The House of Representatives passed legislation Friday designed to bring the most sweeping rewrite of financial regulation since the New Deal era following the Great Depression: "We are sending a clear message to Wall Street: The party is over," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Florida Republicans joined their counterparts in [...]
Environment Florida is panning the approach senators have taken in a new Senate climate control bill, saying it could lead to drilling off the Florida coast.
"Offshore drilling has no place in a climate bill," said Environment Florida's Adam Rivera. "Drilling means more emissions, and more emissions in a bill designed to" [...]
That would be Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, according to this week's National Journal poll of Congressional and political insiders -- who are surveyed on "their favorite members of Congress, the member they'd like most to shut up, the brightest thinkers and strategists in their parties and much more."
Congressional insiders gave [...]
Bill Nelson’s bill to ban giant constrictors cleared a Senate panel today, setting it up for a full Senate vote. His bill would make it illegal to import 9 dangerous snakes, including Burmese pythons, anacondas and boa constrictors.
The green anaconda has been found in the Big Cypress National Preserve in South Florida. And a pet python [...]
A Miami-Dade man who punched a demonstrator at a healthcare rally has reached a plea deal with prosecutors and will take anger management courses and serve 50 hours of community service.
Raul Anasagasti, 56, is scheduled to appear in Miami-Dade Circuit Court Thursday.
Back in September, Anasagasti punched a 65-year-old man [...]
George LeMieux said he had about 50 attendees -- and several who couldn't attend but sent checks -- to a reception and dinner Tuesday night to benefit his new political action committee, Protect America's Future.
The Gov. Charlie Crist appointee brushed off speculation he'll use the committee for a future political bid when he leaves the Senate after' [...]
House and Senate negotiators have apparently reached a deal to keep anti-Castro broadcasters Radio and TV Marti alive. Congressional critics in the Senate had proposed slicing the stations' $34 million budget nearly in half -- but a compromise has been reached, setting the 2010 budget at $30 million.
Florida Sen. George LeMieux, who had threatened' [...]
Bill Nelson's office say commuter rail in Florida has gotten a second big boost -- congressional budget negotiators late last night agreed to spend $40 million to help jumpstart a rail system that will serve
commuters in Central Florida.
There's also $1.7 million for planning for light rail in Tampa and $4 million for expansion of' [...]
Flashing badges, federal agents descended on Florida's Capitol this week questioning senators and staff members about the Legislature, indicted political player Alan Mendelsohn and former Sen. Mandy Dawson.
"`They had pretty basic questions about the legislative process, but they did ask about Alan Mendelsohn,'' said Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Treasure Island.
"`They asked [...]
Republican Senators John McCain and Tom Coburn included a Florida Atlantic University study on mice and alcohol in a report they say flags wasteful spending in the $787 billion federal stimulus project.
They note researchers at the school received $8,408 to study whether mice become disoriented when they consume alcohol.
"The researchers note that" [...]
From the Hill: Freddy Balsera, a former adviser to President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign received nearly $70,000 from a federal stimulus bill contract to help alert television viewers in difficult-to-reach communities that their TV's would soon no longer receive broadcast signals.
"Republicans on Tuesday criticized the federal spending on the advertising'" [...]
Not surprisingly, Florida's two senators split their votes on an amendment to restrict abortion coverage. Democrat Bill Nelson voted to set aside the provision, while Republican George LeMieux voted to take it up.
The measure, which cleared the House would have put strict limits on federal abortion funding in the Democrats'' [...]
New Sen. George LeMieux says " the Florida Legislature put the interests of Floridians first by supporting
commuter rail in Central and South Florida.
"With support for rail from the state, Florida’s chances of winning federal high-speed rail money greatly
improve," LeMieux says in a statement. "A high-speed rail corridor will [...]
Reuters: "Much of a $6 billion annual tax break for U.S. corporate research is a windfall for companies that would do the research even without such a subsidy, the investigative arm of Congress said on Tuesday.
Use of the tax credit is dominated by large corporations, and half of the 2005" [...]
Politico: The Miami Dolphins corrected Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal for wrongly claiming his 12-0 New Orleans Saints could be the first team in league history to go undefeated and win the Super Bowl.
" 'With all due respect to Governor Jindal, our fans in Louisiana and elsewhere will be disappointed to learn'" [...]
Politico reporter Jon Allen tells friends he's heading to work for Debbie Wasserman Schultz's political action committee, Democrats Win Seats.
Allen, who starts as executive director of the leadership PAC in January, says he's "very excited to work for someone whom I admire and respect."
Wasserman Schultz and two other House Dems are said' [...]
John Kerry, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, opines in today's St. Pete Times in favor of lifting the ban on travel to Cuba.
"Today, we have a choice: seek solace in old rhetoric, ignore change and resist it, or mold it and channel it into a new policy'" [...]
From Twitter and tonight's White House holiday party for members of Congress comes this report from Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen:
"The White House always looks lovely @ Christmas: attended Congressional party 2nite. Hate to be catty but the First Lady looked stunning."
Claws have to be a lot sharper for catty....
[...]A fiery John McCain took to the Senate floor to offer a health care amendment -- and tweaked Bill Nelson in the process. The Arizona Republican said his amendment would send the Senate health care bill back to committee to grandfather in all enrollees in the Medicare Advantage programs -- Nelson and [...]
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen says the trip to Israel that drew scrutiny from the New York Times today was cleared ahead of time by the House ethics committee. Here's the documents from the trip.
The Times wrote this morning that "despite changes intended to curb Congressional junkets, some lawmakers and even their'" [...]
Sens. Bill Nelson and George LeMieux are urging Florida lawmakers to pass the rail bill, arguing in a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist and state legislative leaders that without it, "the prospects for receiving federal high speed rail funding diminish greatly.
"Without statewide support for rail, (Florida) will essentially be sending billions and billions of federal [...]
Hopefully the Senate health care bill will include a dental plan. Seems Florida Sen. George LeMieux has been given the working space on the Senate floor designated as the "Candy Desk." Part of a long Senate tradition involving the chamber's wooden desks, the candy desk inhabitant -- often a new member -- is [...]
The New York Times writes that "Despite changes intended to curb Congressional junkets, some lawmakers and even their families continue to take trips hosted by private groups and companies that revel in their access to Washington power brokers."
Those featured include Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican, who, on a "privately sponsored trip," [...]
The White House is calling on the Iranian government to help find Robert Levinson, a Coral Springs man who went missing 1,000 days ago.
Levinson's family, including his wife, Christine Levinson, met today with National Security Advisor James L. Jones, whom the White House says "reassure(d) them that Bob's case remains" [...]
Florida lawmakers are stepping into the debate over pending federal standards that could force the state to clean up polluted Florida waterways.
After losing on the legal front, a powerful coalition of agriculture and business interests, wastewater utilities, water managers and tax watchdogs last month mounted a lobbying assault on the rules that [...]
Several weeks ago, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Yvonne Colodny accepted a new friend request on the social networking site Facebook -- from Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones.
On Thursday, Spence-Jones was not a pal but a defendant whose criminal case appeared before Colodny for arraignment.
Colodny disclosed the tidbit to lawyers in the case, [...]
Seems the onetime champion of anti-immigration activists -- now mulling a run for office -- has ticked off his one-time allies by suggesting he'd back a pathway to legalization for illegal immigrants.
Americans for Legal Immigration PAC says it's so mad it's withdrawing support for the former CNN anchor, including suspending websites that championed Dobbs [...]
The news that Bill Nelson is the second-most Google'd senator in the country flummoxed the New York Times. But not Nelson.
"I told my wife Grace not to push the refresh button so many times," he just Twittered.
' [...]Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is asking the Senate Select Committee on Ethics to investigate the Senate's failure to follow a 2007 provision that prohibits the use of secret "holds" to block legislation -- and nominees. (Florida Sen. George LeMieux has three holds pending, including a block on the nomination of [...]
The New York Times' political blog notes that Ted Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who died of brain cancer in August, was the No. 1 most searched senator, according to new figures from search engine Google.
The blog marvels that he was followed by Bill Nelson, "Florida’s senior Democratic senator, and Senator Barbara'" [...]
Some Democrats aren't enthused by President Barack Obama's plan to escalate the war in Afghanistan, but a number of Florida Democrats are standing behind him.
Florida Sen. Bill Nelson: "I think the president has a sensible plan, both short- and- long term, to empower the Afghan people and allow for U.S.'" [...]
The Miami Republican -- the top GOP'er on the House Foreign Affairs committee -- will be among a bipartisan group of lawmakers getting a heads-up from President Barack Obama and veep Joe Biden on the administration's plans to escalate the war in Afghanistan.
The lawmakers will meet with Obama and Biden before Obama boards [...]
There's always a Florida connection. Seems Tareq Salahi -- who along with his wife, Michaele, made it into a state dinner Tuesday night without an invite -- has an estranged brother living in Jacksonville.
"I was just as surprised as everybody else was,' Dr. Ismail Salahi told a local TV station.'" [...]
The Florida National Organization for Women will host a protest outside Bill Nelson's West Palm Beach office Saturday to oppose a provision in the House health care bill that restricts abortion coverage. The provision is not in the Senate version and Florida NOW wants to keep it that way.
“We cannot [...]
Tallahassee's Allan J. Katz has been nominated ambassador to the Portuguese Republic (that's the official name for Portugal)
Katz, a major Obama fundraiser and member of his national finance committee, is a former city commissioner in Tallahassee.
President Barack Obama also nominated Bisa Williams -- whose recent trip to Cuba made headlines -- [...]
Ah, the perks of raising money for candidates! Wagar, the Coconut Grove attorney and President Barack Obama's chief Florida fundraiser during the 2008 campaign, is among the bigwigs at tonight's State Dinner at the White House in honor of India, mingling with political dignitaries and the likes of actors Blair Underwood and Alfre Woodard, directors [...]
The 60 Plus Association -- which bills itself as the "conservative alternative" to the AARP -- today announced a new ad campaign targeting senators like Bill Nelson who voted Saturday to keep debating the Senate health care bill.
The $2 million ad buy which begins tomorrow, target centrist Democratic senators in 7 other states – Alaska, [...]
From Politico: A top adviser on Hispanic issues to John McCain’s presidential campaign said Sunday that a joint interview with McCain and Sarah Palin planned for Univision last fall had to be canceled because Palin was unprepared to discuss Latin America policy.
“She did not feel comfortable speaking about issues regarding Hispanics and Latin [...]
Initial findings from a study of 51 homes by the Consumer Product Safety Commission links corrosion in homes with Chinese drywall to the imported product, the agency said Monday.
Several federal agencies have been investigating complaints from thousands of homeowners -- many in Florida -- whose homes were built with [...]
Today's Miami Herald editorial board urges George LeMieux to drop his "hold" on the US ambassador to Brazil.
"When George LeMieux was appointed three months ago to replace retiring U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, the 40-year-old former chief of staff to Gov. Charlie Crist vowed to focus on making government more efficient and" [...]
A bevy of Republican senators -- including Florida's George LeMieux -- took to the lectern ahead of today's Senate vote to allow debate on a sweeping health care bill.
LeMieux said his office has fielded 950 calls on the matter in the last 6 days -- and at least 800 callers [...]
Thirty years of spying for Cuba will send a retired State Department official to prison for life after he and his wife pleaded guilty Friday to sending secrets to the United States' longtime antagonist.
Walter Kendall Myers, 72 -- known to his Cuban handlers as ``Agent 202'' -- agreed to a life sentence without' [...]
A source close to the case tells the Herald that Walter and Gwendolyn Myers -- accused of spying for Cuba for decades -- will plead guilty this afternoon in federal court.
Myers, 72, and his wife, have been held without bond since pleading not guilty last June to charges of wire fraud, serving [...]
Attending a fundraiser for his US Senate campaign at a law firm in downtown DC, Gov. Charlie Crist insisted his focus remains Florida and job creation -- as the state's unemployment rate edged up to 11.2 percent.
"I just think it's so important to stay focused on jobs, jobs, jobs," Crist said, suggesting [...]
California Democrat Howard Berman said he's not particularly exercised over the spat between the ranking Republican on his House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting and retired Gen. Barry McCaffery.
McCaffrey took exception to Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's aggressive questioning and suggested she not only questioned his national security creds -- he's the former commander [...]
Cuba's celebrated and increasingly brassy blogger Yoani Sánchez is emerging as a player in U.S.-Cuba relations, scoring a lengthy reply from President Barack Obama to her questions and playing a starring role in a congressional hearing on efforts to let American tourists visit Cuba.
Sánchez's blog, Generación Y, posted Obama's responses to seven pointed [...]
George LeMieux's controversial effort to block the nomination of Thomas Shannon, the incoming US ambassador to Brazil, has gained him support from some fellow Florida lawmakers -- including Cape Coral Republican Connie Mack, who says he's got "serious concerns with the Obama administration's approach to Latin America and its" [...]
Today's House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing was a highly-charged event -- but the real sparks flew when Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen tussled with retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey.
McCaffrey raised the Miami Republican's hackles with his testimony that Cuba represents no risk to national security and the travel ban should be scrapped since it hurts longtime U.S. interests.
But during [...]
The Center for Public Integrity reports that a bill introduced by Rep. Kendrick Meek would scrap a competitive bidding program aimed at reducing fraud in the durable medical equipment business.
"The bulk of the durable medical equipment industry, which lobbied against the program, has found a new champion in Meek —" [...]
New Florida Sen. George LeMieux's first foray into foreign relations has drawn brickbats from former high-ranking State Department officials who say his effort to block the Obama administration's new ambassador to Brazil is damaging U.S. relations with Latin America.
"This continuing, prolonged vacancy sends an unintended signal that the United States does not consider'" [...]
