Senate

An aide close to Democratic leadership said Friday that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) remains committed to bringing the House-passed budget proposal to the floor next week but the timing has yet to be determined.

Reid may wait until Thursday, however, which is the same day the Senate is set to begin a weeklong recess.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday will scrutinize the U.S.’s role in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as intelligence services continue to weigh the effects of the killing of Osama bin Laden on al Qaeda and the Taliban.

The Senate Finance Committee will examine two free trade agreements next week — one with Panama and one with South Korea.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) on Thursday introduced new legislation aimed at freeing small companies from excessive federal regulation, a move many are likely to see as a response to growing pressure from the right on the centrist Republican as she approaches reelection in 2012.

Tea Party activists in Maine are looking to unseat Snowe, who remains popular across Maine but has had relatively high disapproval ratings among Republicans in recent polls. The name of Snowe's bill alone is likely to please more conservative Republicans: the Freedom from Restrictive Excessive Executive Demands and Onerous Mandates (Freedom) Act.

A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday introduced legislation that would sanction Russian officials involved in the 2009 death of a Russian lawyer who alleged that the government was involved in a tax fraud scheme.

The bill is a reaction to the death of Sergei Magnitsky, whose case has come to be seen as a symbol of corruption in the Russian legal system. Magnitsky was a Russian lawyer hired by an American law firm and who worked for Hermitage Capital.

Goodwin Liu's criticism of then-Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito turned centrist Republicans against him.

The Senate adjourned on Thursday night shortly before 7 p.m., just after it quickly passed a one-year extension to the Small Business Act.

The Senate approved the bill, S. 990, by unanimous consent. It extends certain authorities of the Small Business Administration from May 31, 2011 through May 31, 2012.

The Senate also approved three minor resolutions, and adjourned until 2 p.m. May 23.

Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Thursday night blasted for-profit colleges that he said don't always provide quality education and can leave prospective students in debt. In particular, he criticized an advertisement saying you can get an education while staying at home in bed in your pajamas.

"The ad that just really troubles me shows a lovely young woman who says you can go to college in your pajamas," he said. "You don't even have to get out of bed to go to college, and she's got a computer on her bed there."

House and Senate leaders have reached a deal to extend three expiring Patriot Act surveillance authorities for four years. 

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) on Thursday called on the Obama administration to adopt "more robust rules of engagement" in the ongoing U.S. battle against piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

"My hope for the future is that we can have far more robust rules of engagement empowering … commanders … to eliminate the threat of piracy," said Kirk.

Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) said he is working on bill that would allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to wave debt owed by individuals who were mistakenly given disaster assistance by the government.

The bill would allow FEMA to forgive debts from individuals who benefited from their services under the following circumstances: