Today in Washington D. C. - July 14, 2008

On The Floor: On Friday, the Senate sent the housing bill (with a motion to disagree with House amendment #3 to H.R. 3221) back to the House. Today, the Senate reconvenes at 2 PM. Expected to proceed to the global AIDS relief bill (S. 2731) which they invoked cloture on on Friday. Senate Foreign Affairs Comm Chair Joe Biden will offer a substitute amendment expected to be the basis for debate. An agreement has been reached to allow Republicans to offer 10 amendments.

From News & Senate Sources: Friday’s news that California-based IndyMac Bank was seized by federal regulators in the third-largest bank failure in US history has concerned many lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Particularly concerning are the statements from federal regulators pointing to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as “the immediate cause” of IndyMac’s failure. The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, “The director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, John Reich, blamed IndyMac’s failure on comments made in late June by Sen. Charles Schumer (D -NY), who sent a letter to the regulator raising concerns about the bank’s solvency. In the following 11 days, spooked depositors withdrew a total of $1.3 billion. Mr. Reich said Sen. Schumer gave the bank a ‘heart attack.’” Erick Erickson in Redstate reported today on Schumer’s statements and involvement in the IndyMac collapse.

Energy prices continue to be the top public concern. The military is also facing problems from high energy prices (LA Times). Today, President Bush will announce that he is lifting the executive order banning new offshore oil drilling, clearing the way for Congress to act to lift its ban. The Washington Post reports on the debate among lawmakers and the Fairbanks News-Miner chronicles the Alaska delegation’s fight to open up more areas in that state.

Senate Republicans have been pushing for action to address supply issues, while Democrats continue to try to point fingers at their preferred bogeymen: oil companies and futures traders. Democrats are expected to offer a new energy proposal this week, but seem to have little to offer beyond more regulations and threats. Roll Call writes today, “Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) appears intent on preventing votes on opening more areas to offshore drilling despite the stirrings of a revolt by rank-and-file Democrats after months of concerted efforts by House Republicans.” The New Hampshire Union-Leader has heard enough silliness from Democrats on energy markets and says it’s time to “[i]mmediately enroll every Democratic member of Congress in an entry-level economics class.” Yesterday, the ARRA News Service posted "Pelosi is Clueless!"

While all this is going on, Senate Republicans have not forgotten about Democrats’ broken promises on judicial nominees and are holding a forum today to discuss the issue.

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