Congress approves FY 2011 appropriations - Finally!
Apr 15, 2011

The deed is done.

More than six months after the beginning of Fiscal Year 2011, Congress has finally approved funding for the government through September 30.

It took an 11th hour agreement this past Friday and then it took bi-partisan votes in the House and Senate yesterday to make it happen.

It was a messy process, and remained messy yesterday.

While the compromise agreement was touted as $38 billion in cuts, there were, as usual, some squirrely cuts to smooth the deal.

It turns out that the hard-won deal included about $13 - $18 billion of cuts that were kind of smoke and mirror reductions, cuts of money that would not have been spent in any case.

In addition, the Congressional Budget Office analyzed the agreement, and concluded and the net effect of the reductions in this fiscal year is $352 million in outlays. There the problem is that the agreement covered budget authority (the authority to spend money) while the money actually spent each fiscal year is called outlays.

Living With Half a Loaf
Apr 13, 2011

If I am ever involved in a legislative battle where we win a complete and total victory  without any provisions and deals we do not like, I will know that either I am no longer of this world or have sunk into dementia.

Yesterday we learned that Congress will appropriate $2.3 billion for non-proliferation funding, a 9% increase from last year’s funding level and $241 million above the House level.

Some of us have hailed the result as a victory. The non-proliferation program recovered a good deal of the funds that the House had cut and won an increase while many other programs were cut back.

Others pointed out that while the final number was better than that produced by the House, it still was not full funding. We don’t know the final allocation of funds by the Department of Energy.  Congress at the same time approved a large increase in funding for nuclear complex modernization.

Part of the policy process in Washington, D.C. is that winning 100%, total success on an issue without compromises and encumbrances rarely if ever happens.  

The Continuing Resolution Saga Continues
Mar 15, 2011

(http://livableworld.org/calendar/)

The Continuing Resolution saga continues. Last week, the Senate rejected both the House and the Senate Appropriations Committee versions of a bill to fund the government for the rest of Fiscal Year 2011.

On March 9, the Senate rejected the House-passed Continuing Resolution that would have cut the President's budget by $100 billion by a vote of 44 - 56 and a Senate Appropriations Committee version that would cut $51 billion from the President's request by a vote of 42 - 58.

On Friday, March 11, the House Appropriations Committee proposed another short-term Continuing Resolution to fund the government until April 8.

The House is expected to vote on the bill on March 15 -- beware of the ides of March. The Senate should vote later this week.

New House Republicans on Defense Spending: Not Your Father’s GOP
Feb 28, 2011

A number of tea party leaders and newly elected Republican Members of Congress have indicated that any package of deficit reductions should target defense spending as well as domestic. Some Republicans have stated that no program should be off the table when dealing with the U.S. budget deficit.

The recently concluded House of Representatives consideration of the Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Resolution funding the entire federal government was a good test of that sentiment.

While it is important to avoid going overboard in discussing GOP freshmen’s willingness to cut the military budget, it is clear that this is not your father’s Republican Party – at least in the House.

Chris Cillizza Senate line
Feb 18, 2011

Why Tim Kaine matters

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/the-line/off-the-line-michigan-on.html

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine continues to mull the prospect of a bid for the seat being vacated by Sen. Jim Webb (D) in 2012, delaying any announcement until at least next week.

What Kaine decides has obvious implications for the party's hopes of holding the Virginia seat. Kaine, a former Virginia governor, is Democrats' strongest candidate and would make a race against former Sen. George Allen (R) instantly competitive. The Democrats who might run if Kaine doesn't simply don't carry that same stature.

But, Kaine's decision also has less obvious but no less important implications for Democrats nationally.

Why?

Because Democrats haven't had all that much good news this cycle. In addition to the daunting raw numbers -- 23 Democrats (or Democratic-aligned) senators are up for reelection in 2012 as compared to just 10 Republicans --the New Mexico seat is the latest in a string of potentially problematic open seat races that have emerged.

Landing Kaine -- a top-tier recruit who has wavered on the idea of running -- would be the sort of foundational building block that Senate Democrats could build around.

Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) Announces Retirement
Feb 10, 2011

Today, after over 16 years representing Arizona in the Senate, the No. 2 Republican Senator Jon Kyl has announced his retirement. Sen. Kyl is now the 5th Senator (and 2nd Republican) to announce retirement plans this year. His decision follows that of Sen. Conrad (D-ND), Sen. Hutchison (R-TX), Sen. Lieberman (I-CT), and Sen. Webb (D-VA).

As it is well known by now, the arms-control community has had a contentious relationship with Sen. Kyl, who has served as the face of GOP on nuclear issues. The most notable and recent clash was over New START and Senator Kyl's desire to block ratification by any means necessary - in spite of the board bipartisan support the treaty received.

Although the Council wishes Senator Kyl luck in his private endeavors, his retirement may signal hope on the horizon for further progress on President Obama's vision of a world without nuclear weapons. Kyl has long been known as an opponent to ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT )- if and when CTBT is brought to the Senate for ratification, will another Republican Senator step up to lead the opposition? Speculation over who will serve alongside Senator McCain begins now – stay tuned to the Council’s Senate Election Center.

Senate National Security Committee Assignments for 112th Congress
Jan 27, 2011

Appropriations - Democrats:
Chairman Daniel Inouye
Patrick Leahy
Tom  Harkin
Barbara Mikulski
Herb  Kohl
Patty  Murray
Dianne  Feinstein
Richard Durbin
Tim  Johnson
Mary Landrieu
Jack  Reed
Frank Lautenberg
Ben  Nelson
Mark Pryor
Jon  Tester
Sherrod Brown

Appropriations - Republicans
Thad Cochran, Miss.
Mitch McConnell, Ky.
Richard Shelby, Ala.
Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas
Lamar Alexander, Tenn.
Susan Collins, Maine
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
Lindsey Graham, S.C.
Mark Kirk, Ill.
Dan Coats, Ind.
Roy Blunt, Mo.
Jerry Moran, Kan.
John Hoeven, N.D.
Ron Johnson, Wis.

Senate marches on – but slowly!
Jan 24, 2011

Want to know which House members are on which congressional committees? You can look it up.

Who is on House Armed Services Subcommittees? Click here.

Want to know who are the Republican members of the House Appropriations Committee and the various subcommittees? Click here.

Democrats on the same committee? Click here.

And the Senate committees?

Halt. Stop there. Don’t move forward yet. Don’t pass go.

2012 has begun
Jan 06, 2011

Yesterday at 2 PM the balance of power shifted in the House of Representatives. With that came a new set of challenges in furthering President Obama's agenda. The general consensus seems to be that the 112th Congress will be one that will attempt to affect the outcome of the 2012 elections more than the lives of Americans through legislation.

As we have seen in the past few weeks with the successful passage of New START (!), the 9/11 first responders bill, and the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, the President's approval rating has jumped back up to 50 % - the highest we've seen in nearly seven months. It’s tempting to say that the rising approval rating bodes well for President Obama’s reelection chances. However, as Nate Silver points out in his 538 blog, presidential approval ratings at the midterm have very little correlation (okay well, maybe none at all) with the results of the following election.

Part of the lure of politics is the constant guessing game about election outcomes, and this far out from 2012, it seems that most are holding off on putting out their predictions (or projections, as some prefer to call them).
One thing is for certain though - we will see the same incredible highs and lows that come with every election cycle. And that is where the Council's 2012 Election Center comes in. We'll be here and posting the latest news and data right here for you.

Be sure to check back often - it's only going to start getting more exciting.

2011 Congressional, Political, Cultural, Sports and Holiday Schedule
Dec 08, 2010

January
Saturday January 1: New Years Day
Wednesday, Jan. 5: 112th Congress convenes
Monday, Jan. 10: Auburn vs. Oregon for BCS college football championship
Friday, Jan. 14-Monday Jan. 24: Senate recess for Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday
Monday, January 17: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (federal holiday)
Tuesday, Jan. 25:  President Obama’s State of the Union address (tentative)
Wednesday, Jan. 26-Tuesday, Feb. 8: House recess

February
Sunday, February 6: Pro-football Superbowl
Monday, Feb. 7: Administration submits Fiscal Year 2012 Budget to Congress (tentative)
Monday February 14: Valentine's Day
Thursday, Feb. 17-Monday, Feb. 28: Congressional President’s Day recess
Monday February 21: Presidents Day (federal holiday)
Sunday, February 27: 83rd annual Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles