Welcome to the 'Cut and Grow Majority'

Contradictions Abound in New Rules Package
Today is a big day in the House, a new era with John Boehner elected as Speaker and a new set of rules that have a real effect on the House, how it does business and how it frames and decides policy. As the Ohio Republican prepares to take on his new role (wait, I am starting to tear up … talk amongst yourselves), I am struck by the differences and parallels with Speaker Newt Gingrich's experience in 1995. The Georgia Republican was the conquering hero, Moses leading his tribe from 40 ye...

Boehner elected speaker of 112th Congress
WASHINGTON — Newly elected speaker John Boehner hailed the Republican Party's return to control of the House Wednesday, vowing a more open legislative process but acknowledging that "a great deal of scar tissue has built up on both sides of the aisle." GOP lawmakers, who picked up 64 House seats in the November Elections, cheered loudly when Boehner defeated Democrat Nancy Pelosi in the roll call for speaker. The Veteran Ohio lawmaker's rise to the speakership was virtually guarantee...

House Speaker Boehner Vows to Lead for 'the People'
With the crack of the gavel, the 112th session of Congress officially began Wednesday, starting with a prayer for wisdom and leadership. The first order of business for the chamber was to officially elect the new House Speaker. "I now pass this gavel and the sacred trust that goes with it to the new speaker," former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. "God bless you, Speaker Boehner." John Boehner said he accepted the gavel cheerfully and gratefully, and he pledged to put the American People in c...

Corporate-Tax Overhaul on Horizon
The White House, congressional Republicans and business groups are moving from different directions toward a consensus that the U.S. corporate-tax code needs a fundamental overhaul. Specific proposals for retooling the complex corporate-tax system aren't on the table, and the debate over the issue is sure to be lengthy and difficult. But President Barack Obama and Republican congressional leaders are sounding some of the same broad themes in discussing the Corporate Tax issue, in contrast with t...

Taking the House, GOP primes for fight with Obama
WASHINGTON — Ascending to speaker of the House, Rep. John Boehner is ready to take the gavel from Democrat Nancy Pelosi, vowing to "give government back to the people" and bring an end to congressional gridlock. "The American People have humbled us. They have refreshed our memories as to just how temporary the privilege to serve is," Boehner says in remarks prepared for his installation later Wednesday as the new speaker. "This is their Congress. It's about them, not us." Taking control of...

Obama on the Debt Limit: Then and Now
Yahoo! Buzz In 2006, Sen. Barack Obama voted against raising the Debt ceiling to allow the U.S. to borrow more money, saying Washington was saddling future generations with its out-of-control spending. Now, his administration is implying that those who say the same are irresponsible. Asked on Wednesday about the seeming contradiction, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that in 2006, the outcome of the vote to raise the legal borrowing authority was not in doubt, and therefore the ...

Obama to Address Chamber
WASHINGTON—In the latest move by the White House to repair relations with U.S. business leaders, President Barack Obama will address the U.S. Chamber of Commerce next month to talk about jobs and The Economy, an administration official said. The Feb. 7 Speech marks a significant overture by the president to the Chamber, the capital's biggest, Richest business lobby. The Chamber and its president, Thomas Donohue, have tangled with the Obama White House over Health Care, industry regulations...

"it wouldnt be a Republican majority if they werent taking an African-Americans voting rights away"
From David Dayen of Firedoglake, whose election coverage I enjoyed, comes what may be the first Race Card played during the Boehner era (emphasis mine): The new House of Representatives will be sworn in at noon today. We have a pretty good sense of their schedule of events for the first few weeks before the State of the Union address, and because the Senate is leaving town (another brilliant Democratic tactical decision), they will have Congress all to themselves. First we’ll have the ado...

And So It Has Come To Demon Pass
Possibly my favorite news of the new Congress has been that its Budget approach will revolve around "deem and pass." This is a parliamentary maneuver in which the House deems a piece of Legislation to have been passed by rule: Because Democrats didn't pass a budget, and because spending authority expires in early March, there's a strong chance that the government will run out of money before the House and Senate agree to new spending levels. When that happens, under the new House rule...

Blumenthal, a lone new Democrat, sworn in to U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON--Democrat Richard Blumenthal was sworn in as Connecticut's junior U.S. Senator on Wednesday, joining a weakened Democratic majority and fulfilling his own lifelong political aspiration. Blumenthal took the oath of office at 12:10 p.m., with his hand on a weathered Bible he borrowed from a family friend. He was one of 17 new senators-but the only new Democrat-sworn in on Wednesday as the 112th Congress officially got underway. Across the Capitol, all five of Connecticut's Democratic ...

Udalls, Bennet lead charge against fillibuster abuse
Colorado’s United States Senators, Michael Bennet and Mark Udall, are up in arms. They are mad, and they aren’t going to take it any more. At least that is what they say about current rules that allow a small minority of senators to derail almost any Legislation by fillibustering against it. Rules currently being debated by the Senate would require a senator to be on the floor while fillibustering. A new package of reforms was introduced today by Senator Tom Udall (D-NM and Mark̵...

Obamas New Regulations on Business Cost $28 Billion
The Obama Administration is regulating everything and anything they can get dream up. Rep. Darryl Issa will be investigating the cost of those regulations on American businesses, and has asked those businesses for input. CNS News reported: As part of a congressional investigation into burdensome regulations, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is asking the business community for help in determining how certain government regulations can hurt job growth. Issa cites the Obama administration’s own

Filibuster Reform Fight Unfolds In Senate
ABC News’ Matthew Jaffe reports:   With the Democrats’ majority in the Senate today dwindling from 58 seats to 53 as the 112th Congress kicked off, they wasted no time in embarking on an effort to change Senate rules to make it harder for the minority party to Filibuster Legislation. “The United States Senate must solve problems, not create them,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in a Speech on the chamber’s floor. “No one can deny that the Filibuster

Obama to Speak to Chamber of Commerce
President Obama will address the U.S. Chamber of Commerce next month in a high-profile bid to develop a better relationship after their corrosive sparring last fall over the business group’s big spending to elect Republicans. He will speak on Feb. 7 to members of the nation’s largest association of business and industry, said Jen Psaki, Mr. Obama’s deputy Communications Director. “The president will discuss his commitment to growing The Economy and making America more competitive an

Taking the House, GOP primes for fight with Obama
WASHINGTON — Taking control of the House at last, Republicans are rushing straight into a political fight with President Barack Obama over Health Care and changes in Washington they say voters demanded in the Midterm Elections. "It's new energy," incoming House Speaker John Boehner told reporters on the eve of his swearing-in. The oath-taking Wednesday ends two years of Democratic dominance in the capital and ushers in a divided government in the run-up to the 2012 congressional and pres...

Taking the House, GOP primes for fight with Obama
WASHINGTON—Taking control of the House at last, Republicans are rushing straight into a political fight with President Barack Obama over Health Care and changes in Washington they say voters demanded in the Midterm Elections. "It's new energy," incoming House Speaker John Boehner told reporters on the eve of his swearing-in. The oath-taking Wednesday ends two years of Democratic dominance in the capital and ushers in a divided government in the run-up to the 2012 congressional and preside...

Boehner Commits To Open Process As GOP Moves Towards Adopting Closed Rule On Health Repeal
Boehner Commits To ‘Open’ Process As GOP Moves Towards Adopting Closed Rule On Health Repeal In a widely televised Inaugural Speech this afternoon, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) reiterated his commitment to “openness” and fair debate in the 112th Congress, even as his new majority prepares to bar Democrats from offering any amendments to the Health Care repeal Legislation and is forgoing the normal process of debating the measures in committee before they’re ...

Today's The Day: Welcome To The New GOP Majority
On Wednesday afternoon, new members of Congress will be sworn in, John Boehner will be elected Speaker, and the Republican majority will settle into control of the House of Representatives. After some pomp and circumstance -- and probably a few tears -- the House will get to work on a dramatically different agenda than Democrats pursued in the 111th Congress. And that's one side of a fundamental tension that will set the stage for (Bipartisan) gridlock, posturing and, eventually, high-stakes b...

It's official: Republicans rule the House
WASHINGTON — Newly elected speaker John Boehner hailed the Republican Party's return to control of the House Wednesday, vowing a more open legislative process but acknowledging that "a great deal of scar tissue has built up on both sides of the aisle." GOP lawmakers, who picked up 64 House seats in the November Elections, cheered loudly when Boehner defeated Democrat Nancy Pelosi in the roll call for speaker. The Veteran Ohio lawmaker's rise to the speakership was virtually guaranteed by...

It's never too early to ask for contributions
Washington (CNN) - Just minutes after being handed the speaker's gavel by outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, new Speaker John Boehner is already asking for financial support. In an email put out by the National Republican Congressional Committee, Boehner points out that "with President Obama in the White House and Democrats running the Senate, we're still outnumbered in Washington." The Ohio Republican then asks GOP supporters for help, saying "your support now will ensure the NRCC begin...

Amendments to health reform repeal filed by Dems to force vote
House Democrats on Wednesday filed four amendments to Republicans' Healthcare Reform Repeal bill in a bid to force an up-or-down vote on popular patient protections in the bill. The amendments seek to preserve:  • The elimination of lifetime limits on care; • The requirement that Insurance plans allow young people up to age 26 to remain on their parents' healthcare policies; • The ban on Discrimination against people with preexisting conditions; and • The provision of free pre

John Boehner takes over as House speaker
WASHINGTON -- Rep. John Boehner was sworn in as the 61st speaker of the House as Republicans took control of the chamber Wednesday. He pledged to make the House "honest, accountable and more responsive" to the needs of the American People. Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), the dean of the House and its longest-serving member, swore in the 20-year Ohio congressman after he defeated the outgoing speaker, Nancy Pelosi, in a 241-173 vote. "The American people have humbled us. They have refreshed our mem...

Constitutional cites, NYT and fundamentalism
The New York Times editorial board wasted little time in attempting to attack the new Republican led House in the way smug elitists usually do … by invoking “Fundamentalism”.   In this case the fundamentalism is an apparent attempt by a party to refocus the Legislation it plans on debating and passing on the “fundamental” legal document of the land. That just won’t do: In any case, it is a presumptuous and self-righteous act, suggesting that they alone understan

Obama Flip Flops on Debt Ceiling
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs defended then-Senator Barack Obama's 2006 vote against raising the Debt ceiling on Wednesday - even as he urged current members of Congress not to "play politics" with the issue. Upon casting a vote against raising the Debt ceiling in 2006, Mr. Obama said, in part: "America has a Debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America's Debt Limit." Gibbs said at his daily briefing We...

Daley at the White House
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