The Gavel

Yesterday the Education and Labor Committee held a hearing, “Protecting U.S. and Guest Workers: the Recruitment and Employment of Temporary Foreign Labor.” Chairman George Miller: “By preventing U.S. employers from exploiting cheap foreign labor, we will not only end these serious human… Continue

The Oversight Subcommittee on Domestic Policy is currently holding a hearing, “Hot Fuel: Big Oil's Double Standard for Measuring Gasoline.” The hearing is examining high gasoline prices, specifically addressing the “hot fuels” problem — during the summer, the amount of gasoline by… Continue

Last July, despite overwhelming support from the American people and a solid majority of the Congress, President Bush vetoed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2006. Today, the Democratic-led House and Senate are giving the President another chance to sign this… Continue

Today, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and Constitution Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler sent a letter to Vice President Dick Cheney, asking him to recuse himself from any involvement in issues related to the I. Scooter Libby criminal prosecution and potential pardon. Full… Continue

The Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties is currently holding an oversight hearing on the Constitutional limitations on domestic surveillance. The hearing is the first in a series entitled “The Constitution in Crisis: The State of Civil Liberties… Continue

Testimony offered yesterday before the Senate Banking Committee raised questions about whether some student lenders are using inappropriate criteria to determine the loan terms and other borrower benefits they offer to students at different colleges — that is, whether the lenders may… Continue

The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act passed the House, 247-176. Speaker Pelosi closed the debate: Speaker Pelosi: “We’ve had this debate before. Bipartisan majorities in both Houses of Congress have passed similar legislation before. Yet, with his cruel veto pen, President Bush… Continue

Today, the House is debating S. 5, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. On January 11th, the House passed H.R. 3, the DeGette-Castle Stem Cell bill and the Senate passed S. 5 on April 11th. The provisions of S. 5 are identical… Continue

The Science Committee is currently holding a hearing on the Environmental Satellite Monitoring System, or National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). As noted here on Monday, the Associated Press reported that “The Bush administration is drastically scaling back efforts to measure… Continue

The Oversight and Government Reform Committee is currently holding a hearing, “Darfur and the Olympics: A Call for International Action.” Subcommittee Chairman John Tierney has invited classrooms across the country (pdf) to watch the hearing. On Tuesday the House passed a resolution… Continue