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Rep. John Murtha [D, PA-12], Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, has died at the age of 77 from complications resulting from gall bladder surgery he had last week. Murtha has served as representative for Pennsylvania’s 12th district since 1974.

We have a comprehensive bio of Murtha on the OpenCongress Wiki, which you can view here.

Mutha’s seat will be filled by special election, making it a likely Republican pick-up. Pennsylvania’s 12th district voted for McCain by .4% in 2008 and it has a PVI rating of R+1.

Photo from Center for American Progress Action Fund used under CC license.

Article Tags: PA-12 John Murtha

C-SPAN called out Obama last month for not televising health care negotiations like he said he would do while on the campaign trail. Well, since he’s starting over on negotiating health care, Obama has decided to let the C-SPAN cameras in on the next round of talks:

President Obama moved to jump-start the stalled health-care debate Sunday, inviting Republicans in Congress to participate in a bipartisan, half-day televised summit on the subject this month.

The president made the offer in an interview with CBS News anchor Katie Couric hours before the network televised the Super Bowl. Obama challenged Republicans, who have been largely unified in opposing his proposals, to bring their best ideas for how to cover more Americans and fix the health insurance system to the public discussion.

“I want to consult closely with our Republican colleagues,” Obama said. “What I want to do is to ask them to put their ideas on the table. . . . I want to come back and have a large meeting, Republicans and Democrats, to go through, systematically, all the best ideas that are out there and move it forward.”

If Republicans accept the invitation, the summit will be held on Feb. 25. Ezra Klein has some thoughts on what to expect. One thing to keep in mind is that Congress’s authority to use budget reconciliation for health care will expire in April when the new budget resolution for 2011 is passed. That means that barring some kind of breakthrough with Republicans, conservative Senate Dems, or progressive House Dems, after this meeting on Feb. 25, there won’t be much time left for Congress to pass a bill.

Article Tags: C-SPAN Health care

I’m in New England where, ironically, it’s been beautiful and sunny all weekend. But I hear there’s been a bit of snow in Washington D.C. At least, that’s the excuse those lazy senators and representatives (and the rest of the federal government) are giving for canceling their work day today and postponing all votes until Tuesday.

Anyhow, I’m postponing the weekly “The Week Ahead in Congress” post until Tuesday morning, so grab the RSS feed to stay on top of Congress’s legislative schedule. There should be some interesting stuff coming up in the latter half of the week, like a jobs bill in the Senate and a bill to repeal the health insurance industry’s antitrust exemption in the House.

If you’re in D.C., hit someone in the face with a snowball for me, and I’ll see you on Tuesday. Otherwise, I’ll be here throughout the day with links and updates on health care, jobs, financial reform and the rest of Congress’s agenda.

Above photo, “All You See is the Rear View Mirror,” from Flickr user LitLinx used under a CC license.

Article Tags: snOMG Snowmaggedon Snowpocalypse

Here is a look at what we’ve been up to this week at OpenCongress:

• President Obama’s $3.8 trillion budget for 2011 was released on Monday. A closer look at it reveals clues as to what the president has planned on a range of issues from health care to taxes.
• Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint of Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy banning gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military. Both agreed the policy should end. In other gay rights news, Congressional Republicans are fighting to prevent gays and lesbians from getting legally married in the District of Columbia.
• Donny has a comprehensive rundown of what is ahead for financial reform in the Senate.
• Congress is looking at a 775% tax increase for pipe tobacco.
• The Democrats may finally have settled on a path forward to pass health care reform. The relevant question, though, is whether they can pull it off. Democrats, however, still do have a “Plan B.”
• A bipartisan group of senators have introduced a bill (S.2977) banning civilian trials for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other co-defendants. In other national security news, the House is working on passing a cybersecurity bill (H.R.4061).
• Senate Democrats announced their own jobs package.
• After 10 months of waiting, the Senate finally confirmed Patricia Smith as solicitor of the Department of Labor. The problem of un-appointed nominees in the Obama administration, however, still persists.
• If you at all enjoyed the Q&A session president Obama held with the House Republicans, sign the petition and demand a regular “question time.”

We here at OpenCongress greatly appreciate your comments and encourage participation on the site. Keep it up.

Is this morning’s press release from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd [D, CT] the death knell of financial reform?:

“Last night, Senator Shelby assured me that he is still committed to finding a consensus on Financial Reform, but for now we have reached an impasse.”

“While I still hope that we will ultimately have a consensus package, it is time to move the process forward.”

“I have instructed my staff to begin drafting legislation to present to the committee later this month.”

Daniel Indiviglio at The Atlantic: “If Shelby isn’t on board, then it’s pretty likely Republicans at large aren’t on board. That means any bill Dodd is finalizing will be a waste of his time, because Republicans will use their 41 votes to block it. That is, if it even gets out of committee, which isn’t a given.”

You would think that a bill giving members of Congress a chance to go down on record in opposition to the Ugandan Parliament’s move to make “homosexual behavior” punishable by death would appeal to both parties. Well, Rep. Howard Berman [D, CA-28] recently introduced a resolution disapproving of the Uganda bill, and of the 38 co-sponsors that have attached their name to the bill, just one of them is a Republican — Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [R, FL-18].

Here is a perfect example of how the Senate works: Sen. Richard Shelby [R, AL] has put a blanket hold on every Obama nominee because of a disagreement over two pork projects in his state.

I have previously discussed the problem with Senate holds, but it basically boils down to the fact that any senator can block any measure, or in this case the confirmation of dozens of government officials, by threatening to grind all Senate action to a halt.

Shelby is angry that the Obama administration is not moving fast enough or may ax two earmarks that could means billions for Alabama. Talking Points Memo has the details on the two projects:

-A $40 billion contract to build air-to-air refueling tankers. From CongressDaily: “Northrop/EADS team would build the planes in Mobile, Ala., but has threatened to pull out of the competition unless the Air Force makes changes to a draft request for proposals.” Federal Times offers more details on the tanker deal, and also confirms its connection to the hold.

-An improvised explosive device testing lab for the FBI. From CongressDaily: “[Shelby] is frustrated that the Obama administration won’t build” the center, which Shelby earmarked $45 million for in 2008. The center is due to be based "at the Army’s Redstone Arsenal.”

Regardless of which party is in power, the inability of the Senate to let the individuals chosen by the president to do their jobs is troubling. And this problem is significantly worse now that it was during President Bush’s first year in office.

As I noted yesterday, Sen. Harry Reid [D, NV] has brought up the idea of bypassing the holds by filling vacant positions while the Senate is in recess – a move known as a recess appointment.

President Bush made 171 recess appointments during his years in office while President Clinton made 139. Obama has yet to make any. In fact, he is the only president in the past 30 years to not make a recess appointment during his first year in office.

During the later Bush years, Senate Democrats often used “pro forma” sessions in the Senate to prevent the president from making recess appointments. A “pro forma session” is when the Senate is called into session, often for just a few seconds, by as little as one senator. Though nothing gets done, the Senate is technically in session, which means recess appointments can’t be made.

This tactic, however, is not available to Republicans as long as they remain the minority party in the Senate.

Article Tags: Senate Hold Barack Obama Harry Reid Richard Shelby

Congress is clearing out ahead of an expected snow storm today but lawmakers did manage to accomplish a few things before skipping town. Here are a few articles and blog posts on note from today:

• A bipartisan group of Senators today announced a resolution condemning a bill in Uganda that would make homosexuality punishable by death. The group includes Sen. Russ Feingold [D, WI], Sen. Tom Coburn [R, OK], Sen. Ben Cardin [D, MD] and Sen. Susan Collins [R, ME]. A similar House resolution (H.Res.1064) was introduced yesterday by Rep. Howard Berman [D, CA-28]. President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton also condemned the Ugandan law at today’s National Prayer Breakfast. (Politico)
• Patricia Smith wasn’t the only Obama nominee confirmed today. The Senate also confirmed Martha Johnson as Administrator of General Services in a 94-2 vote. With Scott Brown set to join the Senate soon, Sen. Harry Reid [D, NV] has brought up the possibility of using recess appointments to fill empty federal positions when the Senate is not in session. President Bush relied heavily on recess appointments during his terms in office and at the time Democrats disapproved of the practice. (The Huffington Post)
• A liberal critique of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision has been that the Court now affords corporations the rights of a person. Now one company is testing the limits of that idea. Murry Hill, Inc., a liberal PR firm from Maryland, is running for Congress. (The Atlantic)
• The House is demanding that the Senate fix some aspects of its health care bill (H.R.3590) before it can pass. Despite plans to dump the “Cornhusker kickback” which pumps federal Medicaid dollars into Nebraska, Democrats are unwilling to drop many of the goodies loaded into the bill for specific states. (Politico)
• On a related note, Sen. Mary Landrieu [D, LA] is defending a “Louisiana Purchase” of $300 million in Medicaid dollars for her state that was inserted into the Senate health care bill. (The Hill)

Article Tags: Mary Landrieu Health Care Citizens United Harry Reid Martha Johnson Howard Berman Susan Collins Ben Cardin Tom Coburn Russ Feingold