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Table of Contents
TODAY'S HILL ACTION
MEMBERS WIN FOOTBALL GAME
HOUSE FLOOR HEALTH DEBATE SOON
CONGRESS HONORS BROOKE
Congressional
Climate Bill Tracking 
Keyhole Image H.R.3607 - FAA FY10 Extension Act
Keyhole Image S. 1451 - FAA Reauthorization Bill
Keyhole Image H.R. 2454 - American Clean Energy & Security Act
Keyhole Image S.1 - Stimulus Bill
Keyhole ImageH.R. 3200 - America's Affordable Health Choices Act
Keyhole Image S.560 - Employee Free Choice Act
Keyhole Image H.R.3288 - Department of Transportation Appropriations
Keyhole Image H.R.3126 - Consumer Financial Protection
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Greetings!
 
Please enjoy today's issue of the Congressional Climate newsletter, brought to you by Keys to the Capitol!
Today's Hill Action: 
 
THE SENATE:
 
 
The Senate convenes at 9:30 a.m. ET and will resume the motion to proceed to H.R.3548, Unemployment Benefits Extension Act of 2009, post-cloture. 
 
 
SENATE COMMITTEES:
 
 
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation (2:30 p.m.): Hearings to examine combating distracted driving, focusing on managing behavioral and technological risks.
 
Senate Energy and Natural Resources (2 p.m.): Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings to examine current and expected impacts of climate change on units of the National Park System.
 
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (10 a.m.): Business meeting to consider S.1649, to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, to prepare for attacks using weapons of mass destruction, S.1862, to provide that certain Secret Service employees may elect to transition to coverage under the District of Columbia Police and Fire Fighter Retirement and Disability System, H.R.553, to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop a strategy to prevent the over-classification of homeland security and other information and to promote the sharing of unclassified homeland security and other information, S.1755, to direct the Department of Homeland Security to undertake a study on emergency communications, H.R.730, to strengthen efforts in the Department of Homeland Security to develop nuclear forensics capabilities to permit attribution of the source of nuclear material, S.1825, to extend the authority for relocation expenses test programs for Federal employees, S.1860, to permit each current member of the Board of Directors of the Office of Compliance to serve for 3 terms, H.R.955, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 10355 Northeast Valley Road in Rollingbay, Washington, as the "John 'Bud' Hawk Post Office", H.R.1516, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 37926 Church Street in Dade City, Florida, as the "Sergeant Marcus Mathes Post Office", H.R.1713, to name the South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture in Lane, Oklahoma, and the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 310 North Perry Street in Bennington, Oklahoma, in honor of former Congressman Wesley "Wes" Watkins, H.R.2004, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4282 Beach Street in Akron, Michigan, as the "Akron Veterans Memorial Post Office", H.R.2760, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1615 North Wilcox Avenue in Los Angeles, California, as the "Johnny Grant Hollywood Post Office Building", H.R.2972, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 115 West Edward Street in Erath, Louisiana, as the "Conrad DeRouen, Jr. Post Office", H.R.3119, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 867 Stockton Street in San Francisco, California, as the "Lim Poon Lee Post Office", H.R.3386, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1165 2nd Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa, as the "Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Memorial Post Office", H.R.3547, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 936 South 250 East in Provo, Utah, as the "Rex E. Lee Post Office Building", H.R.2215, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 140 Merriman Road in Garden City, Michigan, as the "John J. Shivnen Post Office Building", and the nominations of Rafael Borras, of Maryland, to be Under Secretary of Management for Homeland Security, David S. Ferriero, of North Carolina, to be Archivist of the United States, National Archives and Records Administration, and Susan Tsui Grundmann, of Virginia, and Anne Marie Wagner, of Virginia, both to be a Member of the Merit Systems Protection Board.
 
Senate Environment and Public Works (9:30 a.m.): Hearings to examine S.1733, to create clean energy jobs, promote energy independence, reduce global warming pollution, and transition to a clean energy economy.
 
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs (9:30 a.m.): Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment: Hearings to examine dark pools, flash orders, high frequency trading, and other market structure issues.
 
Senate Energy and Natural Resources (10 a.m.): Hearings to examine the role of natural gas in mitigating climate change.
 
Senate Judiciary (10 a.m.): Hearings to examine effective strategies for preventing health care fraud.
 
Senate Aging (2 p.m.): Hearings to examine 401(k) target date funds.
 
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight. Hearings to examine new Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance to combat waste, inefficiency, and misuse in federal government contracting.

THE HOUSE:
 
 
The House meets at 10:00 for legislative business. The first vote is predicted to occur around noon.
 

HOUSE COMMITTEES:
 
 
 
Members of Congress Defeat Capitol Police in "Longest Yard" Football Classic:
  
Longest Yard Classic
 
Minutes before Tuesday night's Longest Yard Football Classic, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) declined to predict a final score. "It will be ... decisive," was as far as Pelosi would go.
 
That prediction proved correct, but it took overtime, a game-saving interception by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) and a scrambling heave by Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) before the Members of Congress could finally declare victory over the Capitol Police officers in the flag football contest.
 
The Mean Machine, made up of Members of Congress and former professional football players, beat the police Guards team 32-26. It was the first victory for the Members squad in the four times the game has been played to help raise money for charity.
 
Shuler's game-winning toss went to his favorite target of the night, former Philadelphia Eagles defensive back John Booty, whom Shuler connected with for two touchdowns. The pass also helped erase the sting of Shuler's final throw in regulation, which was intercepted by Capitol Police Officer Larry Bell and gave the Capitol Police squad one last possession in the final two minutes of the game.
 
But overall, Shuler had a very productive night and showed flashes of his former career as a National Football League quarterback. He earned the Most Valuable Player trophy Tuesday night after throwing five touchdowns and completing 29 of 42 passes.
 
Shuler started slow, waiting until the final minute of the first half to toss his first touchdown. He was only 8 for 14 at halftime but broke out for 21 completions on 28 passes in the second half.
Weiner's two-interception performance aside, the game was an offensive shootout with the two squads combining for nine touchdowns.
 
Mean Machine coach Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) made plenty of decisions in Tuesday night's shootout, but his best decision probably came well before the game, when he recruited his Capitol Hill legislative director Steve Martinko, a former college tight end at Brown University, to come out for the Mean Machine. Martinko was responsible for a pair of touchdowns.
 
The Capitol Police used a multi-quarterback rotation that featured Officers Ron Potter, Mark Herbert and Jim Davis. Officer Frank Quick was key receiver for two of those touchdowns. On defense, Capitol Police Chief Phillip Morse earned some playing time early before younger legs took over later in the game.
 
The Longest Yard began in 2005 as a way to raise money for the Capitol Police Memorial Fund, which benefits the families of Officers Jacob Chestnut, John Gibson and Christopher Eney. Chestnut and Gibson were killed by a gunman who shot his way into the Capitol in 1998; Eney was killed in a training accident in 1984.
 
In 2007, the Longest Yard Football Classic became a biennial game, and now it has also expanded its purpose - this year some of the money raised will go to the Washington Literacy Council.


KTC
House Hopes to Start Health Care Debate on Floor Soon: 
House of Reps
 
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said Tuesday that Democratic leaders want to bring their massive health care overhaul legislation to the floor next week, if they can line up a majority behind a single "public option" proposal.
 
Hoyer said party leaders were continuing their discussions and their whip counts to see if a government-run plan linked to Medicare payment rates for health care providers -- or one based on negotiated rates -- can get the 218 votes needed for passage. Democrats planned a midday caucus to discuss the bill.
 
"A bill is possible this week," Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters. "That would be our objective, as we want to consider it next week."
 
Hoyer has repeatedly pledged to Republicans that the health bill and any manager's amendment would be posted online for at least 72 hours before the House votes, and he said again Tuesday he will keep that promise.
 
Hoyer praised Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., for including a form of public option in the bill he plans to bring to the Senate floor. Some House Democrats have expressed reservations about voting for a health bill that includes a public option if the Senate was never going to consider a government-backed insurance plan that would compete with private insurers. They feared that Republicans would turn such a vote into an issue in 2010, saying that Democrats voted to turn the health care system into a government-run operation and that the Senate wouldn't even consider such an extreme scheme.
 
But with Reid's decision to seek floor consideration of a bill that includes a public plan but would allow states to opt out, those anxieties have eased, House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, D-S.C., said.
 
The relief could prove short-lived, however. Reid has acknowledged he is not sure whether he can persuade his entire 60-member caucus to unite long enough to bring a health bill to the Senate floor for amendment and debate. It takes 60 votes to break a filibuster, and Democrats can't count on a single Republican vote to launch consideration of a bill that includes any type of public option.

KTC

Congress Honors Former Senator Brooke: 
Former Senator Brooke
 
President Barack Obama is hailing Edward Brooke, who made history 43 years ago as the first black man elected by popular vote to the U.S. Senate.
 
The president on Wednesday was on Capitol Hill as Brooke, now 90 years old, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. The honor is Congress' highest form of appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions to society.
 
Obama said that many leaders - including himself - have followed the trail that Brooke blazed. And Brooke sat and smiled as the president spoke. Brooke had grown up in an era of racial segregation in D.C. He won the first of his two Senate terms representing Massachusetts in 1966. Obama said Brooke trusted that people would judge him on his character and ideas.

KTC
Until tomorrow,
 

Keys To The Capitol