A key job of the majority whip in the U.S. House of Representatives is to corral votes and count heads — to get out the votes of majority party members on preferred legislation. Surely anybody seeking the No. 3 leadership job ought to show his vote-counting skills in the process. Yet even as Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, announced his bid Monday to be majority whip (should Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., move up to replace Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, as majority leader), Chief Deputy Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., was declaring his candidacy to be a done deal because he had the support of 140 members, 23 more than needed to win. Maybe Tiahrt knows something Cantor doesn’t know. Or maybe Tiahrt is just throwing his hat in the ring to further his name for later leadership runs and re-election campaigns.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The West Virginia coal miner deaths rightly have set off a flurry of investigations. A key question: What good are mine safety regulations without enforcement?
According to USA Today, 206 coal-mining accidents have killed 234 miners since 1999. The Mine Safety and Health Administration responded by fining the companies $9.1 million. But only about 28 percent of that money has been collected. Some fines have been reduced on appeal, and some have gone uncollected because the companies went bankrupt.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
President Bush’s thumb-in-your-eye approach to congressional oversight was on full display last week when he made 17 recess appointments, a tactic used by presidents to avoid the Senate confirmation process.
It doesn’t help matters that many of the appointees are widely considered unqualified.
Topping the list is Julie Myers, a credentials-lite government lawyer from Kansas named to head the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Bush also named a political crony, Ellen Sauerbrey (in photo), to lead State Department refugee relief efforts.
Critics point out that some of these appointees are about as qualified for their posts as Michael Brown was to run the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Didn’t Bush learn from that fiasco?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., may be taking a step outside of his usual role as White House ally, at least on the domestic spying issue. Calling for congressional hearings during an appearance Sunday on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” Brownback rightly challenged the administration’s contention that Congress’ post-Sept. 11 war resolution authorized such a program of wiretapping without judicial approval. “There was no discussion in anything that I was around that that gave the president a broad surveillance authority with that resolution,” he said.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
“The real House GOP problem isn’t about lobbyists so much as it is the atrophying of its principles,” The Wall Street Journal wrote in an editorial Monday applauding Rep. Tom DeLay’s decision not to seek to return as majority leader but dismissing House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s sudden interest in lobbying reform. “As their years in power have stretched on, House Republicans have become more passionate about retaining power than in using that power to change or limit the federal government.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
KANSAS GOP LAWMAKERS DON’T REMEMBER ORDERING STUDY CALLING FOR MORE SCHOOL FUNDS; Legislators Accuse Post-Audit Researchers of ‘Bureaucratic Activism’
ALITO GRILLED ABOUT REMARK AT FAST-FOOD WINDOW; Democratic Senators Dispute Nominee’s Claim of ‘Right to Extra Ketchup Packets’
TV STATIONS PULL SPANGLES COMMERCIALS IN RESPONSE TO ANGRY VIEWERS; the Rev. Terry Fox Condemns Forbidden Love in Barbecue Steak Melt Ad
NATIONAL TELETHON SET UP FOR LAWMAKERS RETURNING TAINTED ABRAMOFF MONEY; Phone Operators Swamped by Call-in Pledges
Posted by Randy Scholfield
It’s too bad it needs to happen, but the Wichita Public Library’s crackdown on unpaid fees and fines seems to make sense — especially when the library has a smaller operating budget than most libraries in comparable cities and needs the money. The library plans to start reporting to a collection agency all delinquent accounts of more than $10 (rather than only those of more than $25, as it already does). More than 46,000 people owe the library more than $10, for a total of nearly $2 million. If collected, that could buy a lot more books.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
