The Senate passed a bill to prevent members of Congress from engaging in insider trading. The bill, which would cost approximately $9 million over five years, is expected to be voted in the House this week.

The House voted to pass a temporary extension to the 2011 payroll tax cut. A Congressional Budget Office summary of the bill to extend the cut for another year can be found here. The House also voted to repeal a voluntary long-term care that was passed as part of the 2010 health care law. The Obama Administration had already suspended the program because, according to Politico, it couldn’t find a way to make it financially solvent.

Check below for more of last week’s House and Senate action.

What you paid

Last week taxpayers spent roughly $100 million on Congress.

Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:

Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299

House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877

Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462

Average weekly budget for all House offices: ($1,446,009/52) x 435 = $2,096,421

Average weekly budget for all Senate offices: ($3,409,093/52) x 100 = $6,555,958

Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462

What you got

In addition to the payroll tax extension noted above, the House voted to approve six bills and resolutions that would save taxpayers approximately$72.3 billion:

H.R. 658, FAA Modernization and Reform Act. COST: $72.3 billion over 5 years
H.R. 3578, To amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to reform the budget baseline. COST: No “significant impact”
H.R. 3582, To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide for macroeconomic analysis of the impact of legislation. COST: $2 million over 5 years
H.R. 3567, Welfare Integrity Now for Children and Families Act of 2011. COST: Unknown
H.R. 3835, To extend the pay limitation for Members of Congress and Federal employees. SAVINGS: Unknown
H.R. 1173, Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act. SAVINGS: $9 million over 5 years

The Senate spent the week debating and voting on amendments to the insider trading bill mentioned above.

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On Thursday, according to The New York Times, the Senate voted to let President Obama’s requested $1.2 trillion increase in the debt limit to go forward. Under the debt limit compromise worked out last summer, this is the third and final increase that will take effect upon the President’s request unless the Congress expressly disapproves.

According to The Hill, the House voted to instruct the chamber’s conferees to work to find a compromise for extending the 2011 payroll tax cut by the end of February. A Congressional Budget Office summary of the bill to extend the cut for another year can be found here.

Check below for more of last week’s House and Senate action.

What you paid
Last week taxpayers spent roughly $100 million on Congress.

Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:

Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299
House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877
Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462

Average weekly budget for all House offices: ($1,446,009/52) x 435 = $2,096,421

Average weekly budget for all Senate offices: ($3,409,093/52) x 100 = $6,555,958

Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462

What you got
In addition to the payroll tax extension noted above, the House voted to approve six bills and resolutions that would cost taxpayers approximately $600,000:

H.R. 3801, Ultralight Aircraft Smuggling Prevention Act. COST: Unknown

H.R. 1022, Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks Study Act. COST: $400,000 over three years

H.R. 2070, World War II Memorial Prayer Act of 2011. COST: “Insignificant”

H. Res. 516, Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the passage of a fiscal year 2013 Federal budget is of national importance. COST: $0

H.R. 1141, Rota Cultural and Natural Resources Study Act. COST: $200,000 over three years

H.R. 3117, Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act. COST: “Insignificant”

In addition to rejecting a proposal to disapprove of President Obama’s requested debt limit increase, the Senate voted to confirm John M. Gerrard to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Nebraska.

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For more information on what will be coming up in the second session of the 112th Congress, check out our blog post here. Money’s Worth will have all the details of the votes on these measures as they come up this year.

What you paid
Last week taxpayers spent roughly $100 million on Congress.

Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:

Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299

House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877

Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462

Average weekly budget for all House offices: ($1,446,009/52) x 435 = $2,096,421

Average weekly budget for all Senate offices: ($3,409,093/52) x 100 = $6,555,958

Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462

What you got
The House did not pass any legislation other than the debt ceiling disapproval.

The Senate did not hold any votes.

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The House also voted down a proposed balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Up this week: how Congress will deal with the debt supercommittee’s apparent failure to come up with a compromise for cutting the federal budget deficit.

What you paid
Last week taxpayers spent roughly $107.8 million on Congress.

Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:

Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299
House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877
Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462

Average budget for Members of Congress: ($1,600,000/52) x 535 = $16,461,538

Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462

What you got
In addition to the minibus mentioned above, the House voted to pass four bills and resolutions that would save taxpayers about $20.3 billion over 10 years:

H.R. 674, To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the imposition of 3 percent withholding on certain payments made to vendors by government entities. SAVINGS: $20.3 billion over 10 years

H.R. 822, To amend title 18, U.S. Code, to provide a national standard in accordance with which nonresidents of a State may carry concealed firearms in the state. COST: “No significant cost to the federal government”

H.R. 2422, To designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 45 Bay Street, Suite 2, in Staten Island, NY as the Sergeant Angel Mendez Post Office. COST: $0

H.R. 298, To designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 500 East Whitestone Boulevard in Cedar Park, TX as the Army Specialist Matthew Troy Morris Post Office Building. COST: $0

S. 1412, To designate the facility of the U.S. Postal Service located at 462 Washington Street, Woburn, MA as the Officer John Maguire Post Office. COST: $0

In addition to the minibus mentioned above, the Senate confirmed Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers and Sharon L. Gleason to be U.S. district court judges.

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While they waited, the Senate passed a bill that wrapped three fiscal year 2012 appropriations bills into one. (See below for more on this legislation.) The chamber also rejected key portions of President Obama’s jobs package and Republican alternative to the President’s proposal.

On the other side of Capitol Hill, the House passed legislation leaders said would reduce regulations on small businesses and help job creation.

See below for a full accounting of what happened on the House and Senate floors last week.

What you paid
Last week taxpayers spent roughly $107.8 million on Congress.

Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:

Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299
House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877
Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462

Average budget for Members of Congress: ($1,600,000/52) x 535 = $16,461,538

Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462

What you got
The House voted to pass eight bills and resolutions that would cost $7 million over five years:

H.R. 3321, To facilitate the hosting in the U.S. of the 34th Americas Cup by authorizing certain eligible vessels to participate in activities related to the competition. COST: $0

H.R. 2940, To direct the Securities and Exchange Commission to eliminate the prohibition against general solicitation as a requirement for a certain exemption under Regulation D. COST: $0

H.R. 2930, To amend the securities laws to provide for registration exemptions for certain crowdfunded securities. COST: $0

H.R. 1070, Small Company Capital Formation Act. COST: $2 million over 5 years

H.R. 1965, To amend the securities laws to establish certain thresholds for shareholder registration. COST: $0

H.R. 2061, Civilian Service Recognition Act. COST: “No significant impact on federal budget”

S. 1280, Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011. COST: $5 million over 5 years

H. Con. Res. 13, Reaffirming In God We Trust as the official motto of the U.S. and supporting and encouraging the public display of the national motto in all public buildings, public schools, and other government institutions. COST: $0

The Senate passed the “minibus” spending bill, which combined the fiscal year 2012 appropriations bills for departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development into one package.

During the debate, the chamber rejected two amendments that would have cut spending. The first would have eliminated funding for the Small Community Air Service Development Program while the second would have reduced funding for the Rural Development Agency.

The chamber also confirmed Scott Wesley Skavdahl to be a U.S. district court judge.

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Politico reported this week that House leaders have pretty much admitted it will take until at least December to complete work on the fiscal year 2012 spending bills. (The Senate has still only passed one bill while the House has passed six.

Finally – according to several news outlets including The Hill, Politico, Roll Call, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post – even though both Republicans and Democrats on the debt supercommittee have now released plans for reducing the federal budget deficit, agreement between the two factions is still far away. (Bloomberg even said the committee may not meet its deadline.)

P.S., when the Senate comes back, according to The Wall Street Journal, it will likely vote on a $50 billion infrastructure spending plan that will be paid for through tax increases on the wealthy.

What you paid
Last week taxpayers spent roughly $107.8 million on Congress.

Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:

Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299
House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877
Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462

Average budget for Members of Congress: ($1,600,000/52) x 535 = $16,461,538

Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462

What you got
The House voted to pass seven bills and resolutions that would save about $28.5 billion over 10 years:

H.R. 674, To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the imposition of 3 percent withholding on certain payments made to vendors by government entities. SAVINGS: $7 billion over 10 years

H.R. 2576, To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the calculation of modified adjusted gross income for purposes of determining eligibility for certain healthcare-related programs. SAVINGS: $21.7 billion over 10 years

H.R. 2527, National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act. COST: $0

H.R. 1904, Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act. COST: Less than $500,000 a year

H.R. 2447, To grant the congressional gold medal to the Montford Point Marines. COST: $0

H.R. 1160, To require the Secretary of the Interior to convey the McKinney Lake National Fish Hatchery to the State of North Carolina. COST: $0

H.R. 320, Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial at the March Field Air Museum in Riverside, CA. COST: $0

The Senate was not in session.

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The Senate held a series of votes on legislation aimed at creating jobs. All were voted down. On Thursday, the Senate blocked a $35 billion spending bill that had originally been part of President Obama’s larger jobs package. (The chamber also voted down a GOP jobs package on Thursday.)

There was one success last week: the Senate voted Friday to cut agriculture subsidies for farmers that earn more than $1 million.

The House will be back in session this week, but the Senate will be out.

For more on what Congress did last week, see below.

What you paid
Last week taxpayers spent roughly $107.8 million on Congress.

Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:

Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299
House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877
Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462

Average budget for Members of Congress: ($1,600,000/52) x 535 = $16,461,538

Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462

What you got
As mentioned above, the House was not in session last week.

In addition to the votes mentioned above, the Senate confirmed Cathy Bissoon and Robert David Mariani to be U.S. District court judges; Heather A. Higginbottom to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget; and John Edgar Bryson to be Secretary of Commerce.

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Friday Funnies: 5 jokes about the economy

Did you get your money’s worth from Congress last week?BA

After four years of back and forth, Congress last week finally ratified three pending free trade agreements. It is estimated that three pacts, with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea, will increase U.S. exports by $12 billion. NPR said the pacts represented “a rare moment of bipartisanship and speed after years of debate over trade policy. The president sent the agreements over to Congress just nine days ago.”

In addition The Senate voted down President Obama’s jobs proposal on Tuesday. Party leaders are now considering whether to break the plan into pieces and vote on each component separately.

For more on what Congress did last week, see below.

What you paid

Last week taxpayers spent roughly $107.8 million on Congress.

Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:

Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299

House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877

Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462

Average budget for Members of Congress: ($1,600,000/52) x 535 = $16,461,538

Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462

What you got

In addition to the three free trade agreements mentioned above, the House voted to pass four bills and resolutions that would save about $288 million over 10 years.

H.R. 2273, To amend subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act to facilitate recovery and beneficial use, and provide for the proper management and disposal, of materials generated by the combustion of coal and other fossil fuels. COST: $2 million over 5 years.

H.R. 2250, To provide additional time for the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to issue achievable standards for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers, process heaters, and incinerators, and for other purposes. COST: $1 million over five years.

H.R. 358, To amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to modify special rules relating to coverage of abortion services under such Act. COST/SAVINGS: Unknown.

H.R. 2433, Veterans Opportunity to Work Act. SAVINGS: $291 million over 10 years.

The Senate voted to implement the three free trade agreements mentioned above and also voted to pass S. 1619, a bill to provide for identification of misaligned currency and require action to correct the misalignment.

The chamber also confirmed Susan Owens, Alison J.. Nathan, and Jane Margaret Triche-Milazzo to be a U.S. District Court judges.

 

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That extension, which was passed a week earlier by the Senate, buys Congress about five more weeks to work on the rest of the fiscal year 2012 appropriations bills. According to the Library of Congress, the House has passed its version of six of those bills. The Senate has only passed one. Once the House and the Senate each pass their individual versions of each bill, a conference committee can meet to hammer out the differences. (Each chamber will then have to vote on the conference – or final – version of the bill.)

In other words, Congress still has a lot of budget work to do. Stay tuned for another CR.

For more on what Congress did last week, see below.

What you paid
Last week taxpayers spent roughly $107.8 million on Congress.

Salaries of Members of Congress and their allowances/week:

Speaker of the House: $223,500/52 = $4,299
House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders: ($193,400/52) x 4 = $14,877
Other Representatives and Senators: ($174,000/52) x 530 = $1,773,462

Average budget for Members of Congress: ($1,600,000/52) x 535 = $16,461,538

Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462

What you got
In addition to the CR mentioned above, the House voted to pass four bills and resolutions that would cost about $1 million over five years:

H.R. 2681, To provide additional time for the EPA Administrator to issue achievable standards for cement manufacturing facilities, and for other purposes. COST: $1 million over five years

H.R. 670, To convey certain submerged lands to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in order to give that territory the same benefits in its submerged lands as Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have in their submerged lands. COST: Not significant

H.R. 765, To amend the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 to clarify the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture regarding additional recreational uses of National Forest System land that is subject to ski area permits, and for other purposes. COST: “No significant impact”

H.R. 686, To require the conveyance of certain public land within the boundaries of Camp Williams, Utah, to support the training and readiness of the Utah National Guard. COST: “No significant impact”

The Senate confirmed Henry F. Floyd to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit.

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