House immigration bill said dead for '14
WASHINGTON -- A year after the Senate passed a sweeping immigration bill, a leading backer in the House declared Wednesday that legislative efforts on the issue are dead.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, long one of the most bullish Democrats about the chances for action in the GOP-led House, took to the chamber floor to announce that he'd officially given up.
"Having been given ample time and space to craft legislation, you failed," Gutierrez said, addressing House Republicans. "Your chance to play a role in how immigration and deportation policies are carried out this year is over."
Legislation never got off the ground in the House, even though Gutierrez spent months working with Republicans trying to make it happen. House GOP leaders said repeatedly that they wanted to get it done, but opposition from a small but vocal group of conservative lawmakers seemed to derail every attempt.
Advocates say Majority Leader Eric Cantor's surprise primary defeat this month to a Tea Party candidate who accused him of backing "amnesty," along with the sudden crisis surrounding an unexpected surge of Central American children trying to cross the Southern border, eliminated whatever chances remained.
Tax rise for roads, transit stiff-armed
WASHINGTON -- House Republicans won't support a plan by Senate Democrats to prevent states from facing a cutoff of federal highway and transit aid this summer, a key House committee chairman warned Wednesday, saying the proposal would force a tax increase.
Rep. David Camp, a Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the Senate appears to be "heading down a partisan road on highway funding."
"There is no way tax hikes to pay for more spending will fly in the House," he said in a statement. He said he's looking at policies that have had bipartisan support in both chambers in the past and hopes to have his own bill ready by early July.
Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and the Senate Finance Committee chairman, has proposed a $9 billion plan that would raise taxes on heavy trucks to keep the federal highway trust fund solvent through the end of the year. Trucks over 97,000 pounds would pay $1,100 a year; the current cap is $550 for vehicles over 75,000 pounds.
2 top VA officials leaving in shake-up
WASHINGTON -- Two top Department of Veterans Affairs officials are stepping down, the agency announced Wednesday as it continued reeling from complaints that thousands of veterans across the country have endured long waits for appointments and allegations of poor medical care.
The agency said in a written statement that Will Gunn is resigning as general counsel. Also leaving a top post is Robert Jesse, who has been acting undersecretary for health.
The statement said the changes were "aimed at accelerating veterans' access to quality health care and rebuilding the trust of America's veterans."
Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson made the moves less than a month after he replaced Eric Shinseki as head of the agency. Shinseki resigned May 30 after apologizing for the agency's problems.
The VA said Dr. Carolyn Clancy will become its interim undersecretary for health.
"Dr. Clancy will be charged with the department's top priority -- getting veterans off of wait lists and in to see their doctors," Gibson said.
Tammy Kennedy, VA's principal deputy general counsel, will be acting general counsel after Gunn's July 3 departure.
House panel votes Saturday mail back in
WASHINGTON -- A powerful House panel went against the wishes of GOP leaders and voted Wednesday to restore a long-standing congressional mandate requiring the Postal Service to deliver mail on Saturdays.
The bipartisan voice vote in the Appropriations Committee comes as House GOP leaders are pressing a plan to use savings from ending Saturday mail deliveries to pay for an infusion of cash into the government fund that distributes money to states for highway construction. It is scheduled to run dry this summer.
It's estimated that allowing the Postal Service to end Saturday deliveries would save it about $1 billion a year. Saturday delivery is especially popular with older voters and those in rural areas.
The provision requiring Saturday delivery has been carried for decades as part of a spending bill with jurisdiction over the Postal Service but was originally left out this year after GOP leaders pressed for allowing the Postal Service to go to five-day delivery.
The companion Senate measure contains the provision requiring Saturday mail.
A Section on 06/26/2014