House

Congress will hold hearings next week to explore some of the international issues that have been brewing while members were out on recess.

On March 29, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing to get an update on the Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Daiichi reactor complex and how it is coping with the earthquake/tsunami disaster.

On March 31, the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a much-anticipated hearing on U.S. military action in Libya. While Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was sought to testify, her deputy, James Steinberg, will face questions from the committee.

Freshman Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) on Wednesday charged that President Obama violated the Constitution by deciding to bomb Libya without congressional approval.

"The Constitution clearly authorizes Congress with the power to declare war, and the president has basically ignored the Constitution by firing missiles at another country without seeking congressional approval," Amash said in a radio interview on 1340 AM WJRW in Michigan.

President Obama usurped his constitutional powers by attacking Libya without Congress’s consent, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) argued in a Wednesday letter to the White House.

The Democratic Party has abandoned its "conservative" members and is now controlled by the "extreme left wing,” said one Republican lawmaker, who invited these Dems to join the GOP.

Interest payments on the debt allow China to afford to buy a Joint Strike Fighter every day, conservative lawmaker states.

The political left is trying to create and profit from disorder, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) said in an interview published on National Review Online (NRO) on Wednesday.

"As Wisconsin demonstrated, the left believes the end justifies the means," McCotter said. "Consequently, viewing crises as opportunities, the left is bent upon creating disorder from which it can politically profit."

Actor Chuck Norris said he supports tougher enforcement of the U.S.-Mexico border and said the government downplays border violence.

New signs emerged mid-week that Republicans and Democrats are ramping up their efforts to focus on U.S. job creation, although, as expected, they continue to press completely different ideas on how to make it happen.

The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday announced a hearing March 30 to explore "impediments to job creation," and Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said it is already clear to the GOP that government intervention is a major impediment.

"Contrary to what some in Washington believe, we cannot spend our way to prosperity," Camp said. "Washington needs to create an environment that allows the private sector to do what it does best — invest and create jobs. This hearing will help us identify areas where Congress needs to act to ensure that the government is not impeding job creation."

Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, the Democrats' landmark healthcare reform law. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) was among those not joining in the celebration.

One Democratic congressman believes the Supreme Court may well declare the healthcare reform law’s individual mandate unconstitutional.