Second Session Begins

Legislative Update

• Outlook for 2008
• Presidential Agenda
• Economic Stimulus
• Annual Conferences
• Indian Health Service

The House reconvened setting the stage for the rest of the year. Its first week back was relatively low on drama. There was a lot of talk about what (not if) Congress should do to stimulate the economy.

In the House, the major item on the legislative program next week is an attempt on Wednedsay to override the President's veto of the SCHIP bill. Then it adjourns early for the minority conference and the following week for the majority conference.

The Senate, plans to return from its non-recess on January 22, and is expected to take up the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. Sen. Vitter intends to file an amendment that would codify 26 years of precedent against funding abortions with federal Indian Health Service funds except to save the life of the mother, or in cases of rape or incest of a minor.

Read today's edition of Inside the Mountain for further details.

December Answers to Prayer

Legislative Update

• Foreign Policy: Iraq, Intelligence
• Domestic Policy: Taxes, Spending
• Heartland Issues: Energy, Farming, Global Warming
• Health Care
  

The activity in Congress this month has been a remarkable example of what King Solomon meant when he said, The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes (Proverbs 21:1).

Jesus tells us to ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified (John 15:7-8). Thus, to give God the glory, we want to directly correlate our requests from the beginning of the month with the answers to those prayers.

Read today's edition of Inside the Mountain for those answers to prayer.

Countdown to Christmas

Legislative Update

• Foreign Policy: Iraq, Intelligence
• Domestic Policy: Taxes, Spending
• Heartland Issues: Energy, Farming, Global Warming
• Expiring Health Care
• Stem Cell Research

Congress returns from its Thanksgiving recess on Tuesday, December 4, with a lot on it's Christmas shopping list.

In terms of foreign policy, Iraq and intelligence bills top the priority list. Domestically, taxes and spending will be the most noticed issues Congress addresses this month.

In terms of issues affecting the Heartland, Congress also intends to take up bills related to energy, farming, and global warming. The President is not pushing any of these bills and has threatened to veto at least one of them.

Yesterday's political compromises are today's political emergencies, and nowhere is this clearer than where politics and science intermingle: expiring health care funding.

Two days before Thanksgiving, news broke on the front pages of mainstream newspapers, that researchers in Wisconsin and Japan had turned ordinary human skin cells into what are effectively embryonic stem cells without using embryos or women's eggs.

We have been handed an opportunity to turn the tide!

Read today's legislative update for more.

Congressional Harvest

Legislative Update

• Appropriations
• Veto Override Votes
• ENDA, Hate Crimes

After Congress honored National Bible Week and passed a typical year-end flurry of legislation in which it began sending appropriations bills to the President, it adjourned for Thanksgiving. A few of these bills have been signed into law.

Some have begun to look back at the first year in control for the new majority. Not to be missed in all of that is the record success of the minority shaping policy with the motion to recommit. The minority has not only maximized its few opportunities for legislative input, but it has also defended these minority rights from several attacks.

While Congress had originally planned to be done for the year by now, there is still much left to do including finishing the appropriations bills and unfinished conference reports such as the Head Start Reauthorization. How the year finishes out is still very much a work in progress.

Legislative Quicksand

Legislative Update

• House: Employment Non-Discrimination Act
• Senate: Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations

There are many dramatic headlines in the news — the San Diego fire, IEDs in America, drought, — and we would do well to seek "the LORD our God who gives the rain."

In the midst of all that, Congress is poised to make, in the words of the public interest Web site citizenJoe, "a little history" for "gay & lesbian rights."

The House is set to take up the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to "prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation." While the danger of the hate/thought crimes legislation is still pending, this legislation is another attempt at disintegrating the foundations of our national identity.

The Senate is expected to finish the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill wherein we have already had some victories and defeats. Praise the Lord for executive spending restraint. It is then expected to turn its attention to Internet taxes or immigration.

Prayer

Legislative Update

• FY 2007-2008 Continuing Resolution
• Debt Limit Increase
• $80,000 Families in "Poverty"
• Our Greatest Threats

With fiscal year 2007 wrapping up for the federal government, there are several financial matters before Congress this week that need our prayers.

Bottom line: there is no future for a country that sells its next generation to foreign debt holders.

A few are awake and see the direction we are headed; they are trying to fix things through shame. However, we know that the Lord will help the nation that calls on him.

The greatest threats to America this very day are not physical weapons, but financial resources. If we don't tear down our own financial high places, they will be painfully taken from us.

Perception or Reality?

Legislative Update

• Last Week
• Iraq
• September - Appropriations
• Fall Outlook

Congress returned this week from its August recess and passed the College Cost Reduction Act without discrimination against private education.

The Senate took a handful of votes on the life issue in its very first appropriations bill.

Next week is unexpectedly light with little to no substantive or controversial legislation as members of Congress will be traveling to the funeral for Rep. Paul E. Gillmor, and observing Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.

This means the Iraq report by General Petraeus will dominate the headlines even more next week.

The Senate is taking up the Transportation Appropriations bill, which it expects to finish this coming week, and then continue work on the Defense Authorization bill. (Expect more Iraq votes there.)

The House, when it returns the week of the 17th, is expected to take up an election, voting reform bill, though with the divisions this has exposed within the majority's own caucus, this may not happen.

Read today's legislative update for more.

The Calm Before the Storm

Congress has adjourned and is about half way through its August recess.

110th Congress Pre-August Recap
Everyone from the Washington Post to the Weekly Standard is giving the Democratic majorities in Congress low marks. While they have not lived up to most of their promises in all cases, this isn't entirely a bad thing. Sometimes Congress doing nothing is preferred.

New Public Laws
Despite many legislative proposals hitting the skids, Congress did manage to enact at least one top priority for the Democractic Congress and one top priority for the Republican President.

When Congress returns, it has no option but to hit the ground running and carry that pace through adjournment which will likely come late this year.

Pending for White House Action - S. 1: Ethics Bill
One heavily contested and problematic piece of legislation is currently on hold as a maneuver to avoid a constitutional back door for shutting down the legislation.

Looking Ahead to September
Top priorities for prayer include Iraq, the spending bills, and several major reauthorization bills such as No Child Left Behind, the farm bill, and others.

It could hardly be more appropriate that Congress, Lord willing, will be returning in the middle of what is more and more looking to be an active hurricane season.

• Pray that those members of Congress seeking righteousness and justice for our nation (Isaiah 28:17) would "will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither" (Psalm 1:3)

He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed (Psalm 107:29).

Full Legislative Update

Nothing New, Everything All at Once

Nothing New, Everything All at Once

CHPP Legislative Update
July 17, 2007

Arise, cry aloud in the night At the beginning of the night watches;
Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord;
Lift up your hands to Him For the life of your little ones
(Lamentations 2:19).

CHPP is publishing this Legislative Update in place of "On Capitol Hill This Week."

Special note: Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee convenes to examine the controversial prosecution of two Border Patrol agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who shot an unarmed Mexican drug trafficker.

• Pray for justice.

You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute (Exodus 23:6).

Since our last update, neither chamber of Congress has done much. After the week of the July 4th recess, the House took a break from appropriations, and the Senate voted on a handful of amendments to the defense authorization bill.

This week, the House resumes its work on the FY2008 appropriations bills, and the Senate picks up where it left off on the defense authorization.

The House is expected to continue its work on appropriations. The majority has expressed its intentions to continue bringing various "facet[s] of our policy in Iraq" up for votes. They also hope to vote on an energy bill prior to the August recess.

In the Senate, Senators Kennedy and Gordon have filed the hate crimes bill as an amendment to the defense authorization bill. The amendment has not been "attached" to the bill or acted on by the Senate yet in any way. It's not on the Senate's schedule and no senator is pushing to have it considered. It is only one of more than 200 amendments that have been filed. That said, it's just one unanimous consent request away from becoming part of the bill.

• Pray that this amendment stays just as it is as nothing more than one of many amendments that will never see the light of day on the Senate floor.

He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble (Isaiah 40:24).

The Senate intends to finish the defense authorization bill this week, and then move to either government health insurance for children or a college student debt bill. The Senate also hopes to begin moving on appropriations bills before the August break.

One particularly troubling move in the Senate is that a provision known as Kemp-Kasten has been excluded from the working version of the State, Foreign Operations appropriations bill. This is the language that allows the President to discontinue funding to organizations that support or participate in the management of a coercive abortion program. It's bad enough to use public funds to pay for elective abortion procedures. It's especially brazen when the majority is pushing to fund abortions forced on a woman against her will. What about "choice" then?

• Pray the President holds firm in his promise to stand up for pro-life policies like Kemp-Kasten and to veto any legislation that undermines those bills.
• This also applies to not expanding funding for embryonic stem cell research.
• Pray that ethical stem cell research such as the National Cord Blood Inventory (NCBI) program would be fully funded (the budget-neutral Smith/Davis Amendment).

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

Segments:	House Only	Senate Only
Future Only	House	Senate

Appropriations Continue, Agenda Heating Up

Legislative Update

• House: Appropriations Victories, Defeats
• Senate: Energy Completed, Immigration
• S. 5 Veto Override
• Global Warming
• August Recess Pressure

The House of Representatives did not live up to its own expectations for finishing most of the approprations bills in June. When the majority tried to jack up America with it's secret earmark plan, the minority decided to fight back and jack up the majority's plan instead until the problem was fixed.

This has set the appropriations calendar further back from where it was already behind. Once the appropriations bills got moving, there were three losses in the State, Foreign Operations bill, and three wins in the Financial Services bill.

The Senate finished its work on an energy bill, tried again on immigration, and passed a Title V abstinence extension. Praise the Lord the Senate did not go to conference on troublesome legislation such as S. 1, lobbying reform, and S. 4, the 9/11 Commission bill.

Now that Wyoming once again has two senators, upon its return from the Independence Day recess, the Senate is expected to take up the veto override attempt of S. 5, the embryonic stem cell bill.

Given that the House has only completed work on half the appropriations bills, and none of them have been sent to the President, much less signed into law, all these must-pass bills remain high priority prayer targets.

Congress doesn't go on vacation until August, and even that's not a sure thing. The majority also intends to take up global warming legislation of some time this month.

Legislative Update: Answers to Prayer

Congress has concluded its third work period and left Washington for its Memorial Day recess. Before leaving, members passed a Fiscal Year 2008 Budget and the Iraq Supplemental including the minimum wage increase.

We have noticed several real answers to prayer for which we want to give God the glory.

Legislative Update: Answers to Prayer

• Third Work Period Concluded
• Major legislation Passed
• Answers to Prayer in House
• Fourth Work Period Preview

Segments:	House Only	Senate Only
Future Only	House	Senate

Visit your members of Congress this week during their Memorial Day recess.

Currents Under the Surface

Legislative Update

• Congress: Iraq Supplemental
• House Judiciary Committee: Hate/Thought Crimes (a Religious Freedom issue)
• House: Head Start Reauthorization (and Religious Freedom issue)
• Senate: Medicare Prescription Drugs

Having passed the momentum of the first 100 days of the new Congress and the new majority, and not yet fully into appropriations season, we are in a period where a lot of the significant activity that will make for tomorrow's headlines is being worked out now behind the scenes in committees and subcommittees.

This makes these especially fruitful days for prayer as significant pieces of legislation are in their formative stages.

The big headlines from this week will likely be the Iraq supplemental bill that Congress sends to the President. The withdrawal timeline and whether or not that language will be binding are yet to be determined. (It was binding in the House version and not binding in the Senate version.)

Less noticed by the mainstream media, and noticed more in conservative circles is the "hate crimes" or "thought crimes" bill and its implications for religious freedom, and its overt references to "the actual or perceived" motivation for a crime. The bill makes reference to various "perceived" flags in a crime 11 times. Such subjective language is extremely dangerous and wide open to nearly any interpretation--some easily not even thought of today.

Veto Preparation

Legislative Update
April 10, 2007

Arise, cry aloud in the night At the beginning of the night watches;
Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord;
Lift up your hands to Him For the life of your little ones
(Lamentations 2:19).

Success in the Minority

Legislative Update

• House: Minority Success with Motions to Recommit
• House Next: Iraq Supplemental Appropriations, DC Voting Rights
• Senate Completed: S. 4, 9/11 Commission Recommendations, Iraq votes
• Senate Next: U.S. Attorneys, FY2008 Budget
• Conference: Minimum Wage

Since our last update: The House has passed several bills, and the minority has enjoyed unprecedented success with procedural votes. The Senate wrapped up S. 4, the 9/11 Commission recommendations bill, and voted on Iraq resolutions without passing any. Both chambers have this week and next week left until the Easter recess. The Senate returns after one week, and the House returns after two weeks.

This week the House is taking up the Iraq supplemental spending bill this week, and DC Voting rights (H.R. 1433). Today, former Vice President Al Gore testifies about global warming. The Senate is dealing with a bill regarding U.S. attorneys (S. 214), and then moves on to the Budget for Fiscal Year 2008 (S.Con.Res. 21).

We are now 75 days into the 110th Congress and heading into Budget season. No major legislation has yet been sent to the President. There are some identifiable trends with the new majorities. On the horizon, there are a lot of bills to pray over with respect to human life and religious freedom such as efforts to liberalize the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

First Work Period Concluded

Legislative Update

• House Completed: Iraq Debate Week
• House Next: Port Security, Unions
• Senate Completed: Fiscal Year 2007
• Senate Next: 9/11 Commission Recommendations
• Conference: Minimum Wage

Since our last update: The House debated Iraq and passed its resolution H.Con.Res. 63. The Senate passed H.J.Res. 20, the spending bill to finish out Fiscal Year 2007, and failed to proceed on its Iraq bill, S. 574. Both chambers were off on the President's Day recess last week. The first working period ran from the convening of Congress at the beginning of January until this first recess.

The next work period runs from the President's Day recess until the Spring/Easter recess. The House was intentionally waiting until after the recess last week to roll out its domestic agenda. The Senate will likely continue its unfinished agenda. Minimum Wage is expected to be the first major domestic bill to pass. In terms of foreign policy, we expect the Iraq debate will shift from one of "disapproval" to one over funding the continued operations.

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Future Only	House	Senate

Chambers Trading Priorities

Legislative Update

• House Completed: First 100 Hours, FY2007
• House Next: Iraq
• Senate Completed: S. 1 (Ethics Reform), H.R. 2 (Minimum Wage)
• Senate Next: FY2007, Human Life, Iraq (?)
• Conference: Minimum Wage

Since the last update: The House has finished its First 100 Hours agenda, and passed H.J.Res. 20, the spending bill to finish out Fiscal Year 2007. The Senate passed S. 1, Ethics Reform, without Section 220 (praise the Lord!), passed H.R. 2, the minimum wage increase, and has begun voting on Iraq resolutions.

This week has been quiet in the House (most of the activity early in the year is in committee), and the Senate was to begin debating Iraq in earnest which seems to be picking up again.

Next week the House takes up Iraq for three days, and other matters, while the Senate may debate Iraq more, and also has to pass the spending resolution to replace the one that expires next Thursday, February 15.

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Future Only	House	Senate

Legislative Update

House Outpacing Senate

The House is a little more than half way through its first 100 hours program. The Senate is off to a slower, less hyperactive start. Congress is off today in celebration of Martin Luther King Day.

Our top priority for prayer this week is the Bennett Amendment to S. 1 (See the first item in the Senate section).

House of Representatives

• The First (Partial) Week
• The First Full Week - Four Bills Passed
• Next Week
• Legislation Introduced

Senate

• The First 10 Bills
• Calendar
• Legislation Introduced
• Judicial Nominations

On a Lighter Note
2007 Calendar