Congress

Justice in Hot Water Over Dubious Grants

Another Justice Dept. scandal is gaining traction. This time, it involves the wife of prominent Republican Bill Bennett.

Consumer Safety Panel Weakened

Some lawmakers have been pressing for a bill that would reinvigorate the stumbling commission since last year's toy recall.

War Contractors May Actually Have to Follow the Law

The New York Times reports that in the midst of negotiating their continued presence in Iraq, the U.S. has made a potentially huge concession-- U.S. government contractors would no longer have immunity from Iraq law. The Iraqi Foreign Minister said such an agreement was made yesterday, reversing an immunity provision drawn up in 2003 by Paul Bremer, then head of the Coalition Provisional Authority.

Waxman: White House Knew Of Hunt/Kurdistan Oil Contract

Today the House oversight committee released a reportasserting that the White House knew about an oil deal between the Kurdistan regional government and Texas-based Hunt Oil, though President George W. Bush had claimed he knew nothing about the contract before it was announced. According to the report, Ray Hunt, President of the company, talked to Bush administration advisers months before the deal was made. Also, officials at the Commerce and State departments encouraged the deal and even congratulated Hunt after obtaining the contract.

The deal embarrassed the Bush administration and outraged the Iraqi government when it was announced in September. Bush criticized both parties for making a deal that bypassed the Iraqi national government, especially impolitic as a national oil law was still not established.

Spying Powers Face More Tests

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, amendments aim to hold telecom companies to account for cooperating in the White House warrantless wiretapping program.

Tough Week for Norm Coleman

Over the weekend, National Journal broke a potentially damning piece on the cozy relationship between Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and a St. Paul-based GOP operative named Jeff Larson. It seems that not only has Coleman been getting a sweetheart deal ($600 per month) to live in a bedroom of a Washington home owned by Larson, but he'd also missed two rent payments (which he paid retroactively after a National Journal reporter inquired about the arrangement.) The Journal also revealed that Larson was sitting on another of Colman's rent checks for three months -- cashed only after the reporter came on the scene.

Today, The Minnesota Independent, our affiliate site, has a piece noting that a watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, has filed an ethics complaint against Coleman. From TMI:

Senators Want A More Environmentally Friendly DoD (Good Luck!)

If the people defending the country are poisoning its wells, who needs enemies?

The Washington Post reported Monday that the Defense Dept. is refusing its legal obligation to sign toxic cleanup agreements surrounding 12 Pentagon-run Superfund sites. The DOD is also fighting Environmental Protection Agency orders to clean up military bases in Maryland, Florida and New Jersey, where EPA says the pollutants pose an "imminent and substantial" danger to public health, the Post reported.

Reacting to the report, several Democratic senators called yesterday on DOD Secretary Robert Gates to tighten his ship. Sens. Robert Menendez (N.J.), Frank Lautenberg (N.J.), Barbara Mikulski (Md.), Ben Cardin (Md.) and Bill Nelson (Fla.) accused DOD of nothing less than threatening American lives. From their June 30 letter:

The EPA has found that pollutants "which present an imminent and substantial danger to the public health or welfare" have been released or are about to be released. For instance, at McGuire AFC, the Department of Defense (DOD) has found toxins including PCBs, jet fuel, pesticides, volatile compounds and TCE. TCE, in particular, is a carcinogen known for seeping into drinking water. Investigations at the Fort George C. Meade site revealed contaminants including solvents, pesticides, PCBs, pesticides, waste fuels and waste oils as well as unexploded ordnance.

Full Slate Awaits Senate

By Mike Lillis 06/30/2008

Amid election year politicking, pressing issues stalled, including Medicare and housing.

Running Out the Clock on Plame Documents

By Matthew Blake 06/30/2008

Friday, the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Attorney General Michael Mukasey to provide interviews special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald had with George Bush W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney about Valerie Plame. That effort would appear to be in vain: Mukasey has told the Housse oversight committee, which two weeks ago requested via subpoena the exact same documents, that he won't cooperate.

EPA Very, Very Belatedly Looks At Contaminated Mines In Navajo Nation

By Matthew Blake 06/27/2008

In the late 1950's, the federal government began investigating reports that radiation from uranium ore mines in the Navajo Nation was causing lung cancer deaths. A mere 49 or so years later, the federal government has released its first comprehensive study of the problem. This week the EPA sent to the House oversight committee, the report "Addressing Uranium Contamination In the Navajo Nation."

The New Mexico Independent examines the report and the federal government's huge task in cleaning abandoned mining sites and purifying contaminated groundwater. EPA, though, appears to still be in the "assessing" phase of the myriad health problems. Coordination amongst EPA, the Dept. of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Indian Health Service doesn't seem well defined.

Moving Right or Dodging Bullets?

By Mike Lillis 06/27/2008 | 1 Comment

Housing advocates criticize Democrats for watering-down or cutting proposals that would curb predatory lending and push banks to refinance troubled loans.

Will Lawsuits Make A Comeback?

By Matthew Blake 06/26/2008

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) announced he is co-sponsoring a bill with Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) that would allow consumers to sue manufacturers when medical devices malfunction. In February, the high court ruled that you can't sue a medical device maker in state court if the Food and Drug Administration has tested and approved that device.Waxman, chair of the House oversight committee, found the ruling absolutely ridiculous and spent a four-hour Congressional hearing this April saying as much.
The proposed Medical Device Safety Act will allow consumers to once against bring lawsuits in state courts on food, drugs, and medical devices even if the FDA has approved the product. You can still sue food and drug makers but a pending Supreme Court case may take away that ability as well.

FISA Fight Gets More Interesting

By Mike Lillis 06/25/2008

When the House last week passed legislation to renew a controversial domestic wiretapping program, the groans from the Democratic-Party faithful did little to alter the popular prediction that the Senate would follow closely behind. In fact, the upper chamber had scheduled a cloture vote on the bill this morning in hopes of passing the bill later in the week.

But now that schedule's not so certain. Debate on the Senate housing bill has stalled over tax credits for renewable energy. And the chamber still has to take up bills to fund the Iraq war and prevent Medicare physicians from getting slapped with a 10 percent cut July 1. With the days fast evaporating, there's some question whether the Senate will tackle FISA before the July 4 recess.

Another Year for Abstinence-Only Education Funding?

By Jessica Pearce 06/25/2008 | 1 Comment

Tucked into a Medicare spending bill that passed the House yesterday is a provision that would extend a controversial abstinence-only education program for another year. It's so controversial that 22 states have actually opted out of taking the funding. Two more states have said they plan to decline the funds when the new fiscal year begins in October. The AP reports:

FISA Vote Tied to Telecom Donations

By Mike Lillis 06/24/2008 | 2 Comments

Campaign finance reformers say telecom industry donations netted them a gift in FISA.

Intel Community: Global Warming = Security Threat

By Suemedha Sood 06/24/2008 | 1 Comment

Tomorrow, a congressional hearing will respond to a classified intelligence assessment on the national security consequences of global warming. The 58-page report assesses how climate change can contribute to "political instability around the world, the collapse of governments and the creation of terrorist safe havens."

The report places climate change in the same category as terrorism, nuclear proliferation and Islamic extremism. That isn't too surprising since global warming can lead to crisis such as land and water scarcity, which can trigger mass migration, famine, state failure and civil war.

Dodd Scandal No Hurdle To Housing Bill

By Mike Lillis 06/24/2008

The Senate on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to end debate on legislation tackling the nation's housing crisis, setting the stage for final passage of the bill, which could come later today. Some conservative Republicans had pushed to delay the vote in the wake of the news that the bill's sponsor, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), had received special rates on loans taken out from Countrywide Financial, which stands to benefit under the bill.

A Radical Idea for Washington Lawmakers: Pay Your Bills

By Mike Lillis 06/24/2008

As we speak, the House Budget Committee is hearing testimony about the country's financial mess. It's hardly the first time lawmakers have heard the tale, but that's different than saying they've done anything about it. Instead, we'll probably see Congress blaming the Bush administration for increased deficits and its $700 billion (unpaid) war, while the White House spins the problem as one created by Congress, which votes to approve those deficits every year. In fact, both sides are right (or, rather, wrong), because neither branch has taken any serious steps to rein in federal spending -- steps that would further harm the economy, which would be a dagger for lawmakers seeking reelection and presidents seeking a kind legacy.

Albanian President: I Would Have Given This Junk Away

By Matthew Blake 06/24/2008

The House oversight committee, which is holding a hearing right now on arms contractor AEY, has just released a report on AEY's $300 million contract to supply Afghanistan security forces with weapons and ammo. AEY is in trouble now because much of that ammo was made 30-40 years ago in China. AEY picked it up in Albania, which bought it from China back when it was a Soviet bloc country.

Oversight Must Go On, Minus Star Attraction.

By Matthew Blake 06/24/2008 | 1 Comment

As you read this, the House oversight committee is holding a hearing on how in the world arms contractor AEY and its 22 year-old president Efraim Diveroli were rewarded a $300 million Pentagon contract to be the top weapons supplier for Afghanistan security forces. Unfortunately, neither Diveroli nor former AEY vice-president and licensed masseuse David Packouz, 25, have appeared at the hearing. Both were arrested Friday in AEY's Miami Beach headquarters for illegally buying Chinese-made weapons and then concealing it from the Army. They're out on bail but can't leave the Miami Beach area. And, through their lawyers, Diveroli and Packouz informed the committee they'd just take the 5th if they could appear.

Absent Diveroli and Packouz, it looks like the hearing is open season on Pentagon officers in charge of rewarding federal contracts. These officers didn't check a State Dept. watchlist before awarding the $300 million contract that showed AEY's history of terrible contracting. This history includes selling helmets with peeling paint that fell apart and "junk" AK47's that have been stored, unused, in a warehouse since arriving in Iraq. From these and other incidents military officers told the Pentagon they "don't trust Diveroli" and that he was endangering the national security mission.