During another slow week in Congress, Jesse Jackson Jr. resigns, Nydia Velazquez (NY) ignores a subpoena, the Department of Homeland Security gets investigated, the Senate fights about filibusters, and the Trans-Pacific-Partnership is confirmed as real, secret, and scary.
Bills Signed Into Law: – HR 2606: Fast tracks Rockaways gas pipeline for Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company (Transco) – S 1956: Prohibits airlines from participating in EU cap & trade program. Jesse Jackson Resignation – Hasn’t been seen since June and didn’t campaign but still won his seat – Is under investigation for allegedly trying to buy Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat in 2008. Nydia Velazquez (NY) sent a letter to Congress saying she is going to ignore a subpoena – No information available on the court case she is involved in or why she is ignoring the subpoena. – Represents Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan, Queens. – Has been serving for 20 years – Top contributor is Goldman Sachs (she’s on the financial services committee) – Got the vast majority of her 2012 Money from large individual donors (rich people) and secret PACs (almost half a million) – Voted for bailouts and against auditing the Fed HR 5913: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Accountability Act- passed the House 11/27 – Independent panel to do an assessment of DHS because its creation was and remains high risk. – DHS was a creation of the Bush administration in 2002 – 22 agencies were merged = dysfunctional government – FEMA – issued huge contracts with little to no oversight after Katrina. – TSA – hundreds of employees have been arrested for thefts. – Immigration & Border Patrol- employees arrested for accepting bribes. – Federal protective service – short staffed and not performing their duties sufficiently. – Senate also passed S. 1998: tells DHS to keep financial records for an audit next year HR 6429: STEM Jobs Act- passed the House 11/30 – Legislation backed by Apple, Oracle, Cisco, & Adobe – Makes it easier for foreign students graduating with degrees in science, Technology, engineering, and math to get visas – Limits the number of visas for regular families – Eliminates the diversity visa program that gives visas to people from more random countries – Won’t be become law; Obama administration is opposed Filibuster Change in Senate – Filibuster = Objection that postpones a bill from coming up for a vote. – One strategy is endless debate: Senate rules allow Senators to speak as long as they wish unless 60 Senators vote to shut them up (cloture). – Another strategy is an individual Senator placing a hold; if 60 votes aren’t there to over-ride the hold, the bill is blocked from a vote. – Changes to Senate rules can be done by a simple majority but only on the first day of the session in January. – Most likely change: the next Congress might require the blocker to stay on the floor and defend their objection. – 1960’s: No Congress had more than 7, 2000’s: Avg over 100 in each of the last 3 Congresses Trans Pacific Partnership – A trade deal being crafted in secret with the cooperation of 600 corporations. – Will manage 40% of all global trade (according to Secretary of State Clinton). – Congressional representatives have been denied access to TPP negotiations and documents. – Next round scheduled for next week (Dec. 3-12) in Auckland, New Zealand
