POPVOX Articles

POPVOX Daily Digest - May 20, 2013

marci — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:07:22 -0400

From our Hill sources:
The House:
The House was in Monday to consider two suspension bills, both of which passed in votes of 390-3.

HR 258The Stolen Valor Act, which would make it a crime to lie about earning military medals for financial gain. The bill is a response to a Supreme Court decision that said Congress cannot make lying a crime; that finding led the Court to strike down a broader law on this issue. However, the Court said Congress can criminalize lies about military medals when they are used for a financial gain. The bill passed in the House...

The Week Ahead: May 20 - 25

rachna — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:17:37 -0400

From our Hill Sources: The House and Senate are in for one last week before taking off for Memorial Day, and will use this time to work on issues like the student loan interest rate problem, the Keystone pipeline, and agriculture spending.
Video to Watch: Watch veteran Washington reporter Charlie Mitchell as he shares the back stories and "what to watch" next week in Congress. (Video)

The Senate
The Senate may spend time on an immigration bill this week, but will start off with a five-year farm bill:

S 954 The Farm Bill (or the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act):...

POPVOX Daily Digest - May 17, 2013

marci — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:26:00 -0400

From our Hill sources:

The House was in Friday, and passed one bill:
H.R. 1062 — the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act. This GOP bill would require the Securities and Exchange Commission to apply extra scrutiny to their regulations, and withhold new rules unless their benefits outweigh their costs.
For Republicans, the bill fits in with their deregulation theme. Democrats and the White House say the bill would make it more difficult to implement the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill.
The Senate is not likely to take it up and the White House has said it opposes the bill.

What to Watch in Congress - Week of May 19

marci — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:12:27 -0400

Veteran Washington reporter, Charlie Mitchell, joins POPVOX CEO, Marci Harris, to talk background and highlights for the next week in Congress.
What to Watch this week:
-- Immigration reform in Senate and House ("What does Sen. Orrin Hatch Want?")
-- IRS Oversight hearings in House and Senate
-- Senate Farm bill
-- Keystone Pipeline approval in the House

The POPVOX Top 20: May 10 - 16

rachna — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:45:43 -0400

The Second Amendment Once Again Tops the List in the POPVOX Weekly Roundup
More than 500 people weighed in on the Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act (HR 1565) last week. This is one of more than 50 firearms and gun control bills introduced in this Congress. (See the full list.)
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POPVOX Roundup: Week of May 10 - 16
Here are the bills and proposals...

Issue Spotlight: Firearms and Gun Control

rachna — Thu, 16 May 2013 23:21:58 -0400

5/5/13: Last month, the Senate shelved its planned for a vote on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act, which would ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the national instant criminal background check system and require a background check for every firearm sale. As part of this, the Senate had also considered the bipartisan compromise known as the Toomey-Manchin Amendment, which was opposed by 45 Senators.

Senator Manchin, however, is now working to make changes to his Amendment to garner the support of additional Senators -- and to beat...

POPVOX Daily Digest - May 16, 2013

marci — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:21:52 -0400

From our Hill sources:
The House
The House held its third vote since 2011 on the full repeal of ObamaCare.
H.R. 45 — "Repeal Obamacare" legislation from Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.). Republican leaders promised to give their caucus another shot at repealing ObamaCare a few weeks ago, after having to pull a bill that would have simply tweaked ObamaCare due to lack of GOP support.
The bill passed 229-195, but just like in the last Congress, the Senate will not consider it, and the Obama administration has promised to veto it if it ever could...

POPVOX Daily Digest - May 15, 2013

marci — Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

From our Hill sources:
The Senate
The Senate finally finished work on a bill authorizing federal water and coastal restoration projects.

S 601 The Water Resources Development Act The water projects bill is seen as one that will help in flood mitigation and storm restoration efforts around the country. The bipartisan bill passed the Senate in a 83-14 vote.
The bill does not include language on climate change that was seen as something that would lead to Republican opposition. Nonetheless, it's not clear how quickly the bill can be taken up and passed in the Republican-led House.

The scoop: House leaders promised in April that a vote would come, after a failed attempt to pass legislation to adjust...

Issue Spotlight: Syria

rachna — Sat, 11 May 2013 22:51:38 -0400

President Barack Obama last week described that the United States is investigating whether the Syrian government used chemical weapons, but made clear that he was not inclined to send troops to Syria.
We'd like to spotlight the bills that Congress is considering related to Syria.

HR 893 The Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Accountability Act:
HR 1327 The Free Syria Act:
S 617 The Syria Democratic Transition Act:

Please keep in mind that highlighting a bill doesn't imply a POPVOX endorsement in any way. Rather, we're simply trying to offer one more way to stay...

"What to Watch" in Congress Next Week - with Charlie Mitchell

marci — Sat, 11 May 2013 13:33:28 -0400

Charlie Mitchell is a veteran Washington reporter, former editor of Roll Call, and now Senior Editor at Inside Washington Publishers.
He joins POPVOX CEO, Marci Harris, to preview the week ahead in Congress:

The POPVOX Top 20: May 9

rachna — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:47:33 -0400

The Second Amendment Once Again Tops the List in the POPVOX Weekly Roundup. More than 500 people weighed in on the Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act (HR 1565) last week. This is one of more than 50 firearms and gun control bills introduced in this Congress.

POPVOX Daily Digest - May 9, 2013

marci — Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

From our Hill sources:
On Thursday, the House approved legislation that amounts to a backup plan in case a deal can't be reached on the debt ceiling.
H.R. 807 — the Full Faith and Credit Act. This bill would let the government continue to borrow money to pay interest on the debt, without having it count against the debt ceiling.
Republicans say the bill is a "just in case" measure that would help ensure the government can meet its debt service obligations even if there is no deal to raise the debt ceiling.
Democrats said it's not fair to only create an escape...

Issue Spotlight: National Nurses Week

rachna — Wed, 08 May 2013 09:21:00 -0400

It's National Nurses Week! As HHS Secretary Sebelius explained, the week is to "recognize the contribution of the health care providers at the heart of our health care system."
HRes 201 A resolution supporting the goals and ideals of National Nurses Week on May 6 through May 12, 2013.
We'd like to spotlight bills related to nurses. Weigh in and POPVOX will deliver your message directly to Congress.

HR 1821 The Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for patient protection by establishing safe nurse staffing levels at certain...