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 is not in session.
• House Oversight chairman wants answers on state dinner breach  -  The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has requested a briefing into how a couple apparently crashed the state dinner at the White House and shook hands with President Barack Obama and the first lady. (The Hill)

In the Senate:

• The Senate convenes at 2pm with morning business until 3pm; Senators will be permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.
• At 3pm, the Senate will resume consideration of H.R.3590, the legislative vehicle for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009.
• There will be no roll call votes on Monday.
• Senate Debate on Health Bill Set to Begin Monday  -  The Senate is set to begin debate on its health-overhaul bill Monday, with Democrats and Republicans planning to offer amendments on divisive subjects such as abortion and taxes that could hamper passage of the bill. (WSJ)

Other News:

• Debate on Creating Jobs, Without Raising Deficit  -  As Democrats renew their push to create jobs, they are at odds over the timing, cost and scope of additional measures, with the White House’s concern about high budget deficits pitted against the eagerness of many in Congress to spur hiring before next year’s elections. (NY Times)
• Lenders to get push to help homeowners  -  The Obama administration plans to announce on Monday efforts to step up pressure on lenders participating in its massive foreclosure prevention program in a push for transparency that should provide new details about the industry’s performance. (Wash Post)
• Supreme Court to take up anti-corruption law  -  The nation’s most potent law against public corruption is in danger of being scaled back or struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. (LA Times)
• Few signposts mark the road to economic recovery  -  The road from recession to recovery is rarely smooth, straight or short. It comes with detours, forks and even dead ends. And sometimes surprises. (AP)
• AP Impact: For-profit colleges haul in gov’t aid  -  Students aren’t the only ones benefiting from the billions of new dollars Washington is spending on college aid for the poor. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

 Grant of the Day:

• Trans-disciplinary Research in Energetics and Cancer- Through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) solicits applications for the centers for Trans-disciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC) in nutrition, physical activity, energy balance, obesity, and cancer. The TREC initiative is designed to foster collaboration across multiple disciplines and encompasses projects that cover the biology, genomics, and genetics of energy balance to behavioral, socio-cultural, and environmental influences upon nutrition, physical activity, weight, energetics, and cancer risk. Applicants responding to this FOA should establish trans-disciplinary research teams with the appropriate breadth of expertise.

TREC has two main goals, which are: (1) to enhance knowledge of the current mechanisms underlying the association between energy balance and carcinogenesis (from cellular, animal or human models to genetics and genomics and across the cancer continuum from causation and prevention); and (2) to explore and integrate the etiology of obesity behavior and relevant health behavior theories, with broad population impact at the social-environmental and policy levels for prevention and control of obesity. Special focus on children, groups at high risk for obesity, and cancer survivors is encouraged.  For a list of eligible applicants and more information, see NIH

The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is February 26, 2010.

Today in History:

• November 30, 1994- On this day, the National Football League (NFL) announced the addition of the league’s 30th franchise – the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Source and thanks to www.anchor-consult.com / For more information, or to be removed from this list, contact Anchor Consulting, LLC at beacon@anchor-consult.com.