“When House Republicans retreat to their districts for the August recess, they will each be armed with a detailed guide — an exceptionally detailed guide — on how to assure their already convinced constituents that Washington is broken.”
“The August House Republican Conference planning kit, titled ‘Fighting Washington for All Americans,’ offers a rare glimpse into the constituent outreach efforts of the GOP. Those efforts, it turns out, are highly calculated, hashtag-heavy and rife with references to the video app Vine.”
“The first kit offers variations on an old Washington favorite: bashing Washington. ‘Washington is out of control,’ warns a ‘sample op-ed’ titled ‘Fighting Washington for You.’ Naturally, it’s not the specific member of Congress’ fault.”
Chuck Schumer says he will give ‘our Republican friends’ another chance to pass burn pits bill before recess
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said he plans to give “our Republican friends” one more chance to vote on the burn pits bill before the Senate goes off on a one-month recess.
Mr Schumer spoke to The Independent on Capitol Hill on Thursday hours after GOP lawmakers voted to block a landmark bill that would provide much-needed healthcare and disability benefits to veterans sick and dying from toxic exposure to burn pits.
The Democrat revealed he plans to bring the vote back to the Senate floor on Monday in a last-ditch effort to get the bill passed before lawmakers head off on recess on 5 August.
“We are going to give our Republican friends another opportunity to vote on this Monday night,” he said.
He added that he will also give Senator Pat Toomey the chance to bring his amendments to the floor “and try to get the votes”.
Pennsylvania Republican Mr Toomey voted against the bill and has been complaining for weeks about it, saying that he wanted to add an amendment on provisional spending.
Following Wednesday’s vote, he claimed he was trying to address a “budget gimmick” in the bill that he said would lead to an increase in spending “on who knows what”.
Here's A Thing... 