by Congressional Quarterly

resident Bush has rescinded his veto threat against a comprehensive housing package, with the White House saying the measure is too urgent to risk a fight that could delay its enactment. The House is expected to pass the legislation Wednesday. It includes a lifeline for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac proposed by the administration, along with a number of provisions designed to help struggling homeowners stave off foreclosure. The bill also would create a one-time $7,500 credit for first-time homebuyers and a deduction for property taxes of up to $500 for single filers and $1,000 for joint filers for taxpayers who do not itemize. The Senate is expected to take up the bill shortly after the House acts, with a final vote by the end of this week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., acknowledged that some Republicans might try to derail the bill. “I don’t think it can be derailed,” Reid said. “You can slow it up a little bit. I hope we can finish it.” One Republican critic, Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina said: “If they’re going to send us bad policy ... we’re at least going to have the 30 hours of debate.... To say that we’ve got to pass it in 10 minutes on the floor without reading it, which is what they’re going to ask us to do, that’s not going to happen.” But momentum for the bill was clearly building. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd , D-Conn., and ranking panel Republican Richard C. Shelby of Alabama gave their blessing to the package Wednesday. They have spent weeks hammering out a deal with House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank , D-Mass. The administration also threw its full weight behind the measure. “While this bill should have been improved, the temporary Treasury authorities and GSE [government sponsored enterprise] reform provisions are too important to the stability of our nation’s housing market, financial system, and the broader economy not to be enacted immediately,” the White House said in a Statement of Administration Policy.

Subscribe to CQ Midday Update »
Subscribe to C-SPAN Alert! »

   by Congressional Quarterly

The Senate took its first step Tuesday to debate legislation that would tighten policing of energy futures markets. By 94-0, senators agreed to limit debate on the motion to consider the legislation, which is designed to curb speculation in energy markets. But that simply reduced the time for debate on the motion to 30 hours, and there was no deal in sight to cut out that step and start work on amendments. Democrats have positioned the bill as a first step toward bringing down gasoline prices. But Republicans say the measure is too narrow. They want a chance to offer multiple amendments aimed at increasing domestic oil and gas drilling. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky., and other Republicans have complained about the efforts by Democrats to limit the scope and time of the energy debate. They say the Democratic measure, which would increase staffing at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and place more regulations on energy futures trading, would do little to address imbalances of supply and demand. “We have offered Republicans a chance to vote on not just speculation, but the issue they’ve talked about for weeks: allowing state governors to decide on offshore drilling,” Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., said on Monday. Under Reid’s offer, each measure would need 60 votes to prevail. This scenario could prove divisive for Democrats, as there is increasing support for expanded exploration among party members. Republicans said they want a full and open debate on energy policy, including more domestic oil and gas exploration. “My conference is interested in a solution,” McConnell said. “We’re not interested in holding a pair of votes so that we can go home with the political cover to blame the other side for our collective lack of accomplishment.”

Mukasey Asks Congress to Clarify Detainee Rights

July 21, 2008

   by Congressional Quarterly

Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey on Monday asked Congress to pass legislation this year to codify the ground rules for habeas corpus challenges by detainees held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 last month in Boumediene v. Bush that the detainees have a constitutional right to mount legal challenges to their confinement. In a speech at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, Mukasey said that decision, which the court handed down without specifying the parameters of such challenges, creates “a serious risk of inconsistent rulings and considerable uncertainty” in the legal system. The attorney general, himself a former federal judge, said the prospective legislation should specify that judges cannot order the government to bring a detainee into the United States or release them into this country. Mukasey said the bill should provide procedures for protecting sensitive national security information and should bar habeas proceedings from delaying military commission trials for detainees, the first of which began today at Guantanamo Bay. Mukasey said the bill should explicitly state that the United States remains in armed conflict with the Taliban and al Qaeda and can detain enemy combatants for the duration of the conflict. He said the bill also should state that habeas proceedings should be handled by the federal court in Washington. It is not likely that the Democratic-controlled Congress will rush to pass legislation this year. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy , D-Vt., said Mukasey had not conferred with his committee before his speech. “The Congress must not rush to pass yet another piece of ill conceived legislation,” Leahy said. “The Judiciary Committee will continue to address issues related to detainees and will review and consider any proposal from the administration on these matters. With so little time left in this legislative session and the complexity of these issues, it may be an issue more responsibly addressed in the next Congress with a new president.”

View previous stories »