The Gavel

Last night the House passed the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act of 2007, H.R. 1851, sponsored by Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-35). The bill expands the number of families receiving vouchers by 20,000 a year for each of the next five years and… Continue

The House has passed the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act by a vote of 223-201. This marks the largest vote in favor of redeployment to date. The legislation, sponsored by Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, would begin the responsible redeployment of… Continue

From the Oversight and Government Reform Committee: Rep. Waxman to Introduce the “Surgeon General Independence Act” WASHINGTON, DC — Today Rep. Henry A. Waxman announced his plans to introduce legislation to protect the Surgeon General from political interference. On Tuesday, the Oversight… Continue

The House is currently debating HR 2956, the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act. The legislation, sponsored by Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, would begin the responsible redeployment of U.S. troops within 120 days and complete redeployment by April 1, 2008. The… Continue

The report describes a policy badly in need of a New Direction. The report is not a snapshot of what is happening in Iraq today, but a sad reality of what has been occurring in that country for the past few years…. Continue

In May, Representative Louise Slaughter (NY-28), Chairwoman of the Rules Committee, requested a report on the contracting for armored vehicles and up-armoring equipment headed to Iraq. The Pentagon Inspector General has just released the report, entitled “Procurement Policy for Armored Vehicles.” Read… Continue

As noted yesterday, after agreeing to appear before the Judiciary Committee, former White House Counsel Harriet Miers’ attorney informed the Committee that under direction from the White House she would not honor the subpoena requiring her appearance. Chairman Conyers and Subcommittee Chairwoman… Continue

This week, the Bush Administration began to lower expectations for the Iraqi progress report on 18 political, economic, and military benchmarks required by Congress by July 15th. The report is expected to be released today. While our troops have performed heroically in… Continue

With the death of Lady Bird Johnson, Texas has lost one of its favorite daughters, and our nation has lost one of its finest first ladies. Lady Bird Johnson was one of our nation's greatest, and first, environmentalists — decades ahead of… Continue

The House has passed the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007, H.R. 2669, by a vote of 273-149. The bill will provide the single largest increase in college aid since the GI bill in 1944. The legislation invests about $18 billion dollars… Continue