House

The House Monday evening passed H.R. 1246, which would cut Defense Department spending costs by 10 percent and save an estimated $35 million in FY 2012.

The bill was brought up under a suspension of House rules, which requires the support of two-thirds of voting members. The bill passed unanimously, 393-0.

Earlier in the day, the bill drew just token opposition from Del. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), who said the House could be spending its time more wisely, such as by considering deeper cuts to DOD. However, she said she would not call on Democrats to reject the bill.

House Democrats on Monday indicated they would not vote against a bill to reduce Defense Department printing costs, although their designated speaker on the bill did raise a brief argument that Republicans should be looking to cut far more from Defense spending.

Democrats sent one speaker to the floor in a brief debate on H.R. 1246, which would cut 10 percent in DOD printing costs, or $35.7 million from the estimated FY 2012 budget. Del. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), a delegate who cannot vote, said she would not urge Democrats to vote against the bill, but said the bill is a "bad use of valuable floor time" because the amount saved "hardly makes a dent in multi-trillion dollar deficits facing our nation."

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) on Monday said the Obama administration should demand that Libyan rebels turn over to U.S. authorities any rebel leaders with U.S. "blood on their hands."

In a floor speech, Sherman identified Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi as one Libyan rebel leader who has bragged about sending men to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq. "We should insist that such individuals be turned over to the United States, and if they can't find them, that they at least disassociate themselves," he said.

GOP lawmakers want to kill a Clinton-era order meant to ensure non-English speakers get government services.

Republicans over the weekend hinted they would release a 2012 spending plan that seeks to cut $4 trillion over the next 10 years, including dramatic changes to Medicare.

But in the meantime, Congress this week will find itself saddled with the grim realities of trying to reach agreement on a fiscal 2011 budget. Congress faces almost immediate pressure to reach a deal, since House Republicans have pledged to make public any bill it votes on for three days.

This means, for example, that if a deal can be reached and a bill made public by Wednesday, a House vote on Friday is possible.

Congress and the White House have until the end of next week to reach a long-term budget deal for FY 2011, punt with a short-term funding deal or watch the government shut down — or possibly some fourth option that no one can imagine yet.

Because of the uncertainty surrounding the budget, the House schedule is a little more hazy than usual, based on the expectation that legislators at some point will have to start work to pass an agreement, or possibly another stopgap funding bill.

The House will take up legislation next week that would strip the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its ability to regulate the emission of greenhouse gases.

H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act, which is sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), was reported out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 15.

Republicans in the Senate are promoting a mirror copy of the legislation, which is sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in the form of an amendment to the Small Business Administration (SBA) funding bill. The Senate spent much of this week debating that legislation and negotiating on how and when the upper chamber would hold a vote on it.

Currently there are no Senate votes scheduled on the amendment.

More details on the fight over EPA regulations are available on The Hill's E2 blog.

Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) on Friday called on House Republicans to stop their investigation into an Obama administration decision to abandon Nevada's Yucca Mountain as a possible site to store nuclear waste.

Speaking on the House floor, Berkley said the GOP investigation is a "political stunt" aimed at turning Nevada into a "nuclear garbage dump."

With 15 GOP members defecting, House Republicans passed a bill that seems to circumvent the Senate and the President.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) started debate on a Republican bill calling for passage of H.R. 1, their FY 2011 spending bill, by arguing Senate inaction on a spending bill is raising the risk of a government shutdown.

"Mr. Speaker, I want to underline the fact that we do not want a government shutdown," Cantor said. "Yet as Senate Democrats refuse to pass a bill, that unsettling prospect looms ever larger, which is why they must act."