So, waht else happened last week. Bills filed.

[TayTay]

Not a bad day's work. Filed on 1/26/06

By Mr. DOMENICI (for himself, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. ALEXANDER, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. DODD, Mr. HATCH, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. WARNER, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. BOND, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BURNS, Mr. BAYH, Mr. CRAIG, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. KOHL, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. KERRY, Mr. SMITH, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. VOINOVICH, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. TALENT, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. HAGEL, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. PRYOR, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. VITTER, and Ms. LANDRIEU):

S. 2197. A bill to improve the global competitiveness of the United States in science and energy technology, to strengthen basic research programs at the Department of Energy, and to provide support for mathematics and science education at all levels through the resources available through the Department of Energy, including at the National Laboratories; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

By Mr. DOMENICI (for himself, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. ALEXANDER, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. DODD, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. WARNER, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. BOND, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BURNS, Mr. BAYH, Mr. CRAIG, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. KOHL, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. KERRY, Mr. SMITH, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. VOINOVICH, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. TALENT, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. HAGEL, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. ENZI, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. VITTER, and Ms. LANDRIEU):

S. 2198. A bill to ensure the United States successfully competes in the 21st century global economy; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

By Mr. DOMENICI (for himself, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. ALEXANDER, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. DODD, Mr. WARNER, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. BOND, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. BURNS, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. BAYH, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. KOHL, Mr. SMITH, Mr. KERRY, Mr. VOINOVICH, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. TALENT, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. CORNYN, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. HAGEL, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. PRYOR, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. VITTER, and Ms. LANDRIEU):

S. 2199. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax incentives to promote research and development, innovation, and continuing education; to the Committee on Finance.


By Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. KERRY, and Mr. FEINGOLD):

S. 2202. A bill to provide for ethics reform of the Federal judiciary and to instill greater public confidence in the Federal courts; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

[Mass]

1. Do you have info concerning the first three ones

I cant help but notice that a number of Democrats did not cosponsor this bill and I wonder why many of the most progressive senators are in this camp: Kennedy, Boxer, Feingold, Harkin, Durbin (and even Reid, not that he is a progressive). Does anybody know if this is a controversial bill or if this is mere chance?

When I read that, this seems important matters, and, why compromises were clearly made of people like Thomas or Chamblyss are on board, it would be good if good bills on this subject passed the Senate.

[TayTay]

2. The text of all of these are in Thomas.

You can search on the http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/d109query.html site by bill number. They are newly introduced and should pick up more endorsements. The ones that seek to add money for training and education in science and math are in deep trouble because of the budget cuts. They might 'symbolically' pass, but I doubt very much they will be funded.

[TayTay]

3. The NYT Times had an Editorial on the last one last Friday

Justice and Junkets
Justice Antonin Scalia certainly has poor judgment when it comes to vacations.

Justice Scalia was apparently unchastened by the criticism of his 2004 duck-hunting excursion with Vice President Dick Cheney, one of that term's most prominent Supreme Court litigants. Last September, he skipped the swearing-in of Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. because of another ethically dubious trip, this time to the posh Ritz-Carlton at the Beaver Creek ski resort in Colorado.

He was there to teach a 10-hour seminar over a couple of days for a conservative group, the Federalist Society. "Nightline" recently reported that the gig had left Justice Scalia plenty of time for tennis, fly-fishing and socializing with seminar participants, some of whom may have business before the Supreme Court. One Federalist Society cocktail reception was sponsored in part by the lobbying and law firm that used to employ Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay's convicted pal and benefactor for golf trips.

Justice Scalia's travel is part of a broader affliction on the federal bench. The Los Angeles Times reported in 2004, for example, that Justice Clarence Thomas had accepted thousands of dollars in gifts in recent years, including an $800 leather jacket, a $1,200 set of tires from Nascar and an extravagant vacation from a conservative activist. Federal judges below the Supreme Court level accept dozens of free vacations each year from well-heeled special interests under the guise of "judicial education."

The judicial lobbying problem is more serious in one respect than the scandal enveloping Congress. Lawmakers operate in an overtly political environment, but the decision-making process of judges is supposed to be impermeable to clever efforts by special interests to buy access and favor.

Three Democratic senators with a longstanding concern about this problem — Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin and John Kerry of Massachusetts — are readying provisions to ban junkets and other compromising gifts for judges, which they hope to make part of their party's lobbying reform proposal. For Congress to pass a lobbying reform bill that curbs inappropriate perks for lawmakers but not for federal judges would be a scandal in itself.

[Mass]

4. Boxer, Kerry, and Lautenberg to offer an amendment asking

the WH to give records of meetings with Abramoff.

[karynnj]

5. Boxer is on CSPAN2 speaking of this now