Bingaman Departure Highlights Wild West

Congress votes on Patriot Act, Net neutrality

Patriot Act: Members voted, 279-143, to extend for 90 days three sections of the USA Patriot Act set to expire Feb. 28. A yes vote was to pass HR 514, which, in part, allows roving wiretaps and secretive police searches of library, bookstore, business, medical and other records.

Fast-Track Review: Members defeated, 186-234, a bid by Democrats for fast-track court review of lawsuits alleging the government has used the USA Patriot Act to violate citizens' rights. Government requests for court orders under the law already are fast-tracked. A yes vote backed the motion.

F-35 Fighter Cuts: Members voted, 233-198, to strip the 2011 budget of its $485 million for building a backup engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. This supported a Pentagon request and reversed earlier House votes in support of the engine. A yes vote was to cut military spending. (HR 1)

Police Grants: Members voted, 228-203, to spend $228 million for the Community Oriented Policing Services program in 2011 and cut NASA's budget by the same sum. A yes vote was to continue a program to help communities hire police and buy technology. The GOP had sought to eliminate the program. (HR 1)

Internet Neutrality: Members voted, 244-181, to strip the Federal Communications Commission of funds to advance its rule aimed at keeping the Internet equally available to all users. A yes vote backed the amendment on grounds the agency lacks authority to regulate the Internet. (HR 1)

Greenhouse Gases: Members voted, 239-185, to halve funding for an Environmental Protection Agency program requiring power plants and refineries to report data on their emissions to the agency. A yes vote was to shift half of the program's $16 billion budget to deficit reduction. (HR 1)

Patriot Act: Senators approved, 86-12, a 90-day extension of the three sections of the USA Patriot Act that are not permanent law. This will give committees time to weigh privacy concerns raised by the sections. The House later sent the extension (HR 514) to President Obama.

Bargaining Rights: Senators refused, 47-51, to block an administration plan to allow passenger screeners and other Transportation Security Administration workers to engage in collective bargaining. They could negotiate workplace issues but not wages and could not strike. A yes vote opposed the plan. (S 223)

Internet Neutrality: Members voted, 244-181, to strip the Federal Communications Commission of funds to advance its rule aimed at keeping the Internet equally available to all users. A yes vote backed the amendment on grounds the agency lacks authority to regulate the Internet. (HR 1)

Greenhouse Gases: Members voted, 239-185, to halve funding for an Environmental Protection Agency program requiring power plants and refineries to report data on their emissions to the agency. A yes vote was to shift half of the program's $16 billion budget to deficit reduction. (HR 1)

Federal Aviation Budget: Senators passed, 87-8, a $35 billion two-year authorization of federal aviation programs. A yes vote backed a bill (S 223) that will upgrade the air-traffic control system, continue taxpayer-subsidized air service to small cities and increase federal taxation of aviation fuel

Aviation Budget Cut: Voting 51-47, senators tabled (killed) an amendment to cut the federal aviation budget by more than $2 billion annually. Backers said the cut is needed to reduce deficits, while those opposed said it would imperil air safety. A yes vote was to kill the proposed cut. (S 223)

Air-Service Subsidies: Senators voted, 61-38, to preserve the Essential Air Service program, which uses $200 million in taxpayer subsidies each year to provide air service to some 1.1 million travelers in more than 150 small cities. A yes vote was to (table) kill an amendment to end the program. (S 223)

KEY VOTES AHEAD

Congress is in recess until the week of Feb. 28.

An Oregon congressman says that he accepted prescription drugs from a campaign contributor last October, around the time when members of his staff complained of his erratic behavior.

Rep. David Wu told The Oregonian that he had left another kind of painkiller - one prescribed by his doctor for neck pain - in Washington. He said the donor offered him an alternative, and he took two tablets.

"This was the only time that this has ever happened," Wu wrote to the newspaper. "I recognize that my action showed poor judgment at the time, and I sincerely regret having put my staff in a difficult position."

Earlier Tuesday, Wu said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that it was "unprofessional and inappropriate" for him to send pictures of himself wearing a tiger costume to staff members.

Wu said the photos were taken while he was "joshing around" with his children in October just before Halloween.

One photo shows Wu wearing an orange and black striped tiger outfit with pointy ears and striped mittens. Portland newspapers reported that campaign staffers pleaded with Wu to seek psychiatric help in the final week before the November election, but he refused.

The Oregonian and Willamette Week on Friday, citing interviews with a number of anonymous staff members, reported that the 55-year-old Wu was increasingly unpredictable on the campaign trial and in private last fall, and had several angry and loud outbursts.

The newspapers reported that campaign staffers were appalled by a series of e-mails sent from Wu's federally issued BlackBerry that included the photo of him in the tiger costume. But more disturbing, staffers said, were e-mails written in the voice of his adolescent children.

In an October speech to a friendly audience at a meeting of Washington County Democrats, Wu lashed out at his opponent and the media. He also talked his way past a security checkpoint to campaign for votes at the airport around that time, according to reports.

Wu on Tuesday acknowledged sending the tiger costume photos and said he has sought mental health treatment, including counseling and medication. He said in the ABC interview that he's "in a good place now," but he said he ruled out inpatient treatment because he couldn't spend time away from his family.

"Last October was not a good month. It was very stressful. I did some things, I said some things, which I sincerely regret now," Wu said.

The seven-term congressman assured voters he is fit to remain in office.

"I emphatically can do the job," Wu said, adding that "only time will demonstrate that to my constituents."

Wu said he was stressed from running for office while taking care of his two children as a single father and caring for his 88-year-old mother. He is separated from his wife, Michelle Wu.

"I think that mental health is a very, very important issue and people ought to feel ready, willing and able to seek it when they need it and perhaps doing this interview with you, George, will help other people feel more comfortable about addressing those issues," Wu told ABC's George Stephanopoulos.

Wu has overcome previous revelations of unusual behavior to survive seven elections. Republicans have long eyed Wu's 1st Congressional District despite a large registration advantage for Democrats, in part because of Wu's propensity to invite embarrassing news.

Wu, a Yale Law School graduate born in Taiwan, was first elected to the U.S. House in 1998. He's maintained a low profile in Congress, except for his occasional appearances in unflattering news stories.

Just weeks before the 2004 election, Wu apologized for "inexcusable behavior" after reports surfaced that a former girlfriend once claimed that he tried to sexually assault her while both were students at Stanford University in the 1970s. No charges were filed in the case, but Wu's opponent seized on the allegation to argue he was unfit for office.

Three years later, Wu's remarks on the House floor that "there are Klingons in the White House" were roundly mocked.

Seven of his staff members have left since he won re-election in November: his chief of staff, spokeswoman, three field representatives in Oregon, and two others in Washington, D.C. In addition, he lost his campaign pollster and campaign fundraiser. His campaign treasurer resigned last week, and Wu named himself treasurer.