Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) celebrated his 68th birthday on Wednesday. He celebrated Wednesday afternoon with staff and Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Collins (R-Maine) over cake and snacks.
This weekend, he plans to relax with family and friends.
According to Lieberman press secretary Erika Masonhall, the “martini” glasses were filled with Pellegrino.
Rep. Steve Cohen's (D-Tenn.) district seat of Memphis was recently ranked third in a Forbes Magazine list of the most miserable cities in America. But he's not going to take it lying down.
Cohen took to the House floor Wednesday to sing the praises of the city he called the birthplace of rock and roll, lauding its barbecue, sunsets, entrepreneurs, and hospitals.
A blues music buff, Cohen also cited native sons Elvis Presley Sam Phillips, Willie Mitchell, Isaac Hayes, David Porter, the band Stax, and the Soulville neighborhood.
Luckily, there's an upside to this 'miserable' ranking; Last year, Memphis was ranked even worse, the second most miserable city in America. The dubious honor this year went to Rep. Dennis Cardoza's (D-Calif.) home turf of Stockton, Calif.; Cleveland, Ohio took the top spot.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) on Thursday labeled a C-SPAN caller a "homeboy," but that doesn't mean he agreed with him.
During an interview on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal," a Republican caller pressed Clyburn about the so-called Stupak amendment, an abortion-funding restriction that was included in the House bill over the objection of liberals. The caller then launched into a general complaint about Democrats.
While noting that he and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) are good friends, Clyburn explained why he opposed the anti-abortion rights amendment.
He then defended Democrats' transparency on healthcare, but told the caller, "I do appreciate your being a home boy, so to speak."
Watch the Video here. Clyburn's remarks comes at around 22:40.
Basketball-fan-in-chief Barack Obama is thinking about hitting
the hardwood with the man who sidelined his healthcare reform overhaul,
newly-seated Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.)
The Associated
Press reported Wednesday that Brown's office floated the idea of
holding a charity game in Springfield, Mass., which is considered the
birthplace of basketball. A White House spokesman told the AP that they
are considering the possibility.
Also on Wednesday, Springfield
Mayor Dominic Sarno wrote to the White House, saying that a presidential game could benefit local charities.
Brown has said he would play a two-on-two game, with his daughter Ayla, who plays for Boston College, as his teammate. No word on who might back up the president, who's two daughters are still in grade school.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) attracted a surprise round of applause on Wednesday night when he showed up unexpectedly at the Capitol Hill Club, a GOP hangout.
Instead of treating the opposition leader like an intruder, the full crowd of GOP House members, staffers, and guests embraced him, culminating in a spontaneous round of applause. A few members, according to an ITK spy, even asked, half-jokingly, "What's up, boss?"
Hoyer said he was there looking for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C), who had left only minutes before he arrived. Unfazed, Hoyer stopped to say hello to every table before hitting the road. In a 2009 survey conducted by The Hill, House Republicans named Hoyer as the most bipartisan Democrat in the lower chamber.
This isn't the first time a party leader has ventured onto the other team's turf after hours: Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) used to duck into the National Democratic Club for a quick cigarette after smoking was banned at his own party's club. One visitor reportedly even asked Boehner to autograph a menu at the club in 2007.
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) keeps his eyes on the ice, whether he’s
shooting a puck across it or watching American Olympic athletes dominate
on it.
An avid hockey player (with the stitches to prove it), Quigley paid
congressional tribute this week to two hometown Olympic ice heroes,
speed skater Shani Davis and figure skater Evan Lysacek, and he’s
monitoring the games closely for other Illinois athletes.
There’s even a spreadsheet with their names circulating around the
office.
But the real thrill for this ice man is Team USA men’s
hockey. The only trouble is whom to root for; players from Quigley’s
home team, the National Hockey League’s Chicago Blackhawks, are slapping
the puck for both the U.S. and rival Canada.
According to
his spokeswoman, Quigley (shown here playing in a hometown hockey league) is prepared to flip-flop — he’ll cheer for
American players from rival professional teams for now, then welcome
home his Blackhawks after the games.
Quigley knows firsthand
what it’s like to beat Canadians on the ice: In an episode of MTV’s
personal-growth reality show “The Buried Life” that aired this week,
Quigley challenges the four young Canadian stars to a race across the
rink. He wins handily.
The Verizon Center rocked with the hip-hop sounds of the Black Eyed Peas on Tuesday night and two hip House members used the concert as an opportunity to raise some cash.
Democratic Reps. Glenn Nye (Va.) and William "Lacy" Clay (Mo.) both hosted fundraisers in the boxes above the sold-out show, according to the Sunlight Foundation. No word whether either of them crossed paths with former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, who was also spotted in the crowd.
But while the legislative branch was solidly represented at the stadium, the White House wins the prize for best emissary: President Barack Obama's personal aide, the ultra-cool Reggie Love, reportedly attended a private after-party with the band at the 9:30 Club.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) used his opening statement during a Wednesday morning hearing to take a shot at the Senate.
As he prepared to hear committee testimony from Ben Bernanke, Frank noted that the Federal Reserve chairman would be testifying in the Senate on Thursday.
"This is one of those occasions when we can act first and have confidence that the Senate will, in fact, act second," Frank said.
"We cannot always make that assumption, unfortunately, but we can in this case [we can] because all they have to do is sit there and listen."
The Financial Services Committee chairman is not alone in his frustration with the upper chamber. The Hill reported Tuesday that 290 House-pased bills have stalled in the Senate.
Tempers flared on the House floor Tuesday when Reps. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) and Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) shouted at each other over a health insurance regulation bill.
Lungren proposed an amendment to a bill that would make health insurers subject to both federal and state regulations. DeFazio objected to the measure and may have crossed the line in criticizing Lungren directly.
Fuming, Lungren called in the umpire. "Madame chair, is it not the rules of this House that members address the chair? he growled. It is.
But Lungren was just getting started. His eyes grew bigger as he railed against those who he said didn't understand tort law, quoted William Faulkner, and he issued a loud, dire warning about bipartisanship.
"The suggestion that all you have to do is shout louder than someone else ... is nonsense!" he shouted.
