Capitol Briefing - News and Analysis From the Hill - July 20, 2008

Player of the Week: John Peterson

Capitol Briefing usually selects a lawmaker to be Player of the Week because of his or her role in what happened in the previous seven days. Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.) is a little different, in that he is a prime mover behind what DIDN'T happen on the Hill this week....

By Ben Pershing | July 25, 2008; 5:24 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Player of the Week
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Is Rep. Young a Taxpayer 'Hero'?

Alaska Rep. Don Young (R) is in the reelection fight of his life, and when you're in a tough campaign, it's a good idea to make sure you've got your facts straight. In response to ads attacking his conservative credentials by the group Club for Growth, Young has been airing...

By Ben Pershing | July 25, 2008; 2:42 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: 2008 Campaign
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Good and Bad News for Rep. Buchanan

Correction Appended Even though that new Office of Government Ethics now has a board to run it, it won't be able to investigate any House members this year. That might be good news for Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), who is alleged to have committed potentially serious campaign finance violations. The...

By Ben Pershing | July 25, 2008; 12:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Ethics and Rules
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Ethics Office Takes a Step Forward

Remember the Office of Congressional Ethics? That fancy new investigative body that's supposed to sort through complaints against House members and, possibly, refer them on for further action? It'd be understandable if you don't, since the office isn't up and running yet and won't really be able to investigate much...

By Ben Pershing | July 24, 2008; 3:05 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Ethics and Rules
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A Somber Anniversary

The door Russell Weston Jr. entered 10 years ago today is closed to the public now, though it is adorned with a memorial plaque. The office where he was felled has a new occupant. The Capitol Police force is much bigger -- including one officer whose father was killed by...

By Ben Pershing | July 24, 2008; 2:35 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: House , Senate
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Dems Expect to Gain a 'Whole Bunch of Seats'

The two Democratic congressional campaign chiefs made clear today that they expect the party to gain significant ground in both the House and Senate on Election Day, paving the way for Democrats to team up with a potential President Barack Obama next year to make fundamental public policy changes. In...

By Ben Pershing | July 23, 2008; 4:14 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: 2008 Campaign , Dem. Leaders
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Bush and GOP At Odds...Again

UPDATE 5:50 PM: Capitol Briefing was a bit off in his earlier prediction. The House passed the housing bill today on a 272-152 vote, a margin just small enough that the House could have sustained a veto if Bush had stuck to his guns. But of course, he didn't. UPDATE...

By Ben Pershing | July 23, 2008; 10:50 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (24)
Categories: Agenda , Branch vs. Branch
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Blunt Bullish on GOP Electoral Prospects

House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) expressed confidence today that the GOP was on the right political side on a host of hot-button policy issues, and predicted that his party's prospects for November were far less dire than they've been portrayed in the media. In a meeting with The Washington...

By Ben Pershing | July 22, 2008; 6:28 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (22)
Categories: 2008 Campaign , Agenda , GOP Leaders , House
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Everybody's Workin' for the Weekend

Capitol Briefing would like to apologize at the outset for naming this post after a particular arena-rock song (hey, at least it wasn't "Takin' Care of Business.") But it seemed appropriate given what happened in the Senate yesterday. Specifically, senators and aides burned up the phones changing airline tickets, rescheduling...

By Ben Pershing | July 22, 2008; 12:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (144)
Categories: Agenda , Senate
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The Week Ahead: Top Hill Aides Weigh In

Is the majority stifling the minority? That seems to be the theme of this week in both the House and Senate, where Republicans are agitating for a chance to get votes on their proposals to open up more domestic territory to oil and gas exploration. Democrats say they have their...

By Ben Pershing | July 21, 2008; 5:40 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: The Week Ahead
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Meet Chairman McCarthy

Party convention platforms aren't the most exciting or memorable documents, so don't expect this year's manifestos from Republicans and Democrats to make the bestseller lists. But they do provide a useful forum for each party to hash out its internal policy debates, a tall order for Republicans in 2008 given...

By Ben Pershing | July 21, 2008; 3:54 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: 2008 Campaign , GOP Leaders
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The Week Ahead: Endgame on Housing Bill

A housing rescue package that began to take life last month and gained new momentum last weekend with fresh concerns over the health of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is headed for final consideration on the Hill this week, with the House expected to take up the bicameral compromise measure...

By Ben Pershing | July 21, 2008; 9:04 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Agenda
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Capitol Briefing: July 20, 2008 - July 26, 2008