Committee Hearings this week

[TayTay]

I slacked off on this last week, on account of it being Iraq Week and all. Forgive me. There are several interesting hearings this week that Sen. Kerry might (or might not) be involved in.

Hey, it beats watching the false argument in the Senate over the #1 issue facing the United States today: flag- burning.

OMG, the threat of flag-burning comes up all the time for me. Just the other day, I drove to grocery store to buy food that just seems to be creeping up in price, stopped to buy gas that costs 1/3rd more than it did last year, talked to my sister-in-law about her job that is being outsourced to India, saw a woman whose son is deployed to Iraq, heard about a kid who can't go to college on account of not being able to get a loan and heard about a family in town that is facing foreclosure on their home. Why every single one of them mentioned flag-burning as the number one issue facing the nation. Bravo to the Senate and it's Rethug leadership for tackling America's real problem!

Do I have to put up a :sarcasm: alert on this one?

[TayTay]

1. Finance Comm: Long-term Debt Reduction 6/29 2:30 pm

Small Business Pension Plans: How Can We Increase Worker Coverage?

June 29, 2006, at 2:30 p.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Member Statements:
Gordon Smith, OR
John F. Kerry, MA

Witness Statements:

Panel

Dr. Craig Copeland, Senior Research Associate, Employee Benefit Research Institute, Washington, DC

Mr. Steve Bjerke, Investment Representative, Edward Jones, Pendleton, OR

Mr. Daniel Hall, Regional Pension Manager, The Standard, StanCorp Equities, Inc., Portland, OR

Ms. Paula Calimafde, Chair, Small Business Council of America, Bethesda, MD

Mr. David C. John, Senior Research Fellow, The Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC

Mr. J. Mark Iwry, Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC

[TayTay]

6. Senator Kerry is Ranking Dem on this committee

that the larger committee thought was so important they scheduled the hearing on pensions for the afternoon before a week long recess! Wow! Nothing says loving like having a hearing on middle-class pensions right before a big vacation week.

Wonder if anyone will show up. I do hope the good and true Senator from Mass shows up. I would hate to be stuck just reading a statement. On the other hand, it is get-away day.

BTW, I can't stand Republicans. This about says it all regarding their feelings about workers and pensions: it's something you give 5 minutes to on the way out the door to something better.

[TayTay]

2. Commerce Comm: All week, Communications Act Markup

10 a.m.
Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Business meeting to resume markup of H.R.5252, to
promote the deployment of broadband networks and
services.
SH-216

Every day this week that Congress works. Which means Tuesday thru Thursday. I want their hours. Why doesn't Congress work more? On the other hand, two more days a week would be more chances that Sessions or Allard or Allen might bloviate on the Senate floor about something inane and irrelevant, so maybe I should just count my blessings that Congress will only meet 94 days this year. (But they get full pay.)

Net Neutrality vote is expected Tuesday. If Sen. Kerry is busy you get to hear the seldom used phrase, 'Aye by proxy' in relation to his name, which is always amusing.

[ray of light]

3. the completely moronic thing about flag burning bill is that

the most honored traditional way to dispose of a flag is to burn it. So what? Now we're going to dump our worn flags into the garbage?

They're idiots.

And actually, you know flag burning in the protest sense, is insensitive and is sucks, so as Randi Rhodes says, "They can make baby clothes that don't burn so make a flage that doesn't burn. Don't make a constitional amendment." Ok..it's it quotes 'cause that's waht I think she said. But I could be a little off.

[TayTay]

4. This one happened last week in SFRC, after the Iraq vote.

Things that make you go: hmmmmmmm. Why was this after the Iraq vote? I wonder if they had to explain it slowly to certain Member's. (snark.) I wonder if someone brought in the Cliff Notes version for Sen. Allen. (We can recreate if for you Sen. using legos and some toy army figures.)

State Department / Defense Department
Cooperation Overseas
MEMBERS BRIEFING
CLOSED BRIEFING
before the

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
Friday, June 23, 2006
Time: 1:00 PM
Place: S-407 The Capitol
Presiding: Senator Lugar


Briefers:
+Dr. Philip D. Zelikow
Counselor of the Department
Department of State
Washington, DC
+The Honorable Eric S. Edelman
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
Department of Defense
Washington, DC

[TayTay]

5. Hearings today, Tuesday, June 27th, 2006

Commerce: Net Neutrality vote today

Full Committee Markup -- Communications Reform Bill
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
10:00 AM

SH - 216

The Senate Commerce Committee will reconvene to continue its consideration of the Communications, Consumers' Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006 on Tuesday, June 27, 2006, at 10 a.m. in room 216 of the Hart Building.
Link: http://commerce.senate.gov/public/
*************

Finance:

To consider the nomination of Mr. Henry M. Paulson Jr., to be Secretary of the Treasury.

June 27, 2006, at 10:00 a.m., in 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Member Statements:
Charles Grassley, IA
Max Baucus, MT

Witness Statements:

Panel

Mr. Henry M. Paulson Jr., to be Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC
Link: http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/hearings.htm
***************

Constitutional Amendment to prevent Flag-Burning on the floor of the Senate today. Sigh!