Legislative Debate

House Republicans sought to convince their colleagues that the 2010 healthcare law needs to be repealed because it is a huge intrusion into the personal lives of Americans in a Tuesday floor debate leading up to a Wednesday vote to repeal the law.

"Rather than reform healthcare, this law epitomizes Washington at its very worst," House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said on the House floor. "Intrusive mandates, higher costs, red tape, unaffordable spending, taxes on employers and families, and control of personal healthcare decisions by boards, bureaus and agencies in Washington."

"I don't know what this woman is talking about, but I find that personally insulting," lawmaker tells caller.

The House on Monday delayed consideration of a bill that could provide millions of dollars in grants to state programs aimed at fighting bullying in schools.

The Juvenile Accountability Block Grant Reauthorization and the Bullying Prevention and Intervention Act, H.R. 6019, is sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), and was scheduled to be debated Monday. However, Jackson Lee was thought to be unable to be in the Capitol for the debate, and because the House has a general policy of allowing sponsors to debate their proposals, House leaders decided to delay consideration of her bill.

The House is expected to approve legislation as early as Monday to provide grant money to fight bullying at schools.

The Senate late Monday advanced a bill to reauthorize and reform the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) indicated the bill is not quite ready to be passed by the Senate.

As expected, the Senate quickly adopted a motion to proceed to the bill, which took place by unanimous consent. But Reid indicated there are still issues to be worked out, and that the Senate was not in a position to pass the bill by unanimous consent.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday that he supports the Obama administration's immigration decision, and that the policy decision not to deport younger illegal immigrants is acceptable from the White House because Congress has shown it is frozen on this issue.

"We've tried," Reid said on the Senate floor about Democratic efforts to pass the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which would create a pathway to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. "We can't get Republican votes. We've tried."

Senators introduced about 60 new amendments to the farm bill on Friday, including language that would allow schools to avoid the purchase of "pink slime," also known as "lean finely textured beef."

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced an amendment Tuesday giving schools that option, a reaction to public concern that emerged this year about possible health issues. "Pink slime" is chemically treated beef trimmings that is used as an ingredient in ground beef.

House Republicans are looking to pass legislation as early as next week that combines 14 land-use bills into one, including legislation that encourages more shooting and archery ranges on federal land and another that would ensure Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials can access all land on the border.

The House has passed dozens of land-use bills throughout the 112th Congress, almost all of which have been non-controversial and able to pass under a suspension of House rules. But Republicans have packaged 14 of these together and are looking to approve that package, H.R. 2578, under regular order.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and a dozen other senators have proposed an amendment to the farm bill that would set federal standards for how egg-laying hens must be treated and how eggs should be labeled.

Feinstein's amendment is the same as her bill, S. 3239, which is aimed at creating a single standard to help ensure states that now have different standards can accept eggs from other states. The bill is based on agreement reached by the United Egg Produces and the Human Society of the United States (HSUS).

Rep. David Price (D-N.C.) criticized the 2013 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill on Thursday because it includes language that prevents the department from spending money on abortion, language that Price said simply repeats current law but is also needlessly inflammatory.

"They seem designed mostly for political effect, but I tell you, political effect cuts both ways," Price said on the floor of the abortion language. "These abortion riders, while unnecessary, are inflammatory. They're divisive. They should not be included in the final bill.