The following is a roundup of political activity going on in Washington and across the nation. It’s courtesy of Scott Wilk, Community Organizer, and Anchor Consulting group. The Beacon will be posting these daily as they become available.In the House:

  • The House convenes at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business.
  • Ten “One Minutes” Per Side
  • Motion to Go to Conference on H.R. 2346 – Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009 (Rep. Obey – Appropriations) Motion to Instruct Conferees.
  • H.R. 1886 – Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2009 (Rep. Berman – Foreign Affairs) (Subject to a Rule)
  • The following vote will be considered under suspension:
    1. H.R. 1687 – To designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at McKinley Avenue and Third Street, SW., Canton, Ohio, as the “Ralph Regula Federal Building and United States Courthouse” (Rep. Boccieri – Transportation and Infrastructure)
  • The House Appropriations Committee has one bill markup scheduled for today:
    1. Subcommittee Markup – Agriculture
  • 1:00 PM, 2362-A Rayburn
  • With Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) having been named the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, House Republicans are trying to entice Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) to run for re-election by offering him Re. McKeon’s old post as ranking Republican on the Education and Labor Committee.
  • Democratic leaders were close to agreement Wednesday on a spending bill worth about $100 billion, primarily to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They hope to move the legislation through Congress by the weekend.
  • A bipartisan group of Congressmen from Texas and Florida, such as Reps. John Culberson (R-TX) and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) have joined forces to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to NASA’s budget.

In the Senate:

  • The Senate will convene at 10:00 a.m.
  • Morning Business until 2:00pm. The first hour will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. The Republicans will control the first 30 minutes and the Majority will control the next 30 minutes.
  • Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of H.R. 1256, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, with the time until 2:30pm equally divided and controlled between Senators Dodd and Enzi or their designees.
  • At 2:30pm, the Senate will proceed to vote on passage of H.R. 1256, as amended.

Other News

  • The American Medical Association has announced “that it will oppose creation of a government-sponsored insurance plan, which President Obama and many other Democrats see as an essential element of legislation to remake the health care system.” (NYT)
  • However, an “analysis by the group, the nonprofit Small Business Majority, to be released Thursday, concludes that the changes would be better for small employers than continuing the current system, which leaves many of those businesses struggling to afford health benefits for their workers.” (NYT)
  • For its part, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is opposing the plan, and “said it will spend $100 million in an effort to stem the ‘rapidly growing influence of government over private-sector activity,’ in a major new move by the powerful business group to counter the Obama administration’s regulatory agenda.” (WSJ)
  • President Obama will be in Green Bay, Wis. today to tout the benefits of his proposed health care overhaul. (Green Bay Press-Gazette)
  • “A bipartisan group of lawmakers, restaurant chains and consumer advocates reached an agreement on legislation that would require calorie information on restaurant menus or display tags at salad bars and buffet tables.” (WSJ)
  • “At 12:40 p.m. yesterday a man stepped through the doors of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. He took two paces, lowered his rifle at a security guard and, before anyone could react, opened fire in a popular national landmark.” (WaPo)

Federal Grant of the Day

  • The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorizes up to $50 million to carry out a 2008 Aquaculture Grant Program (the 2008 AGP). The 2008 AGP is a Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funded program administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Through the 2008 AGP, FSA will provide grants to State governments to assist eligible aquaculture producers that suffered losses associated with high feed input costs during the 2008 calendar year. State grant amounts will be based on the amount of aquaculture feed used in each State during the 2007 calendar year. Also, for the information to be collected for the 2008 AGP, FSA is requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

Today in History

  • On June 11, 1967, the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors ended with a United Nations-brokered cease-fire. The outnumbered Israel Defense Forces achieved a swift and decisive victory in the brief war, rolling over the Arab coalition that threatened the Jewish state and more than doubling the amount of territory under Israel’s control. The greatest fruit of victory lay in seizing the Old City of Jerusalem from Jordan.

Source and thanks to www.anchor-consult.com | For more information, contact Jamie Gregorian at 571-205-1393 or jgregorian@anchor-consult.com