Free Republic

Sources say the White House has tentatively signed off on a package of five judicial nominees proposed by Pennsylvania Sens. Arlen Specter and Robert Casey that would fill all of the vacancies on the Eastern District of Pennsylvania bench and one of two openings on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. If the deal goes through, the White House will first withdraw the nomination of Eastern District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter to the 3rd Circuit, replacing her with Eastern District Judge Paul S. Diamond. Pratter's nomination had been met with significant opposition and was ultimately doomed when Casey refused...

WASHINGTON, DC – Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, gave a floor speech on America’s energy policy today. Selected Excerpts of Inhofe’s Energy Speech “I believe that America is not running out of oil and gas or running out of places to look for oil and gas.  America is running out of places where the Democrats in Congress are allowing us to look for oil and gas. Again I ask, why should producing America's own resources be a partisan issue?  It shouldn't be, but it is.  The Democrats in Congress refuse to increase our...

In a futile but determined effort to get some representation in the US Congress I tried to contact Senator kennedy's office to urge him to support domestic drilling for oil and gas. First, you cannot contact his office online. All you can do is fill-in blanks of an online form that will be seen by a $ 5.85/hour flunky who will delete it. Second, you cannot chose "energy" or "oil" as the topic. Kennedy won't stand for it. I wrote anyway, as I did to Senator Kerry and Congressman Neal, and will post their replies.

If you want to know how out of touch Congress is on the issue of wasteful spending, listen to Florida Rep. John Mica defend his pork projects: "There's no way in hell I would support banning earmarks. That's our job, getting elected and making decisions." Mr. Mica is the most powerful Republican on the Transportation Committee. The idea that bringing home federal dollars is integral to a politician's job and essential to getting re-elected is a favorite of Republicans and Democrats alike. Three months ago, Hillary Clinton told the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, "I'm very proud of my earmarks. It's one...

Dear Friend: Thank you for contacting me regarding high gasoline prices. I appreciate the opportunity to hear your views on this important issue, and I share your concerns. Gasoline prices reached an all-time high this year, and costs for food and other basic necessities are rising drastically. As millions of Americans struggle under this increasing burden, oil companies continue to report massive, record-breaking profits - $123 billion last year alone. This is unacceptable, and I want to assure you that I am working hard to lower prices and protect Americans from price gouging. I am proud to be an original...

Sen. Reid Says Polygamy Is 'Form of Organized Crime' Thursday , July 24, 2008 WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took a rare opportunity Thursday to switch roles and testify before his colleagues to blast polygamy, a still-used practice among some who practice the Mormon faith. Reid, D-Nev., is Mormon himself and noted that while his church had cast off its polygamist past, some members continue the practice of men maintaining multiple wives. The groups that still practice polygamy "are a form of organized crime," Reid told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Senate Republicans have threatened to block nearly all other bills pending before the August recess if Democrats refuse to vote with them on expanding offshore drilling. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said bills that do not pertain to energy can wait until after the August recess, with gas prices now surpassing $4 per gallon. McConnell and top Republicans indicated Wednesday they would oppose any procedural votes to take up other legislation, which require 60 votes to succeed. “We think there is nothing more important that we can do right now than to deal with the Number One issue of...

Senate Republicans have threatened to block nearly all other bills pending before the August recess if Democrats refuse to vote with them on expanding offshore drilling. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said bills that do not pertain to energy can wait until after the August recess, with gas prices now surpassing $4 per gallon. McConnell and top Republicans indicated Wednesday they would oppose any procedural votes to take up other legislation, which require 60 votes to succeed. "We think there is nothing more important that we can do right now than to deal with the Number One issue of...

WASHINGTON – Asked if he thinks he has the votes to block legislation lifting the moratorium on offshore oil drilling, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said: "We will have to wait and see." Wait and see? Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi oppose lifting the ban on domestic oil drilling – and they are hoping the American people will just quietly accept gas prices topping $5 a gallon or even higher. They say the key to lowering the price is conservation. WND's Joseph Farah is not accepting that and is organizing efforts to flood Congress with emails, phone calls, letters...

At Hearing, Official EIB Clown Attacks Official EIB ClimatologistJuly 22, 2008 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: The official climatologist of the EIB Network, Dr. Roy Spencer, a brilliant independent climatologist and scientist, former NASA, he's now at University of Alabama at Huntsville, testified before Senator Boxer's committee on climate change research, and they had the following exchange. SPENCER: In conclusion, I am predicting today that the theory that mankind is mostly responsible for global warming will slowly fade away in the coming years, as will the warming itself, and I trust you would agree, Madam Chair, that such a result deserves to...

WASHINGTON, DC –Today, United States Senator Ken Salazar declared victory for the communities of Colorado’s Western Slope. Efforts by Reps. John Salazar and Mark Udall and Senator Salazar will now ensure that language is included in the omnibus spending bill that will prohibit the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from issuing any final regulations for commercial-scale leasing of oil shale and from offering any commercial oil shale leases during fiscal year 2008. Senator Salazar was also able to work in language that specifically reiterates how important it is for the Department of Interior and BLM to cooperate more fully with...

Senate Republicans have threatened to block nearly all other bills pending before the August recess if Democrats refuse to vote with them on expanding offshore drilling. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said bills that do not pertain to energy can wait until after the August recess, with gas prices now surpassing $4 per gallon. McConnell and top Republicans indicated Wednesday they would oppose any procedural votes to take up other legislation, which require 60 votes to succeed. "We think there is nothing more important that we can do right now than to deal with the Number One issue of...

Republican Senate leaders — terrified by the prospect of losing five or more seats in November — have freed their members to vote however they need to vote to get reelected, even if that means bucking the president or the party’s leadership. On at least four votes over the past month — Medicare, housing, the GI Bill and the Farm Bill — Republican leaders haven’t even bothered whipping members to toe the party line or back President Bush’s veto threats. Instead, a GOP leadership aide says leaders have told vulnerable senators that it’s all right to “get well” with voters...

Senators when they place a hold upon various bills. A hold is really a threat to filibuster. With up to six separate opportunities to filibuster any bill, a hold is a powerful tool to force the Senate to take due consideration of each and every Senator's concerns. "It's difficult to work around a Senator. Ultimately, it's a cloture vote. It's very time-consuming, and you can't do that on most issues," Maryland Senator Ben Cardin told THE POLITICO newspaper. Before the August recess, the Senate is expected to consider a proposal by Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-NV) which would make...

WASHINGTON -- House and Senate leaders have largely hammered out a compromise deal on a mammoth housing package that would permit the government to bolster Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in an emergency, overhaul supervision of the housing-finance giants and allow the government to insure up to $300 billion in refinanced mortgages. The deal comes after tense negotiations and is likely to remain a source of contention when the House of Representatives votes Wednesday. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday that a temporary measure to prop up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost the government as much as...

Democrats are preparing next year to lift the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on gays in the military, an uneasy culture-war compromise instituted under the last Democratic administration, should Sen. Barack Obama win the presidency. Rep. Ellen Tauscher, the Walnut Creek Democrat, said a hearing Wednesday by a House Armed Services subcommittee is aimed at educating Congress and the public in preparation for a full-scale push to end the policy, first imposed in 1993 under President Bill Clinton, in the next Congress. By then, Democrats expect to have won the White House and to have expanded their House and Senate...

Opening Statement of Senator James Inhofe Senate Environment and Public Works Full Committee An Update on the Science of Global Warming and its Implications Tuesday, July 22, 2008 Madame Chairman, I am very disappointed to see that this Committee is once again beginning its deliberations on global warming in the wrong manner.  Rather than focusing on substantive issues that would be helpful to the debate on global warming legislation, this Committee is choosing to engage in more political theater with a predetermined outcome.  The rushed process and the complete lack of understanding of the policy implications of the Lieberman Warner doomed...

WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) -- Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate have freed GOP members to go against the traditional party platform if it will help them get re-elected, aides say. The Politico reported Tuesday that the GOP leadership set their members free amid fears they could lose five or more seats to Democrats in November. Republican leaders have told senators in tough re-election bids to side with Democrats on anything but energy and national security issues, a leadership aide told Politico.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Democratic-backed bill to rein in energy market speculators blamed for high crude oil and gasoline prices cleared a U.S. Senate procedural hurdle on Tuesday, but final passage of the legislation remained uncertain. Supporters mustered far more than the 60 votes needed in the 100-member Senate to proceed with the measure, with 94 senators voting "yes" and none against. Yet Republicans may still block a vote on approving the bill unless amendments are added to increase U.S. oil production, such as expanding offshore drilling and developing oil shale fields in the West. The Senate legislation would require...

Before July 15, Senator Jim Bunning was probably best known to Wall Streeters of a certain age as a Hall of Famer who pitched a pair of no-hitters during a major league baseball career that ran from 1955 to 1971. That changed in a hurry, however, when the Republican from Kentucky last week delivered some chin music to three of the government's top financial watchdogs. Bunning grilled Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and Chairman Christopher Cox of the Securities and Exchange Commission during Senate Banking Committee hearings on financial market developments and regulatory responses. From his...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Oil prices will hit $300 a barrel in 10 years if the United States fails to reduce its dependence on foreign imports, billionaire oil investor T. Boone Pickens told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday. The United States imports nearly 70 percent of its oil and Pickens said the world's top petroleum-consuming nation would import 80 percent in a decade if it does not aggressively tap its own natural gas and renewable resources. "If we continue to drift, oil will hit $300 a barrel in 10 years," Pickens testified at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and...

The tricky 60 By: John Bresnahan July 21, 2008 06:58 PM EST Senate Democrats hope Barack Obama will lead them to a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority in November. But it may be a case of “be careful what you wish for.� As some Democrats are quietly acknowledging, sweeping Democratic victories in the fall would put the party under enormous pressure to make good on its promises to end the Iraq war, turn back global warming, provide universal health care, reduce the price of gas, and protect Social Security and Medicare — or to suffer the consequences of failing. If past...

Sen. Tom Coburn spoke on the floor for more than an hour Monday evening to protest the plan by Majority Leader Harry Reid to call up — possibly during the weekend — a yet-to-be-unveiled package of smaller measures held up by the Oklahoma Republican’s opposition.

Even if you offer Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., what she’s been pushing for – taxpayer investments in “green” or renewable energy – she’s not going to budge in her opposition to opening federal lands to oil and natural gas exploration. Talk about willingness to compromise. MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough asked Boxer July 21 about a hypothetical compromise with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, in which Hutchison would agree to investment in “renewable energies like wind and solar, and, and have the federal government get involved in a new type of Manhattan Project,” if Boxer would agree to opening...

On the Senate floor today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., claimed the issue of judicial nominees doesn’t matter to Americans. “I’m telling you, Madam President, I can't ever remember going home and somebody saying, ‘Could you guys (confirm) some more judges? We need to take care of this judges problem.’ ” Reid said. “Frankly, judge(s) is not a big issue (compared) to all of the other problems we're facing in America.”

As if paying $4-plus for gasoline isn't bad enough, some of Colorado's political leaders seem bound and determined to spread pain at the pump to the cost of heating our homes this winter - and for decades to come. Ours is a beautiful state with an abundance of natural resources: silver and gold lured early pioneers, mountain vistas and ski slopes keep visitors coming year after year, and abundant energy sources fuel our economy and our way of life. Not long ago, political leaders of both parties understood that the energy sector is vital to the economic health of our...

The bill, formerly HR.1302, has passed the House and will soon hit the floor of the senate as S.2433. A brief summation: the United States has to end world poverty. 7% of our GDP has to be allocated to this end.

Congressional Democrats want the United States to tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help bring down oil prices, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray said Saturday. Murray said during the Democrats' weekly radio address that with gasoline prices reaching new highs, it is time to use the emergency reserves and urge oil companies to drill on leased federal lands. We believe it's time for the oil companies to use that land and to make sure that it stays in America instead of shipping it to the highest bidder overseas, Murray said. Democrats also think it is time to tap into the...

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared Thursday that negotiating with Sen. Tom Coburn was a waste of time as he laid out an unusual effort to pass a number of bills held up by the Oklahoma Republican. Reid, D-Nev., told reporters that senators were assembling a package of bills, from a number of committees, that Coburn has blocked. He did not identify any specific measure but said the bills had wide support from both Republicans and Democrats. "It is going to be an omnibus bill,'' Reid said. The package would include about 40 bills, he said, adding that...

The House for a second time defeated a Democratic bill to require energy companies to explore their existing oil and gas leases or lose them. The “use-it-or-lose-it” bill (HR 6515) was the Democratic leadership’s response to a drumbeat of Republican calls for legislation to open up new public lands and offshore areas to oil and gas drilling. It was a retread of a measure (HR 6251) that Democrats rushed to the floor ahead of the July 4 recess under suspension of the rules, an expedited procedure requiring a two-thirds vote for passage. The 223-195 vote on that bill June 26...

WASHINGTON, DC - Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today introduced the Drive America on Natural Gas Act to promote the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) vehicles. Inhofe also introduced the American Affordable Fuels Act to relieve pain at the pump. "As Americans continue to suffer from high gas prices, we need to take advantage of our abundant domestic supply of natural gas for use as a transportation fuel," Senator Inhofe said. "The Drive America on Natural Gas Act adds flexibility to the current Renewable Fuels Standard...

(The Politico) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid isn't even up for re-election, but conservatives believe they've found a target for their ire over the energy debate. The American Future Fund, which describes itself as a promoter of free market conservative ideals, has created a fairly rudimentary advertisement that mocks Reid's recent comments that "oil makes us sick" _ comments that shot Reid to the top of YouTube for a day.

<p>WARREN, Michigan (CNN) – John McCain on Thursday described Barack Obama’s Senate record as “more to the left” than Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont — an independent who caucuses with Democrats but has described himself as an “independent Democratic socialist.”</p>

There is no quick fix to $4.50-a-gallon gas, no way to provide instant relief to consumers we know are hurting. Yet President Bush and others continue to push the false promise of offshore oil drilling. Just this week, the president lifted the executive order banning drilling that George H.W. Bush put in place in 1990. And he's asked Congress to lift its own moratorium on oil exploration on the outer continental shelf -- which includes coastal waters as close as three miles from shore. This would be a terrible mistake. It would put our nation's precious coastlines in jeopardy and...

Now that an executive branch ban on offshore oil exploration has been lifted, the time has come for Democrats in Washington to lift their own ban on increased domestic supply. Americans are demanding that Congress do something about record-high gas prices. They recognize that prices will not go down unless supplies go up. And they also know that the only thing now standing in the way of more domestic supply is the Democratic refusal to allow it...

...The bill initially failed within the house, but reports surfaced yesterday that Pelosi and Reid had been holding private meetings with moderate congressional Democrats who have refused to support the bill, in an attempt to revive the legislation. Of course, with my inquisitive mind, I decided to actually look into the bill and determine why Pelosi and Reid are pushing so hard. What I discovered, is that hidden deep inside the bill are some ...

The final vote was 80-16 with Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, both original sponsors of the bill, on the campaign trail and not available to cast a vote However, the $200 billion already spent by U.S. taxpayers on HIV/AIDS here and around the world has not resulted in any cures or a vaccine. On final passage, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky voted with Majority Leader Reid and the Democrats.In addition to spending $50 billion at a time of growing economic difficulties in the U.S., the bill lifts the ban on entry into the U.S. of AIDS-infected aliens,...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two bipartisan groups -- one in the House, the other in the Senate -- are trying to rekindle stalled energy legislation by forging a compromise to expand domestic oil and gas drilling. The groups' efforts come as congressional Democrats are expected to bring up legislation meant to lower record energy prices to the Senate floor on Thursday. The compromise would include new domestic drilling to satisfy Republicans and promote conservation and alternative energy sources to satisfy Democrats, lawmakers said. The Senate group said its plan probably would allow drilling in new areas of the outer continental shelf,...

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid faced more pressure to ease a congressional ban on expanded offshore drilling for oil, as both Republicans and Democrats sought to show they are responding to high energy prices in an election year. Sen. Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said he is ready to move a bill targeting what he called "greedy speculators," which would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission greater authority to regulate energy futures, particularly over-the-counter swaps markets and foreign exchanges operating in the U.S. But Republicans said they may try to block that legislation if it doesn't include measures to...

Forget soccer moms and NASCAR dads. It looks like the swing voter this election year is going to be the “deadbeat borrower.” In Congress, Republicans and Democrats are pushing Barney Frank’s $300 billion boondoggle to underwrite bad loans given to worse customers... And now, activists for the newest civil right - the right to skip your mortgage payments - have taken to the streets of Roxbury. On Tuesday, around 60 local housing activists gathered outside the condo of Paula Taylor. Led by Steve Meacham of the group City Life, they sang the civil rights anthem “‘We Shall Not Be Moved”...

Only 16 Senators, all conservative Republicans, voted against the massive $50 billion global AIDS spending bill (S. 2731) when it came up for a final vote on Wednesday night. The outcome, which included the addition of water projects for Indian reservations, demonstrated the complicity of both major political parties in out-of-control spending designed to benefit a powerful special interest group. The final vote was 80-16 with Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, both original sponsors of the bill, on the campaign trail and not available to cast a vote on the Senate floor. Dr. Paul Zeitz of the Global AIDS...

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, on Monday rejected a call by U.S. President George W. Bush to lift a moratorium on offshore oil drilling. Bush announced on Monday that he lifted the executive branch's restriction on offshore exploration, saying only Congress stood in the way of opening up America's untapped oil riches.

Several Democratic insiders are now saying Sen. Joe Lieberman, D- Conn., will be kicked out of the party's caucus and lose his Senate chairmanship next year if he addresses the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., as planned. Lieberman, the four-term senator from Connecticut who was elected as an independent in 2006 after losing the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 because of his support for the Iraq war, is supporting Republican nominee John McCain for president. According to The New York Times, Lieberman's Democratic colleagues are upset over his openly campaigning and traveling with the senator from Arizona during...

Outlook The precarious state of the economy has eclipsed the presidential election as the principal topic of conversation among politicians in Washington. The shaky condition of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (see below) shows how far the subprime crisis goes with the danger of more banking failures threatening the whole economic structure. With Sen. Barack Obama moving ahead of Sen. John McCain in our latest Electoral College rundown, the private Republican view is that the focus must be on Obama in the coming campaign for McCain to win. A positive campaign will lose, and the spotlight on Obama must be...

Congressional Approval Hits Record-Low 14%** But his latest trip down Tin Pan Alley had an even more personal resonance: Hatch said he was asked by several colleagues to put down his feelings about a very close friend who is facing a serious illness. The friend is the legendary liberal Ted Kennedy, and the colleagues are Democrats who envision having the song played as a tribute to Kennedy at next month's Democratic convention - and as a living example of a brotherhood that transcends party lines. The result, "Headed Home," is a lilting ballad that even its author can't repeat without...

LONDON: One in five parliamentarians in Britain suffers from mental illness caused by the stress of their public lives, a confidential survey of MPs and peers has found. Those questioned said they feared disclosing their struggles because of stigma and discrimination. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Mental Health questionnaire was completed by 94 parliamentarians, 100 lords and 151 parliamentary staff. According to the survey, more than a quarter had a mental health issue, while 86 per cent of MPs said their job was stressful. The group's report is critical of the law forcing MPs to give up their seat for...

1.3 million Americans demand congress take action on oil Staff “Democrats in the House and Senate have stood in the way of more American made energy” said House minority leader John Boehner (R-Ohio). “That’s why almost 70% of our oil that we use everyday has to be imported.” Boehner and other top Republicans spoke at a press conference today to accept a petition from American Solutions signed by 1.3 million Americans. The petition calls on congress to take action now to lower gas prices. Boehner went on to say that the amount of oil imported by the United States continues...

The Democrat party controlled congress has reached a record low approval rating. Will the Pelosi-Reid partnership continue for another 2 years? Is the electorate still asleep?

...Senator Reid and House Speaker Pelosi have both stated that they will not allow drilling legislation to proceed, although they are both aware that the legislation now has enough support to pass both houses. Senator Reid yesterday acknowledged that only 80% of the Senatorial Democratic Caucus opposed lifting the moratorium. If that were the case, then that would mean that the legislation would have close to the 60 votes needed to prevent a filibuster. The argument of Reid, Pelosi, Obama and several other congressional leaders has shifted in the past few weeks from an attitude that we cannot drill to...

SEN. VOINOVICH STATEMENT ON LIFTING OF OFFSHORE DRILLING EXECUTIVE BAN July 14, 2008 WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement after it was announced that President Bush will lift an executive ban on offshore drilling that has been in place since 1990: "Today’s action by President Bush is an important step forward, but it must be matched by Congress lifting its moratorium as soon as possible. Ohio families are being hit hard by sky-high gasoline and diesel prices and we cannot afford to wait...