H.R. 1179 in the House and S. 1467 in the Senate are two copies of the same bill, the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act. If passed, this bill would let doctors, pharmacists and health insurers block patients from obtaining abortions or insurance coverage for abortions even in places and circumstances where abortions are legal. [...]

The Republican Party frequently is supposed to be a pro-business party, but what’s most notable about recently introduced pro-business legislation is the total lack of Republican support for it. H.R. 1912 (introduced by David Cicilline in the House) and its counterpart S. 1457 (introduced by Kirsten Gillibrand in the Senate), would shuffle money not to [...]

In the Republican presidential debate of August 11 2011, contender Tim Pawlenty said of fellow contender Michele Bachmann, “Representative Bachmann’s record of accomplishment is nonexistent.” Is this true? Let’s summarize Rep. Bachmann’s actual record in the 110th, 111th and 112th Congresses: In the 112th Congress, Michele Bachmann introduced 7 bills. None passed. In the 111th [...]

In 1971, the Equal Rights Amendment passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 354 to 24. In 1972, the ERA passed the Senate with a vote of 84 to 8. Not being ratified by enough states, the Equal Rights Amendment failed to become part of the United States Constitution. In the 110th Congress [...]

Child labor and forced labor in the production of American goods? Yawn. Pursuit of war without congressional authorization? Whatever. A surplus of dollar coins? This outrage must not stand!

As J. Clifford notes at Irregular Times, in April of 2011 President Barack Obama wrote a draft of an executive order (which you can read here) requiring all corporations contracting with the federal government to publicly disclose expenditures they make to political campaigns. You might be wondering what the big deal is about this draft [...]

So far this month, 43 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have submitted remarks to the Congressional Record in which they speak on the importance of restoring and protecting American jobs. A bill introduced to the U.S. Congress this month gives them an opportunity to take action in alignment with their words. Rep. Maurice [...]

As the news comes in that David Weprin will be running on the Democratic ticket in a special election to replace Anthony Weiner as Representative for New York’s 9th District, the most common question seems to be, “Who is David Weprin?” The following are a few answers to that question: 1. Not a Novice. Although [...]

Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine is the author of multiple letters to government and business telecommunications players promoting “fiber optic backhaul investment” and “major construction of the fiber optic network.” Integra Telecom is the owner and operator of a 160,000-mile fiber optic network that spans eleven states in the USA. Olympia Snowe is a recipient [...]

“Today, there is no domestic outerwear industry.” — Senator Ron Wyden, March 31 2011 The Outdoor Act — S. 704 in the Senate and H.R. 2071 in the House — would remove tariffs on outerwear imported into the USA from overseas sweatshop factories. Ron Wyden, the principal sponsor of the Outdoor Act in the Senate, [...]