| Gas Tax Holiday Would Yield Little for Consumers |
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 05/13/2008
Increasing gasoline prices have spurred federal lawmakers to propose policies designed to help consumers at the pump. One such proposal that has garnered considerable attention is a "gas tax holiday." Unfortunately, this proposal would do little for consumers because it would be unlikely to lower the price of gas.
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| House Foreclosure Legislation Meets GOP Ambiguity |
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 05/13/2008
Despite a worsening housing crisis across the country, Congress continues to move slowly to enact legislation intended to ease the burden for homeowners. On May 8, the House adopted comprehensive legislation (H.R. 3221) that would seek to reduce foreclosures in the face of an administration veto threat issued just days before. But Senate negotiations between the chair and ranking member of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee have gone on for weeks, with no deal in sight. Most members' eagerness to pass a bill to address the crisis before Memorial Day has thus far been thwarted by key GOP leaders in Congress and some in the Bush administration.
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| Congressional Hearings Explore Contracting Waste, Fraud, and Abuse |
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 05/13/2008
The Senate Democratic Policy Committee (DPC), the political arm of the Democrats in the Senate, has been holding a series of investigatory hearings concerning contracting problems during the Iraq war. The series of hearings has been aimed at increasing accountability and oversight of the federal contracting process, particularly related to the reconstruction of Iraq and the increased outsourcing of key military functions during the war.
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| House and Senate Pass Budget Resolutions |
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Late on March 13 and early in the morning of March 14, the House and Senate adopted $3 trillion budget resolutions for Fiscal Year 2009 by votes of 212-207 and 51-44, respectively. While the resolutions are similar in terms of broad policy outlines and priorities, they differ on a few major points, including the total amount of discretionary spending and whether to offset the cost of a one-year patch to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).
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