House Appropriations Committee

We're Not Laughing

Elaine Weiss | Posted 02.05.2012

Elaine Weiss

If they weren't so damaging to children, congressional leaders' explanations for their policy decisions that cater to big money interests at those children's expense would be downright funny.

Jason Linkins

How To Turn Pizza Into A Vegetable

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 01.16.2012

On Tuesday, Congress decided that pizza is a vegetable. I have to imagine that this news instilled confusion in many Americans, as many Americans are: familiar with pizza; familiar with vegetables; and sane. But, according to the geniuses in Washington, pizza is a vegetable for the purposes of determining what goes into public school lunches by virtue of the fact that pizza traditionally includes a schmear of tomato paste. And if you're wondering how it came to pass that Congress arrived at the conclusion that pizza could count as a serving of vegetables for this reason, wonder no more! Congress was guided along this path by lobbyists. And lobbyists can do all sorts of things, by magic!

Congress Fights To Save School Pizza And Fries

AP | By MARY CLARE JALONICK | Posted 01.15.2012

WASHINGTON -- Who needs leafy greens and carrots when pizza and french fries will do? In an effort many 9-year-olds will cheer, Congress wants pizza ...

Washington Must Walk the Talk: "Make It in America" Must Move From Slogan to Solutions

Rep. Mike Honda | Posted 12.12.2011

Rep. Mike Honda

We might not be able to match the incentives offered by our trading partners dollar-for-dollar, but we can make the choice competitive enough that we can leverage the inherent advantages that our country still offers.

Amanda Terkel

Are Republicans Engaging In 'Class Warfare'?

HuffingtonPost.com | Amanda Terkel | Posted 11.20.2011

NEW YORK -- Democrats are hitting back at Republicans who say President Obama's plan to increase taxes on millionaires and billionaires amounts to "cl...

Principle Justifies Penury

Christopher Brauchli | Posted 09.26.2011

Christopher Brauchli

It ain't by princerples nor men My preudunt course is steadied- I scent wich pays the best, an'then Go into it baldheaded. ...

Lucia Graves

House Republicans Take Aim At Environmental Regulations As Debt Crisis Looms

HuffingtonPost.com | Lucia Graves | Posted 09.24.2011

WASHINGTON -- With eight days until the country officially defaults on its debts, likely sparking a worldwide credit crisis, the House of Representati...

New York's LGBTQ Marriages, "Don't Ask" Repeal, and California's LGBTQ History Bill Herald Tipping Point

Rep. Mike Honda | Posted 09.21.2011

Rep. Mike Honda

Now more than never, it is imperative to remind each other, and our elected officials, that until we all have equal rights -- be it the right to marry or earn equal wages -- liberty and justice has not yet been granted.

SEC Starved By House Committee's Budget Cuts

New York Times | James B. Stewart | Posted 09.14.2011

The economy is still suffering from the worst financial crisis since the Depression, and widespread anger persists that financial institutions that ca...

GOP Congressman's Budget By 1,000 Cuts

Roll Call | Janie Lorber and Annie Shuppy | Posted 08.21.2011

When it comes to cost-saving amendments, Rep. Paul Broun can't be beat, even if he rarely wins....

Amanda Terkel

GOP Cuts Food Assistance For Low-Income Families While Protecting Azaleas

HuffingtonPost.com | Amanda Terkel | Posted 08.14.2011

WASHINGTON -- If you're an azalea at the National Arboretum, you're in luck -- a Republican on the House Appropriations Committee is looking out for y...

Preventing Predatory Lending by For-Profit Colleges

Rep. Mike Honda | Posted 08.13.2011

Rep. Mike Honda

Today, many for-profit colleges have picked up where the subprime lenders left off. They are using the same promise of the American dream as bait to trap vulnerable students into underperforming schools and saddling them with a lifetime of debt.

Through Legislative Sleight of Hand, Horse Slaughter May Resume in the US

Liz O'Connell | Posted 07.31.2011

Liz O'Connell

For years public opinion polls have confirmed that most Americans are against the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Whether or not America...

House Committee Votes To Cut Farm Subsidies

AP | By MARY CLARE JALONICK | Posted 07.31.2011

WASHINGTON -- A House committee voted Tuesday to cut farm subsidies to pay for deficit reduction and other budget priorities, chipping away at the bil...

Agricultural Policy Should Fuel Health, Not Epidemics!

Elizabeth Kucinich | Posted 07.24.2011

Elizabeth Kucinich

In 2009, USDA spent more than twice as much buying meat and dairy as it did on fruits and vegetables. What that means is that the USDA used taxpayers' money to buy about $1.5 billion worth of meat and dairy.

"Gang of Five" Elite Deficit Talks Doing Disservice to Democracy

Rep. Mike Honda | Posted 07.23.2011

Rep. Mike Honda

We need an open budget process that keeps the interests of the broad majority of Americans front and center.The Congressional Progressive Caucus' budget proposal is the only plan in Washington that truly reflects the will of the people.

Deal Reportedly Reached To Avoid Government Shutdown

ABC News | George Stephanopoulos | Posted 05.30.2011

Sources tell me that budget negotiators on Capitol Hill have tentatively agreed on a deal that would involve at least $33 billion in spending cuts fr...

War Internment Lessons: Peter King's Muslim Hearings Will Not Make America Safer

Rep. Mike Honda | Posted 05.25.2011

Rep. Mike Honda

The King hearings do little to keep our country secure and do plenty to increase prejudice, discrimination and hate. I thought we learned a lesson or two from my internment camp experience in Colorado. I hope I am not proven wrong.

Republicans Back Off Proposal To Sell Iowa's Pollock Mural

Posted 05.25.2011

"The Pollock" is safe. For now anyway. The bill proposed to force the sale of University of Iowa's Jackson Pollock painting, Mural, died on Tuesday b...

First-Person Politician: Video Game Politics and the Battle of the Budgets

Richard (RJ) Eskow | Posted 05.25.2011

Richard (RJ) Eskow

Part of a leader's job is to challenge popular illusions, not reinforce them. The fate of Democrats is sealed if they lose touch with a reality that's shared by the millions of Americans who are impoverished or jobless. For them, this isn't a game.

Republican Cuts: Disingenous, Indiscriminate and Indefensible

Rep. Mike Honda | Posted 05.25.2011

Rep. Mike Honda

When Republicans made the federal deficit the centerpiece of their 2010 campaigns, it was a rare convergence of smart policy meeting smart politics. However, they have quickly ditched the smart policy in favor of smart politics.

Just Plain Nuts: House Republican Budget Proposals Put Forth in the Most Haphazard Manner Imaginable

Scott Lilly | Posted 05.25.2011

Scott Lilly

House Republican are going down a dangerous road by forgoing the standard tools of the legislative process.

Cents and Sensibility: The Economic Case Behind Immigration Reform

Rep. Mike Honda | Posted 05.25.2011

Rep. Mike Honda

Immigration brings formidable fiscal implications. Keeping immigrants here or sending them home can save or cost taxpayers dearly.

Pushing the Private Sector to Prioritize American Jobs

Rep. Mike Honda | Posted 05.25.2011

Rep. Mike Honda

Policies that favor scaling up domestically, as opposed to overseas, are essential to ensuring that American ingenuity generates U.S. jobs -- not just a high Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Amanda Terkel

How A Women's Bathroom Helped John Boehner Pull Off A Capitol Land Grab

HuffingtonPost.com | Amanda Terkel | Posted 05.25.2011

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House of Representatives split its first committee, Ways and Means, into two in 1865, creating the Committee on Banking and Cur...