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Leadership shares July 4 plans, from painting to politicking |
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By Mike Soraghan
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Posted: 07/03/07 07:20 PM [ET] |
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) likes to paint. Not on canvas — he likes to get out a bucket and cover some walls.
So before he heads to the Ukraine to talk democracy tomorrow, he’ll be slapping a coat of white paint on his daughter’s old playhouse, which is now a storage shed at his house in Mechanicsville, Md.
“I want it to look nice,” Hoyer said as he ambled through the Capitol this week. “It’s going to be white with some black trim.”
Once he’s done with the shed, it’s off to Kiev for the 16th annual meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to discuss human rights and other issues.
Hoyer also plans to make side trips to Chernobyl and a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust before returning July 9.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) Independence Day break will be lower-profile. Her last two “district work periods” have included well-publicized journeys overseas, first to Syria and the Middle East, then to Greenland and Europe to highlight the effects of climate change.
This time, to the apparent relief of her staff, Pelosi headed home to San Francisco.
“She will be back in California, spending time with her family and participating in events in her district,” Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said.
There’s no clear pattern to the way congressional leaders are spending their Independence Day break. Some are going home to see the fireworks, while others are hopping planes to go overseas.
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is among the world travelers. He will lead a congressional delegation to Estonia and other former Soviet-bloc countries, such as Lithuania. Among those joining him will be Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.).
Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) spent the weekend on the Mississippi coast and sang with a gospel group called the Bibletones. According to spokeswoman Susan Irby, he’s in the Jackson area for the rest of the week and will spend July 4th with two of his grandchildren.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will be spending the week with his family in Washington. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has headed back to the Bluegrass State, where his spokesman said he’s expecting to make numerous stops, including a Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Buckner yesterday.
The house’s Democratic and Republican whips, Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, both will be in their home states to tend to local politics, according to their spokesmen.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois is in Aspen, Colo., to make a presentation to the Aspen Institute and vacation with his family.
House Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam of Florida is in his home state for the weekend, and will do honor-the-troops events on July 4th in Brandon and Bartow.
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