Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid speaks during a press conference on a transportation bill. To buy this photo, go to: http://roll.cl/cqrcpix
Who’s to blame for vacant judgeships?
Although the Senate recently confirmed a federal appeals court judge in California, some fear that little progress will be made during an election year, CQ’s John Gramlich reports.
Democrats blame Republican obstructionism, while the GOP says the fault is President Obama’s.
Obama, at this stage in his presidency, has had 146 judicial nominees confirmed, compared with 173 for President George W. Bush and 181 for President Bill Clinton, according to a recent tally from the Alliance for Justice, a liberal advocacy group.
Republicans blame the slow pace of confirmations on the slow rate of nominations by the president. According to the same tally, Obama has nominated 190 judges, compared with 221 for Bush and 233 for Clinton.
Rep. Gerry Connolly works the room at a campaign event. To buy this photo, go to: http://roll.cl/cqrcpix
Should aid to Pakistan be cut?
The House has added provisions to three major bills which would severely restrict or cut off U.S. assistance to Pakistan, while a Senate committee is likely to consider restrictions, CQ’s Emily Cadei reports.
The delayed payments, as well as conditions placed on the aid, are a source of considerable frustration in Pakistan’s government, as well as among the Pakistani public. Pakistanis closely follow U.S. policy toward their country and react to perceived slights.
Inevitably, however, Pakistan and the Obama administration are going to have to live with some restrictions on U.S. aid. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are highly skeptical of how aid dollars are used in Pakistan. That includes money provided to help the Pakistani military fight insurgents, which they suspect is being siphoned off to build up capabilities more oriented toward fighting a conventional war against Pakistan’s archenemy, India.
One of the amendments was authored by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.).
Rep. Darrell Issa speaks during a House committee hearing. To buy this photo, go to: http://roll.cl/cqrcpix
Expectations two years ago that the new House Republican majority would be vigorous and vituperative in its oversight of the Obama administration have come down to this: a balky move to express official annoyance at a single official for not being altogether cooperative in the one investigation that’s consumed almost all the GOP’s oversight oxygen.
Chairman Darrell Issa and his staff at House Oversight, who once boasted of an unprecedented campaign to expose waste, fraud and abuse all across Obama’s world, have instead appeared consumed by Operation Fast and Furious, an undeniably sketchy Justice Department effort to catch Mexican drug cartel operatives by allowing thousands of government-marked weapons to “walk” in their direction.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan speaks at a 2011 tree planting ceremony. To buy this photo, go to: http://roll.cl/cqrcpix
Reuters: ”The Obama administration on Tuesday will propose divvying up $400 million among local school districts that devise new ways of reaching children, especially students from poor and rural families. … To win a share of the money, districts must come up with a way to personalize education, so that each child can advance at his own pace and explore his own interests, the rules state.”
Roll Call: ”Representatives of victims of the 1983 bombing of a Marine barracks in Beirut have been lobbying for months for wording that they say would help them and other victims gain access to the pot of money in a New York bank. They contend that lawyers for another group of victims have out-lobbied them so that injured parties of a 1996 attack on the Khobar Towers complex in Saudi Arabia may get priority to access the funds.The Khobar Towers side says it wants to share the funds and alleges that the Beirut victims’ lawyers are trying to get all the money.”
AP: “White House counterterror chief John Brennan has seized the lead in guiding the debate on which terror leaders will be targeted for drone attacks or raids, establishing a new procedure to vet both military and CIA targets. The move concentrates power over the use of lethal U.S. force outside war zones at the White House.”
This budget resolution from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., would set new FY 2013 budget authority at $3.084 trillion. According to the Senator, his resolution would balance the budget in five years and cut the national deficit by $2 trillion over ten years. It introduces means-testing requirements to Social Security and raises the retirement age to 70 by 2032. It would also means-test Medicare and raise the age of eligibility to 70 over a 20-year window. Senior citizens would be permitted to enroll in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan used by congressional Members and staff. The resolution would set a flat tax rate of 17 percent for all individuals and businesses and eliminate all credits and deductions except the child credit and mortgage interest deduction.
