Government Oversight

"We are in the process of a dramatic shift in the marijuana policy landscape," Rep. Blumenauer said.

A bipartisan group of senators asked President Obama for legal justifications for his authority to kill American citizens during the course of counterterrorism operations.

On Monday, Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Dick Durbin (Ill.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Al Franken (D- Minn.) sent Obama a letter seeking the legal opinions issued by the Department of Justice, which give the president authority to authorize the deaths of U.S. citizens.

Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.) on Tuesday called on President Obama and Michelle Obama to be more frugal in their use of Air Force One and said the first couple uses this costly mode of transportation "very casually."

"President Obama and Mrs. Obama, it appears to me ... regard Air Force One very casually, and I believe that on some occasions, at least two planes have been dispatched to the same destination," Coble said on the House floor.

The Senate voted 85-8 to proceed to the consideration of a bill reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) on Monday.

The Senate will resume work on S. 47, which stalled last year over differences between the House and Senate versions, on Thursday after the Senate returns from a two-day retreat. 

Senate Republicans have put forward legislation that would require the Obama administration to live up to its own proposal to ensure that new federal regulations don't unnecessarily stifle economic growth.

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) proposed the Regulatory Responsibility for our Economy Act, S. 191, on Thursday with 32 GOP co-sponsors. Roberts said his bill would "put the power of law behind the President's widely touted, but largely ignored, Executive Order directing federal agencies to review their regulations ensuring they cause no harm to the economy or job creation."

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) on Wednesday said he and freshman Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) are putting forward legislation that would cut the salaries of the two National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) members who were recess-appointed last year.

Blunt said this step needs to be taken in the wake of last week's Appeals Court ruling that said Sharon Block and Richard Griffin were not appointed to their posts consistent with the Constitution. Obama recess appointed the two officials, but at a time when the Senate was not in a recess.

Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) said Wednesday that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) should not be allowed to ignore a court ruling that two of its board members were appointed illegally, and said he could not imagine taking this position as a former Cabinet member.

"As a former member of the Cabinet, it never occurred to me that I had the right to ignore court decisions." he said on the Senate floor. "I can't imagine." 

Johanns was President George W. Bush's Secretary of Agriculture.

Sens. David Vitter (R-La.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder why he is “targeting” oil and gas companies by prosecuting them for the unintentional death of birds.

The senators said on the Senate floor Wednesday that they sent Holder a letter asking him why he is prosecuting oil and gas companies for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) by killing birds, yet he is not going after wind energy companies.

“This is not even handed enforcement of the law,” Vitter said. “What that is, is targeting one type of energy producer.”

A group of Democratic senators came to the floor Wednesday to urge the passage of a bill that would help women fight for equal pay.

Democratic Sens. Barbara Mikulski (Md.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Mark Begich (Alaska) and Maria Cantwell (Wash.) called for the Senate to take up the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would require businesses to show the range of compensation for all positions, allowing women to see if they are on the lower end of the pay scale. Employers would also not be able to retaliate against employees for discussing how much they make with coworkers.

"Mr. President, this is incorrect," the Iowa Republican said Tuesday. "The Constitution only limits actions of government, not individuals."