Mike Lillis

Waxman ushers in new era

Party tactics trumped seniority. Democrats take a bold step as Henry Waxman, who is far more in line with the president-elect’s agenda, replaces John Dingell as chairman of one of the most powerful House committees.

Shop til we drop — or save?

U.S. consumers have cut back spending — which should be good news because economists and financial counselors have long urged them to pay down their debt, especially on credit cards. But when everyone does it, you get a nasty recession. Congress may have to come to the rescue with a second stimulus package.

Main Street gets the short stick

Late last month, as Congress was on its way to passing the $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan, another economic stimulus measure died a quiet death in the Senate.

Will 2009 bring a re-balance of power?

Some in Congress are calling on the next president to denounce the last decade’s White House power grab and return the notion of legal accountability to Pennsylvania Ave.

What about energy? Democrats tailor their answer as the debate shifts

DENVER — In a rambunctious press conference that could forecast the tone of the energy debate to come, House Democratic leaders clashed with Republican supporters in Denver Tuesday over each party’s approach to offshore oil drilling.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) plans to take up a sweeping energy proposal next month, emphasizing the importance of moving [...]

Defining poverty

In January of 1964, in his first State of the Union Address, President Lyndon B. Johnson presented Congress with a formidable challenge. "This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America," Johnson proclaimed. "Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, [...]

Energy debate excludes conservation

As Congress and the White House joust over the proposed expansion of offshore drilling for oil and gas, the debate has hinged on 68 million acres where the petroleum industry is permitted to explore but hasn’t produced a saleable thing.
For Democrats, the figure is evidence that the companies aren’t doing enough to develop the access [...]

The Senate passes FISA bill

 In what might be the final major legislative victory for President George W. Bush, the Senate on Wednesday passed a controversial modernization of the government’s powers to spy on certain Americans, including legal immunity for the phone companies alleged to have broken the law under the program.

The tally was 69 to 28, with all opposition [...]

Spying powers face more tests

For privacy advocates and civil libertarians, June (not April) was the cruelest month.

First, House Democratic leaders passed a long-negotiated compromise bill expanding the Bush administration’s electronic surveillance authority, including legal immunity for any wrongdoing that the phone companies might have committed in cooperating without court oversight. Days later, the Senate moved overwhelmingly toward passage of the same bill, which [...]

McClellan to testify before the House

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) hasn’t had much luck getting former White House officials to testify before his panel this year. Former senior aides Karl Rove and Harriet Miers, for example, have both defied requests, even in the face of subpoenas. They claim the executive privilege of the president extends also to his advisers. [...]