House

Some members of the House, faced with several daunting issues including scandals in the IRS and Justice Department, are finding that the only way to explain how they feel is to quote famous musicians.

Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.) started the trend Wednesday while speaking about the IRS and Justice scandals, both of which he said threaten free speech. The IRS has admitted to scrutinizing the tax-exempt status of conservative groups, and Justice has admitted to seizing the phone records of Associated Press reporters.

The House on Wednesday quickly approved two land use bills, one of which would give the Northern Mariana Islands the same coastal rights as other U.S. territories.

Members approved H.R. 573 by unanimous consent. The bill would expand the Northern Mariana Islands' coastal territory up to three nautical miles, the same coastal rights that other territories already enjoy.

Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) on Wednesday accused the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of exempting left-leaning political groups and green energy producers from various fees and fines that it routinely assesses to right-learning groups.

Whitfield, who chairs the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Energy & Power, called the EPA's actions a "pattern of conduct in which this administration rewards its friends and punishes its opponents."

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) on Wednesday condemned comments from Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto that the use of "comfort women" in Japan during World War II was "necessary."

Royce described "comfort women" as a "state-sponsored program of sexual brutality" against thousands of women during the war. But this week, Hashimoto was reported as saying that these women were "necessary."

Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) on Tuesday introduced legislation that would put in place limits on the ability of the government to compel the disclosure of information from the press.

Poe's Free Flow of Information Act is a reaction to news that the Justice Department seized two months of phone records of Associated Press reporters. Justice's decision seemed aimed at furthering its investigation of leaks related to how U.S. agents foiled a terrorist plot.

The House meets for speeches at 10 a.m., and amid several more angry speeches about the IRS and Justice Department scandals, members will consider five suspension bills throughout the day.

One of these, H.R. 384, is a Democratic bill that would create an advocate for homeless veterans in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Homes for Heroes Act was passed last year by the House, but ignored by the Senate.

The House on Tuesday unanimously approved legislation reaffirming U.S. policy as one that supports an Internet that is controlled by stakeholders, not governments.

In a 413-0 vote, members passed H.R. 1580, which once again signals the support of Congress for the continued development of the Internet without guidance from any single government or a collection of governments.

Democrats in the House and Senate are looking to expand a federal law that requires companies to give nursing mothers time and a private space to express breast milk at work.

Under current law, companies with more than 50 employees are already required under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to provide nursing moms with a reasonable break time and a private, non-bathroom place to express breast milk. That provision — created by the 2010 ObamaCare law — applies only to hourly workers.

House Republicans on Tuesday afternoon accused Obama administration officials of purposefully lying about the IRS policy of targeting conservative groups, the Benghazi, Libya, investigation, and Justice Department snooping on Associated Press reporters.

"The scandals from this administration are coming so fast that the American people can barely keep up," Rep. Luke Messer (R-Ind.) said on the House floor.

"And this pattern of arrogance, lies and outright lawlessness should be disturbing to every American."

Rep. Bill Owens (D-N.Y.) on Monday reintroduced legislation that would let people buy "War on Debt" savings bonds, which would be used to help reduce the national debt.

Owens has introduced this bill each year since 2010, before Republicans took over the House and began their own efforts to rein in the budget deficit and the soaring national debt.