House

The House convenes at 10 a.m. Tuesday for morning speeches, then begins consideration of two bills at noon that would repeal two parts of last year's healthcare law.

H.R. 1213 would repeal federal funding to states for the purpose of setting up health insurance exchanges. The bill would save an estimated $14 billion over 10 years.

The House Rules Committee made five amendments in order, which will each be given 10 minutes of debate today. One from Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to post a public notice saying the funds were rescinded — these sorts of amendments from Democrats have been successfully included in recent legislation.

The House adjourned shortly before 7:45 p.m., after a special order speech by Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) congratulating the Obama administration for the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

Burton used his floor time to outline the various terrorist acts since 1992 that al Qaeda either took credit for or inspired — more than one major attack per year since 1992. Burton said bin Laden's death shows the U.S. and its allies are serious about fighting sources of terrorism.

"No matter where you go, no matter where you hide, if you're a terrorist who attacks the free world, we will come and get you," Burton said. "The allied countries who fight terrorism, including the United States, will not rest until you're brought to justice."

With little debate, the House on Monday evening approved two noncontroversial bills, including one that names a Midland, Texas, courthouse after former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.) led the brief debate on that bill, and noted that the younger Bush led the U.S. response to the 9/11 attacks, which led to the killing of Osama bin Laden early Monday morning in Pakistan. The bill renaming the courthouse, H.R. 362, was approved by voice vote.

The House also approved H.R. 1423 in a 399-0 vote. That bill renamed an Oklahoma City post office after Spc. Michael E. Phillips. Phillips was killed in 2008 in Baghdad.

Republicans took to the House floor Monday afternoon full of praise for the Obama administration's successful coordinated effort to kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, and encouraged the administration to keep up efforts to fight terrorism.

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) congratulated Obama and his administration, and said the U.S. should be "tremendously proud" of this accomplishment. He also stressed that intelligence efforts that some Democrats have questioned helped the U.S. track down the al Qaeda leader.

"Let's not forget the intelligence officers that worked so diligently at Guantánamo Bay, at Gitmo — not torturing, but getting intelligence," Gingrey said on the House floor. "Finding out who that courier was … the best friend of Osama bin Laden lived in his neighborhood in Pakistan, and that's how we got him. Intelligence is how we got him."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) gave full credit to President Obama Monday for killing Osama bin Laden, and did not mention the efforts of former President George W. Bush.

"This was a direct result of President Obama's efforts to refocus on Afghanistan and Pakistan as a central battle ground in our fight against terror," Reid said in a press conference at the Capitol.

Homeland Security Committee member Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) said Monday that Osama bin Laden's death shows the need for Congress to renew the Patriot Act and maintain a U.S. presence in Afghanistan.

Speaking on C-SPAN, Lungren said bin Laden's death was possible in large part because of the continuity of intelligence and the ability to analyze that intelligence over time. He said it is a "tremendous reminder of why we need to have these kinds of tools in this fight," citing three surveillance authorities in the Patriot Act as examples.

"I hope this will remind people of how important this is," Lungren said.

House Republicans on Monday will have ample opportunity to thank President George W. Bush for starting the work of tracking down Osama bin Laden nearly 10 years ago, a job President Obama finished Sunday night by announcing that bin Laden was killed in Pakistan.

Sometime after 2 p.m., Republicans will call up a non-controversial bill naming a courthouse in Midland, Texas, after Bush and his father, President George H.W. Bush. Republicans had already planned to take the bill up last week, before President Obama's Sunday announcement that bin Laden had been killed.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he was "overjoyed" to learn of the death of Osama bin Laden. 

After finally resolving the FY 2011 budget crisis in mid-April, Congress returns next week to face another budget crisis, of sorts.

Unlike more recent crises, the government does not face a risk of shutdown next week. However, Congress is just weeks away from a controversial vote to raise the debt ceiling, and some House Republicans insist that they could only support an increase if it's tied to entitlement spending reform.

Freshman Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) was booed at a rowdy town-hall meeting Thursday as he attempted to make a case for House Republicans' budget plan for 2012.

"You want to kill Grandma!" shouted one of the 300 people in attendance as the congressman attempted to present Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) plan to transform Medicare into a sort of voucher system in an attempt to balance the budget by 2040 without raising taxes.

Voices also shouted "no, it doesn't" to different points that Grimm attempted to make about the plan.