Results tagged “uscongress”

    

This is the picture of a Town Hall Meeting on health-care reform hosted by D.C.'s non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives, Eleanor Holmes Norton. No offensive signs. No angry shouting. No vaguely racist mob clamoring to get inside.

       

Statements on the passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy have been coming in all morning. If you only read one obituary on the long-serving senator, read The Boston Globe's lengthy remembrance, which describes Kennedy as having become "a Democratic titan of Washington who fought for the less fortunate, who crafted unlikely deals with conservative Republicans, and who ceaselessly sought support for universal health coverage." We've seen flags at half-staff all over town today. Official and unofficial Washington are both in mourning.

An extra-marital affair involving a Washington politico isn't anything surprising these days. But when it involves the possible blackmail of a Promise Keeper senator who is no friend of the District, it's hard for us not to feel just the tiniest bit smug. Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) admitted yesterday in a hastily arranged press conference that he had cheated on his wife with a campaign staffer, jumping to admit to the infidelity over fears that the staffer's husband -- who worked as an aide to Ensign -- was seeking to blackmail him. In the wake of the news Ensign today resigned his position as Chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee.

Writing in the Examiner, Hayley Peterson reports on a resurrected bill from D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton that would allow private companies to take over running the District’s three public golf courses in order to finance much needed improvements. The plan, presumably, would mean access to the historically cheap public courses would become more expensive.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), who famously crashed his car near the U.S. Capitol three years ago while under the influence of prescription drugs, has checked into a rehabilitation facility, the Associated Press is reporting. "I have decided to temporarily step away from my normal routine to ensure that I am being as vigilant as possible in my recovery," Kennedy said in a statement today. His office isn't giving out any more information about exactly what he's being treated for, but the congressman has previously sought treatment for bipolar disorder, alcohol and prescription drug abuse.