The House convenes at 9 a.m. Thursday to begin work on two bills that Republicans believe will help increase U.S. oil exploration.

The House will take up a rule governing debate on H.R. 1229 and H.R. 1230. H.R. 1229, called the Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act, would require the Department of the Interior to act on Gulf drilling permit applications.

A draft transportation authorization bill includes a proposal to tax automobile drivers based on their mileage.

Rep. Poe's proposed legislation would withhold aid to Pakistan until it becomes clear that country was not harboring bin Laden.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and several Democrats on Wednesday night offered their congratulations to President Obama for ordering the successful mission to locate and kill Osama bin Laden.

"Hail to the chief," Pelosi said. "Congratulations and thank you, President Obama. We all know that the death of Osama bin Laden is not the end of terrorism, but it is a significant step. It sends a clear message that the American people will pursue justice."

Senate Democrats on Wednesday overcame a filibuster driven by a small group of Republicans and confirmed John McConnell to be a judge for the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island.

The approval came in a 50-44 vote.

Because of the filibuster threat, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was forced to a file a cloture motion on McConnell's confirmation on Monday in order to allow deliberation to proceed. McConnell became just the fourth district court nominee in more than 60-years to have a cloture motion filed on his confirmation.

Republicans passed the bill over Democratic objections that it goes too far by enforcing this ban through the tax code.

Members of the House on Wednesday voted to end a program established in last year's healthcare law that spends $50 million per year on construction of school-based health facilities.

The House approved the bill, H.R. 1214, in a 235-191 vote. Four Republicans opposed it, and only three Democrats supported it.

The vote is the second in as many days in which the House repealed a piece of the healthcare law. On Tuesday, the House voted 238-183 to end federal grants meant to help states establish health insurance exchanges, although the White House has said it would veto that bill.

The Senate broke a filibuster from a small group of senators on the consideration of U.S. District Court nominee John McConnell on Wednesday with a highly unusual cloture vote.

Several Republicans had taken turns on the Senate floor throughout the week decrying McConnell, who they say is a liberal ideologue with an agenda against American business and "job producers."

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday, for example, insisted John McConnell (no relation) was a “pervasive and persistent hostility to American job creators.”

Senators objected to the nomination in part because of his career as a trial lawyer, during which he collected millions of dollars as part of civil cases against lead paint manufacturers and tobacco companies.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) each spoke out Wednesday on a Republican bill that would permanently ban the use of federal funds for abortion.

The bill, H.R. 3, would not only codify the temporary ban on federally funded abortion, but would also eliminate federal tax breaks on health insurance policies that cover elective abortion procedures. Pelosi and other Democrats said this goes too far and would limit healthcare access for women.

"For the first time, this bill places restrictions on how women with private insurance can spend their private dollars in purchasing health insurance," Pelosi said. "This bill will deny tax credits for women who buy the type of health insurance that they currently have, health insurance that covers a full range of reproductive care."