A mark up is a meeting a committee holds in order to review and discuss a piece of legislation. Members of the committee may propose changes to a bill by offering amendments. Each change is voted on individually. Once all of the changes are either incorporated or denied, the bill is voted on by the full committee. If the bill is passed it will go to the full chamber for a vote.
What you paid
Last week, taxpayers spent roughly $107 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
Allowance for staff salaries and misc: ($1,500,000/52) x 535 = $15,432,692
Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462
What you got
Members of the House and Senate were home for their nearly six week “August Recess.” But don’t worry (or do worry?), they’ll be back September 13.
Many lawmakers are documenting their summer travel on their Facebook pages. See if you can find your member and then head on over to our Facebook page to tell us what they’re doing and whether you’re getting your money’s worth this August.
What you paid
Last week, taxpayers spent roughly $107 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
Allowance for staff salaries and misc: ($1,500,000/52) x 535 = $15,432,692
Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462
What you got
Members of the House and Senate were home for their nearly six week “August Recess.” But don’t worry (or do worry?), they’ll be back September 13.
Many lawmakers are documenting their summer travel on their Facebook pages. See if you can find your member and then head on over to our Facebook page to tell us what they’re doing and whether you’re getting your money’s worth this August.
What you paid
Last week, taxpayers spent roughly $107 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
Allowance for staff salaries and misc: ($1,500,000/52) x 535 = $15,432,692
Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462
What you got
The House briefly came back from its nearly six-week long “August Recess” to pass a $26 billion bailout bill for the states.
The Senate was in recess last week.
What you paid
Last week, taxpayers spent roughly $107 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
Allowance for staff salaries and misc: ($1,500,000/52) x 535 = $15,432,692
Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462
What you got
The House was out of session last week for its August district work period. It will reconvene Tuesday to vote on the $26-billion state aid package passed by the Senate last week.
In addition to the aid bill, the Senate last week confirmed Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.
SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-MT)
Members
Sen. Baucus became a senator in 1978 when he was appointed to fill a vacancy. Sen. Baucus is Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, as well as a member of the committees on Agriculture, Environment and Public Works, and Joint Tax (a non-partisan committee with Members from both the Senate and the House of Representatives).
Sen. Baucus has a varied record when it comes to the most historic tax and spending votes of the past 20 years. He voted against the 1990 budget reconciliation, which raised taxes and established pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) procedures. He voted for President Bill Clinton’s 1993 budget reconciliation, which cut spending and raised taxes, and for the 1997 Balanced Budget agreement, which, according to the Congressional Budget Office, would cut the deficit by $127 billion over five years Sen. Baucus was also one of a handful of Democrats who voted for the 2001 tax cuts, which lowered rates for all income-tax payers. He voted against the 2003 tax cuts.
Though he is now a member of the so-called ‘fiscal commission,’ Baucus originally “vehemently” opposed its creation. According to Government Executive magazine, he said the commission would “usurp” the power of elected officials.
Unlike many of his commission colleagues, who publicly say “everything” must be one the table when it comes to tackling the deficit, Sen. Baucus said, according to The Washington Post, “Social Security should be off-limits because it is not the primary source of long-term fiscal imbalance.”
This morning, the Senate Budget Committee will hold a hearing on “A Status report on the U.S. Economy.” The hearing begins at 10:00 a.m. and can be viewed live here.
Witnesses scheduled to appear in front of the committee are Richard Berner, managing director and co-head of global economics and chief U.S. economist for Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc.; Simon Johnson, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a professor of entrepreneurship at MIT’s Sloan School of Management; and Joel Naroff, president and founder of Naroff Economic Advisors.
What you paid
Last week, taxpayers spent roughly $107 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
Allowance for staff salaries and misc: ($1,500,000/52) x 535 = $15,432,692
Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462
What you got
Besides the unemployment benefits extension bill (see below), the House voted on 7 bills or resolutions which will cost more than $881 million (all costs over five years unless otherwise noted):
To designate the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 100 Orndorf Drive in Brighton, MI as the Joyce Rogers Post Office Building. COST: $0
Child Protection Improvements Act of 2010. COST UNKNOWN
Honoring the service and commitment of the 111th Fighter Wing, Pennsylvania Air National Guard. COST: $0
Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Animal Crush Videos Act of 2010. COST: $0
Congratulating the Saratoga Race Course as it celebrates its 142nd season. COST: $0
United States Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010. COST: $268 MILLION
To protect Indian arts and crafts through the improvement of applicable criminal proceedings. COST: $0
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Aerospace Week. COST: $0
Recognizing the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II. COST: $0
Surface Transportation Savings Act of 2010. COST: $0
Congratulating the University of South Carolina Gamecocks on winning the 2010 NCAA Division I College World Series. COST: $0
Expressing support for designation of September as National Child Awareness Month. COST: $0
Recognizing the 50th anniversary of Title VI international education programs. COST: $0
Expressing support for designation of the week of September 13, 2010, as National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. COST: $0
The Senate passed a bill extending unemployment benefits costing $34 billion. President Obama has already signed the bill.
The House and Senate are going on vacation again in a few weeks and that means a big push to get things done before they do.
It also means lots of new spending.
The Hill reports today the Senate is set to vote on more than $100 billion in new spending this week. That figure includes $34 billion to extend unemployment benefits and $81.3 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
What you paid
Last week, taxpayers spent roughly $107 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
Allowance for staff salaries and misc: ($1,500,000/52) x 535 = $15,432,692
Non-salary money allocated for Congress: $4.656 billion/52 = $89,538,462
What you got
The House voted on 7 bills or resolutions which will cost more than $881 million (all costs over five years unless otherwise noted):
Flood Insurance Reform Priorities Act. COST: $476 MILLION
Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act. POSSIBLE SAVINGS?
Telework Improvements Act. COST: $30 MILLION
To amend the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act to authorize funds to acquire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services specific to the Arctic. COST: $361 MILLION
Fort Pulaski National Monument Lease Authorization Act. COST: $0
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Boundary Expansion Act of 2010. COST: $14 MILLION
Colonel Charles Young Home Study Act. COST: $250,000
The Senate passed the conference report to the financial regulatory reform bill. The bill includes $10.2 billion in new spending, which does not affect the debt (because of tax increases), but is nonetheless a large increase in spending. The House passed the bill before the 4th of July recess, so it now goes to the President for his signature.
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