited, every person who was issued a ticket and was unable to get in should receive an apology from those responsible for organizing the Inauguration. Yesterday was a proud moment for America and it is a shame that it was marred by something simple as the inability to take people's tickets," Young writes in the letter.
Young is circulating the letter to fellow members of Congress to gather signatures before sending it to Obama's Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC), the JCCIC, and Capitol Police Chief Phillip Morse.
Read more...
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January 21, 2009, 11:38 am
By
Chris Good
While swearing in senior White House staff today, Vice President Joe Biden made a crack about the not-so-smooth swearing in of President Barack Obama yesterday by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
"My memory is not as good as Justice Roberts -- Chief Justice Roberts," Biden quipped as he began to administer an oath of office to a group of senior White House staff at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which holds the ceremonial office of the vice president and is located just West of the White House.
Obama and Roberts stumbled over each other at the inaugural swearing in ceremony on the Capitol steps yesterday.
Instead of waiting for Roberts to finish the first line of the presidential oath--"I, ___, do solemnly swear"--Obama jumped in immediately after Roberts read his name.
Read more...
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January 21, 2009, 11:01 am
By
Hill Staff
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the District of Columbia's non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives, says she thinks the District will get voting rights in the House during President Obama's White House tenure.
"Barack was a cosponsor," Norton told The Hill last night, referring to a previous bill to give D.C. voting representation in the House. "I think we are going to get it."
The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on D.C. voting rights legislation next Tuesday, Jan. 27. The bill would give D.C. one voting representative in the House.
The last time D.C. voting rights came up in Congress (September 2007), a Senate bill failed garner the 60 votes needed to pass a procedural blockage, though 57 senators voted to advance it. Among its supporters was
Obama, a cosponsor.
The House had voted overwhelmingly in favor of D.C. voting rights earlier that year, passing a similar bill 241-177 in April 2007.
- Kevin Bogardus and Chris Good
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January 21, 2009, 9:30 am
By
Chris Good
House Republican leaders have asked President Obama to meet with their economic team tomorrow to discuss the GOP's thoughts on how to respond to the economic crisis.
Obama reached out to Republicans for input in crafting an economic stimulus plan during a Jan. 5 meeting on Capitol Hill. Now, they say, they're ready to give it.
GOP leaders sent a letter to President Obama today formally requesting a meeting between Obama and their Jan. 5 meeting as a task force to develop the input Obama had sought.
In the letter, the top House Republicans offered little detail of what specific proposals their working group would suggest: "The challenge as we see it is to create a plan that helps middle class taxpayers and small businesses without wasting money or exploding our national deficit. We believe the economic recovery plan should primarily create real, long term jobs, encourage entrepreneurs, and help average Americans keep more of their money to save and invest," they wrote.
The entire text of the letter, which was signed by Cantor, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.), Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), and Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), is below:
Read more...
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