Nancy Pelosi

Congressman asks for football break — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Thursday's championship football game between No. 2 Florida and No. 1 Oklahoma is obviously a big game, but big enough to shut down Congress? Rep. Cliff Stearns hopes so. Stearns, a Republican from Ocala, wrote to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday asking her to move votes scheduled for Thursday evening and Friday so House members from Florida and Oklahoma can go to the Bowl Championship Series national title game.... [Tags: big game, bowl championship series, championship football, cliff stearns, congress]

White House: Constructive auto talks with Congress — WASHINGTON — Facing massive job losses, the White House and congressional Democrats are negotiating a deal to provide about $15 billion in loans to prevent Detroit's weakened auto industry from collapsing. The White House said it was in "constructive discussions" with lawmakers in both parties to dole out the assistance as House and Senate staff aides worked through the weekend drafting bailout legislation that is expected to come to a vote next week. A breakthrough on the long-stalled rescue came Friday when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, yielded to President George W. Bush on a key point: allowing the aid... [Tags: army navy football, army navy football game, business decisions, congress washington, congressional democrats]

CBS: $15 billion auto bailout agreement reached — It appears agreement has been reached between the White House and Congress on an auto industry bailout to the tune of $15 billion. The $15 billion will not be drawn from the $700 billion stimulus package, but from the fund supposedly dedicated to getting energy-efficient car production up and running, according to CBS: (CBS/AP) After weeks of tense discussions with the heads of the U.S. auto industry, Democratic Congressional leaders have reached an agreement that may just clear the way for the Big Three to get the money they need to survive ... for now. CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier... [Tags: auto industry, bailout, car production, cbs news correspondent kimberly dozier, chiefs]

Pelosi Helping Clinton Avoid Constitutional Hurdle — This isn't terribly surprising, but it's still worth a quick note: Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office is confirming that she'll support Congressional efforts to get Hillary past the legal hurdle that the wingnuts have thrown down between her and the Secretary of State gig. As I noted below, the Senate leadership is working to craft legislation that will make it possible for her to take the post despite a Constitutional clause saying that members of Congress are ineligible to take an appointed post if the salary for the post in question has increased while the member was in elected office.... [Tags: congressional efforts, constitutional clause, craft legislation, gig, hillary]

Mark Nickolas: Line of Succession: Hillary Clinton Just Four Heartbeats Away From The Presidency — One of the interesting factoids about President-elect Obama's (D) choice of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) as secretary of state is that protocol will dictate that Clinton sit immediately to the right of Obama in cabinet meetings, making for great photos and a fascinating dynamic. The vice president sits immediately across from the president, and each cabinet secretary sits to their right in alternating fashion based on the date the department or agency was created. Along those lines, according to the order of presidential succession -- per the Succession Act of 1947 (61 Stat. 380, 3 U.S.C.§19) -- the secretary of... [Tags: agriculture bill, environmental protection agency, eric holder, hillary clinton, interesting factoids]

Pelosi: World Leaders Sexist Towards Clinton Do So At Their Peril — Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered effusive praise for the appointment of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State on Monday, saying the New York Democrat was an ideal fit for the post, would faithfully carry out Barack Obama's policies and serve as an inspiration to woman, much like Pelosi herself. "I got a call this morning from Hillary Clinton, saying the announcement will be made," Pelosi recalled. "What an exciting moment. Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State. Thomas Jefferson [and now] Hillary Clinton." Speaking at a Hunter College forum on the role of gender in politics, the Speaker downplayed the suggestion -- put... [Tags: barack obama, clinton secretary of state, college forum, director of homeland security, effusive praise]

House To Push $500 Billion Stimulus Package For Obama To Sign On Day One — Nancy Pelosi says the House will push for a stimulus package in the range of $500 billion that will be ready for Barack Obama to sign when he is sworn in on January 20th: U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi met leading governors on Monday to discuss the size and shape of an economic stimulus package that one Democratic aide said was likely to cost around $500 billion. The aide, who asked not to be identified, said the legislation would include a middle-class tax cut, billions of dollars for road, bridge and mass transit construction, expanded aid to states... [Tags: barack obama, billions of dollars, bridge repairs, economic recovery, economic stimulus package]

Matt Mullenweg reveals future of Wordpress - Part 2 — Part two of a great conversation with Matt Mullenweg. When I visited the US Capitol and walked into the Speaker of the House’s office I saw Nancy Pelosi’s PR person using Wordpress. Now THAT is publishing power and gives you an idea of why Wordpress is so important to the world. Here I talk with Matt Mullenweg, founder of Automattic, the company that both holds his name as well as produces Wordpress. We talk about the future of Wordpress because they are about to release a new version.... [Tags: nancy pelosi, pr person, speaker of the house]

Midday Open Thread — Today marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, and while progress has been made over the past 20 years, there remains much to be done, from research to  training, and of course, access and affordability. John Cole's take on the Republican goal of "union busting on a grand scale": It could not be clearer. I do not know what the best thing to do with the auto industry is, and I am sick and tired of all these bailouts. However, I do think it is important that people realize that when Republicans reject a bailout of the auto-industry,... [Tags: 20th anniversary, auto industry, bailout, barack obama, captains of industry]

Carl Pope: Communists in Charleston, WV! — Charleston, WV -- It might surprise you to learn that Charleston, West Virginia, is a hotbed of communist activity and that the leader of the Marxist cell here is the editor of the Charleston Gazette, James A. Haught. But the source is certainly reliable -- Massey Coal Company CEO Don Blankenship. Blankenship seems to be in a bad mood these days. (His stock price is down from over ninety dollars to the teens since July.)So at a speech at the Tug Valley Mining Institute, he lashed out with these remarkable musings:"It is as great a pleasure for me to be... [Tags: al gore, carl pope, charleston gazette, charleston west virginia, charleston wv]

Pelosi Expects Rangel Ethics Report By Early January — Right before the Thanksgiving holiday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement saying she expected the ethics committee investigation into Rep. Charles Rangel by January 3, 2009: "I look forward to reviewing the report at that time." The ethics panel is looking into three things: Rangel's use of Congressional letterhead to solicit donations to City College's school of public service (which is being named after him); his four rent-stabilized apartments; and unreported income from his vacation villa in the Dominican Republic. As allegations and questions have accumulated over recent months (most recently, about a $1 million donation to the school... [Tags: 1 million, allegations, chairmanship, charles rangel, committee investigation]

Pelosi: Rangel ethics investigation will be done by early January — Blog: Speaker Nancy Pelosi says a House ethics committee probe of Rep. Charlie Rangel will be completed by early January 2009.... [Tags: blog, charlie rangel, ethics, nancy pelosi, speaker nancy pelosi]

When I visited the US Capitol and walked into the Speaker of the House’s office I saw Nancy Pelosi’s PR person using Wordpress. Now THAT is publishing power and gives you an idea of why Wordpress is so important to the world. Here I talk with Matt Mullenweg, founder of Automattic, the company that both holds his name as well as produces Wordpress. We talk about the future of Wordpress because they are about to release a new version.... [Tags: nancy pelosi, pr person, speaker of the house]

Pelosi presses Bush to support stimulus — Blog: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pressed President Bush again on Wednesday to accept an interim spending package to boost the shrinking economy befor... [Tags: economy, nancy pelosi, president bush, speaker nancy pelosi, stimulus]

Change You Can Believe In — File this one under, it's about damn time: When the Bush presidency ends, opponents of embryonic stem cell research will face a new political reality that many feel powerless to stop. President-elect Barack Obama is expected to lift restrictions on federal money for such research. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also has expressed interest in going ahead with legislation in the first 100 days of the new Congress if it still is necessary to set up a regulatory framework. And while the new administration and the majority of Americans favor stem cell research, its opponents won't give up the fight,... [Tags: adult stem cells, american society for reproductive medicine, barack obama, bush presidency, damn time]

Giuliani in Georgia — Photograph of Giuliani and Chambliss by Rich Addicks/AP Former mayor and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani was in Georgia today, to campaign for Senator Saxby Chambliss. Chambliss will face off against Democratic challenger Jim Martin in a December 2 run-off. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Giuliani emphasized that Chambliss's Senate seat was critical, "We’ve got to make sure we don’t give (U.S. Sens.) Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Democrats in Washington, D.C., a blank check. If we give them a blank check, they will sign that check and be taking money out of our pockets.”... [Tags: addicks, alaska governor sarah palin, atlanta journal constitution, blank check, democratic challenger]

Freedom's Watch, Remembered: Their Greatest Hits — Ahh, Freedom's Watch. Not long ago, they were supposed to be the New New Shiny Thing in conservative advocacy groups. Funded by Sheldon Adelson, fronted by Ari Fleischer, and with deep connections to organizations like the American Enterprise Institute, they were some war-lovin' fools that were going to blanket the airwaves with issue ads and be total Game Changers. Now, sadly, the group has fallen on hard times, along with Adelson, who, according to reports saw his "net worth had [fallen] by more than $16.6 billion for the year." Karen Tumulty has a piece on Freedom's Watch that captures their... [Tags: advocacy groups, american enterprise institute, ari fleischer, deleterious effects, dina titus]

Beau Friedlander: What Centrist Huh? Beyond Obama's 2.5 Million Jobs — Today Senator Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi hit the Sunday morning shows pushing the mother of all stimulus packages. Pelosi was careful to point out that the price tag for what ails us creeps skyward with every passing day. Schumer came prepared with a number. He thinks we need 5 percent of the GDP, or around $700 billion. The intense and well-choreographed message was a beautiful thing. It followed by just one day President-elect Barack Obama's weekly video address where he announced a presidential prerogative in the form of a specific and ambitious goal: create 2.5... [Tags: ails, amalgamated, ambitious goal, barack obama, beautiful thing]

Dems: Congress Could Back Several Hundred Billion Dollar Stimulus Plan (VIDEO) — Senior Democrats hinted today that Congress could get behind a massive stimulus plan worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Nancy Pelosi on Face the Nation: In a recorded interview with CBS' "Face the Nation" that was aired on Sunday, Pelosi, a California Democrat, said the package should be aimed at creating jobs immediately and include investments for future growth. Pelosi said several economists have called for a package in the hundreds of billions of dollars. When asked if that would be the case for the stimulus package lawmakers are contemplating, Pelosi said: "It could be, if it also contained a... [Tags: barack obama, billion dollars, billions of dollars, california democrat, cbs face the nation]

Pelosi: 'Not helping the auto industry is not an option' — Blog: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says Congress will help the faltering auto industry but that the American people "need to know what they mone... [Tags: auto industry, congress, house nancy pelosi, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house]