This is the weekly review of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Last week's highlights included a hearing about the misinformation lies and propaganda the military used to portray Pat Tillman's friendly fire death and Jessica Lynch's capture and rescue from a hospital in Iraq. The other big story was the issuing of subpoenas to Condoleezza Rice and to the Republican National Committee for emails related to the US Attorney scandal and other White House shenanigans.
All that and more below...
Week Ahead
Hearings
- Tuesday, May 1: Hearing on FDA’s Critical Mission and Challenges for the Future
1:00 pm, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building
- Tuesday, May 1: Full Committee Business Meeting
4:00 pm, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building
- Wednesday, May 2: Hearing on Evaluating Children’s Dentistry under Medicaid
(Subcommittee on Domestic Policy)
2:00 pm, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building
- Thursday, May 3: Hearing on Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in the Federal Crop Insurance Program
10:00 am, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building
|
Week in Review: 04/23/07 - 04/27/07
- April 23: 9/11 Health Effects: Environmental Impacts for Residents and Responders
(Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement)
This hearing actually took place in Brooklyn, and was chaired by Rep Edolphus Towns.
The EPA originally focused on health issues of those who lived and worked in the immediate vicinity of the World Trade Center. Nearly six years later they are being asked to look further from ground zero. Studies have shown that Brooklyn residents are still suffering from the lingering effects of smoke and dust from the 9/11 disaster.
Representative Anthony D. Wiener, a Democrat from southern Brooklyn, recalled watching scraps of paper settling on the terrace of his office near the waterfront in Sheepshead Bay, nearly 10 miles from ground zero.
Experts testified about finding increased asthma rates and home contamination in areas of Brooklyn. The EPA admits that they haven't looked into it much:
Bonnie Bellow, a spokeswoman for the E.P.A. in New York, said by telephone yesterday, "While we had a wide range of various kinds of data to indicate there certainly was some dust that went to Brooklyn, we have focused our program closest to ground zero." The agency, she said, was "prioritizing the testing and the necessary cleanups" there.
NY Times: E.P.A. Is Urged to Widen Focus on 9/11 Health Effects
- April 24: Misleading Information from the Battlefield
LiveBlogs followed the powerful testimony from Kevin Tillman and Mary Tillman and Specialist Bryan O’Neal who was with Pat Tillman when he was shot. A lot of diaries covered this topic Tag: Pat Tillman, Tag: Jessica Lynch, so there’s not much more to say here. However, some of the testimony about how Bush came to portray Tillman’s patriotic story in a speech prompted Waxman to request further information from the DoD and White House. The question is how far along the chain of command did the coverup of Tillman’s actual cause of death go?
Letter to Fred Fielding, White House counsel:
The Oversight Committee is investigating why the Tillman family and the American public were misled about the cause of death of Army Corporal Patrick Tillman. To assist the Committee with its investigation, I ask that you provide documents relating to how and when White House officials learned of the circumstances surrounding Corporal Tillman's death.
Specifically, the Committee requests that you provide all documents received or generated by any official in the Executive Office of the President, including the Communications Office and Office of Speechwriting, between April 22, 2002, and July 1, 2004, that relate to
Corporal Tillman.
- April 25: Full Committee Business Meeting
This is the meeting where the Committee voted on issuing subpoenas for the Secretary of State and the RNC. This has also been a topic of much discussion here on DKos (Tag: subpoena). In particular, I would like to point out Vyan’s diary: The Contempt of Condoleezza for a great review of the Rice story, and Kagro X’s Does your delegation know what inherent contempt is? for discussion of what happens when subpoenas are defied.
- April 25: Federal Electric Transmission Corridors
(Subcommittee on Domestic Policy)
WaPo: Law Lets Firms Bypass State on Power Line Plans
The 2005 Energy Policy Act gives the federal government permission to allow power companies to build power lines without state approval. Under this bill the DOE can declare critical power congestion areas as "National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors". Last year the DOE found the DC Metro area to be one of the most critically congested areas in the country. This gives FERC the authority to approve new transmission lines if the state approval process fails. Right now, the state of Virginia is concerned about a 65-mile power line ($234 million) to be installed by Dominion Energy in Northern Virginia across scenic and historically sensitive areas as well as private property.
Does the Federal government have the authority to bypass the state’s decision whether to allow the power line or not? Tom Davis (R-VA) in his opening statement said, "It is also important that the Federal Government not needlessly usurp the longstanding authority and role of the states on this issue." Davis proposed that building new power lines is not a silver bullet in managing energy consumption. Other methods and means of reducing consumer demand should be looked into before embarking on a costly and environmentally damaging solution.
|
Legislation - NEW
Here are the bills & resolutions introduced last week - listed under the Subcommittee which has jurisdiction over the matter.
Domestic Policy
- H.R.2015 : To prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Sponsor: Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4]
- H.R.2034 : To provide quality, affordable health care for all Americans.
Sponsor: Rep Dingell, John D. [MI-15]
- H.R.2047 : To remove the 18 or 36 month limitation on the period of COBRA continuation coverage.
Sponsor: Rep Dent, Charles W. [PA-15]
|
National Security and Foreign Affairs
- H.R.1992 : To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to prohibit the import, export, and sale of goods made with sweatshop labor, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Michaud, Michael H. [ME-2]
|
Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia
- H.R.2007 : To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide that the National Security Personnel System shall not apply with respect to certain laboratories within the Department of Defense.
- H.R.2025 : To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 11033 South State Street in Chicago, Illinois, as the "Willye B. White Post Office Building".
Sponsor: Rep Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. [IL-2]
|
Legislation - UPDATES
- H.RES.179 : Expressing support for a National Foster Parents Day.
Sponsor: Rep Boyda, Nancy E. [KS-2] (introduced 2/16/2007) Cosponsors (62)
Latest Major Action: 4/23/2007 Passed/agreed to in House.
Status: On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 390 - 0 (Roll no. 245).
- H.R.625 : To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4230 Maine Avenue in Baldwin Park, California, as the "Atanacio Haro-Marin Post Office".
Sponsor: Rep Solis, Hilda L. [CA-32] (introduced 1/22/2007) Cosponsors (52)
Latest Major Action: 4/24/2007 Referred to Senate committee.
Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- H.R.1402 : To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 320 South Lecanto Highway in Lecanto, Florida, as the "Sergeant Dennis J. Flanagan Lecanto Post Office Building".
Sponsor: Rep Brown-Waite, Ginny [FL-5] (introduced 3/8/2007) Cosponsors (24)
Latest Major Action: 4/24/2007 Referred to Senate committee.
Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
- H.R.1434 : To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 896 Pittsburgh Street in Springdale, Pennsylvania, as the "Rachel Carson Post Office Building".
Sponsor: Rep Altmire, Jason [PA-4] (introduced 3/9/2007) Cosponsors (40)
Latest Major Action: 4/24/2007 Referred to Senate committee.
Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- H.R.1873 : To reauthorize the programs and activities of the Small Business Administration relating to procurement, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Braley, Bruce L. [IA-1] (introduced 4/17/2007) Cosponsors (29)
Latest Major Action: 4/26/2007 Referred to House committee.
Status: Referred sequentially to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for a period ending not later than May 4, 2007 for consideration of such provisions of the bill and amendment as fall within the jurisdiction of that committee pursuant to clause 1(m), rule X.
|