Senate

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Monday evening that there are 31,000 reasons to pass gun-control reforms.

“There are 31,000 reasons to pass sensible gun legislation,” Boxer said. “That’s how many people die a year at the hands of a gun.”

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said Monday that he hoped newly confirmed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) head, Mary Jo White, would change how credit rating agencies are compensated.

“Every senator here saw it in their state,” Franken said. “The [financial] crisis profoundly affected the everyday lives of millions of people around the country in so many ways. … People lost their homes, they lost their jobs and they lost their health insurance."

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) warned Marilyn Tavenner Monday that she would have to answer tough questions at a Senate Finance Committee hearing later this week.

Travenner is President Obama’s nominee to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Senate Finance Committee will hear testimony from her on Tuesday. She is currently the Acting CMS Administrator.

The Senate, by unanimous consent, approved former federal prosecutor Mary Jo White to head the Wall Street watchdog.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Republicans should be ashamed that they are “afraid” to debate gun-control legislation in the Senate.

“Let us have a debate on violence in America,” Reid said Monday. “Many Senate Republicans seem afraid to even engage in this debate — shame on them. 

“The least Republicans owe the parents of 20 children murdered with guns at Sandy Hook Elementary is a thoughtful debate about whether stronger gun laws could have saved their little babies. The least Republicans owe them is a vote."

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) called for an “honest debate” on gun-control reform Monday.

“Parents, educators, police officers, hunters and sportsmen, and elected leaders have worked hard to find common ground and come up with new solutions to solve the very real problem of gun violence in this country,” Rockefeller said Monday. “And they’ve stuck with it even in the face of some unfair and ugly criticisms by those who would instead turn this moment into a false rallying cry over gun rights that are not threatened in any way, shape or form.”

The Senate meets at 2 p.m., but instead of holding a vote on a judicial nomination, senators are expected to postpone that vote until Tuesday.

That means senators who may be in town will be free to deliver speeches on the Senate floor, but no votes are scheduled.

Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) asked the Defense Department when it will restore funding for the tuition assistance program for military service members.

“We request that you update us on the Department’s implementation plan, including a time frame describing when service members may expect Tuition Assistance to be restored,” Hagan and Inhofe wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday.

Senate Republicans on the Environment and Public Works Committee this week criticized the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for improperly releasing private personal and business information to environmental groups.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), the lead Republican on the committee, and other committee Republicans charged that the EPA answered a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request last year by including business information that should have remained private.

The Senate Armed Services Committee will meet next week to hear from military leaders in the Pacific Command and Korea to discuss the future military needs in the region.

North Korea has been escalating threats of attacks against South Korea and the United States. General James Thurman, Commander of U.S. Forces in Korea, will testify before the committee on Tuesday along with U.S Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Locklear.