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TOP STORIES
Senate Sends War Timetable To Bush's Desk
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/26/AR2007042602469.html
The Senate approved a $124 billion Iraq war spending bill yesterday that would force troop withdrawals to begin as early as July 1, inviting President Bush's veto even as party leaders and the White House launch talks to resolve their differences. The 51 to 46 vote was a triumph for Democrats, who just weeks ago worried about the political wisdom of a veto showdown with the commander in chief as troops fight on the battlefield. But Democrats are hesitant no more. And now that withdrawal language has passed both houses of Congress, even Republicans acknowledge that Bush won't get the spending bill that he has demanded, one with no strings attached. Bush is expected to veto the bill early next week. But bipartisan negotiations have already started on a compromise to cool the red-hot war debate, at least on the funding front.
RELATED: Congress sets terms of Iraq exit
RELATED: Showdown time
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/04/27/showdown_time/
Panel Seeks Records of Political Briefings at Agencies
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/26/AR2007042602710.html
A House committee chairman asked 27 federal departments and agencies yesterday to turn over information related to White House briefings about elections or political candidates, substantially widening the scope of a congressional investigation into the administration's compliance with the law that restricts partisan political activity by government employees. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, made the requests after the White House acknowledged that aides to Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, had presented 20 briefings on the "political landscape" to senior federal appointees, last year and this year. An undetermined number of briefings were held in previous years, a spokesman said. Waxman asked that the information be submitted by mid-May, including the dates, times, locations and names of attendees of briefings that occurred from 2001 until this month, as well as any related "communications and documents." Waxman's committee has the authority to subpoena the data if the Bush administration declines to provide them voluntarily.
RELATED: Probe of White House political operations moves ahead
RELATED: White House says it held employee briefings on GOP races
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/04/27/white_house_says_it_held_employee_briefings_on_gop_races/
RELATED: White House Calls Political Briefings Legal
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/27/washington/27hatch.html
Candidates Unite in Criticizing Bush
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/26/AR2007042602593.html
Democratic presidential candidates largely set aside their differences here Thursday and presented a united front of opposition to President Bush and his Iraq policy, urging the president not to veto newly passed legislation that sets a timetable for beginning the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the conflict. In their first debate of the 2008 campaign, the Democrats showed some disagreement over the issue of cutting off funding for the war and vied with one another to demonstrate their willingness to retaliate swiftly if the United States is attacked by terrorists. But they found common ground in accusing Bush of making the country less safe and damaging U.S. relations abroad through foreign policy and argued that the president is ignoring the will of the American people by refusing to shift course dramatically in Iraq.
RELATED: Democratic Hopefuls Show Political Heft
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/26/AR2007042602957.html
RELATED: Democrats get their first close-up
States see new fights on abortion
Buoyed by last week's victory in the U.S. Supreme Court, abortion opponents in various states are dusting off old laws and drafting new ones to curb access to the nation's most controversial medical procedure. In the past week, North Dakota's legislature passed a law that would ban virtually all abortions, the Missouri House voted to tighten regulation of abortion clinics and two federal appeals courts were asked to lift injunctions blocking enforcement of state abortion bans. At the same time, state and federal abortion-rights advocates are stepping up their efforts as well and announced plans to seek laws guaranteeing women the right to terminate a pregnancy.
Today’s complete national news
Colorado
Ritter tax plan hanging on
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5507541,00.html
Gov. Bill Ritter's plan to boost school revenue squeaked to preliminary approval in the House on Thursday amid Republican charges that it is a tax increase and Democratic rebuttals. The proposal would curtail scheduled property tax reductions in most districts, increasing school funding by about $55 million in the second year of operation. Some 33 districts with the highest tax rates would see a rate reduction. Some of the lowest-funded school districts would get more money. The plan was adopted in a voice vote as an amendment to Senate Bill 199, the annual school finance bill. The amended bill could come up for a final vote this morning, when 33 votes would be needed for passage. In a lengthy debate, Republicans repeated charges that the program Ritter calls a rate "freeze" is actually a tax hike.
RELATED: House narrowly backs school funding plan
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5760251
RELATED: Tax freeze for school funds passes House
http://www.gazette.com/articles/tax_21667___article.html/school_freeze.html
RELATED: Dems rebuff cries of 'increase,' maintain freeze in property-tax rates
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/04/27/4_27_1a_School_Finance.html
RELATED: School-tax plan scores House win
RELATED: School Finance Act becoming election issue
http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1177685037/8
Amendment 41 bill signed
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5507527,00.html
Gov. Bill Ritter signed a bill Thursday that supporters say brings clarity to Amendment 41. Senate Bill 210 creates the ethics commission required in Amendment 41 and offers guidelines to commission members on reviewing complaints. The bill's passage ends a tumultuous effort to implement Amendment 41, the so-called ethics-in-government law that voters approved last year. The amendment sparked concerns over whether government workers' children could receive scholarships or whether blizzard victims could accept donations. "We are pleased that . . . government employees can go on with their private lives without fearing the scare tactics that suggested scholarships or blizzard relief would violate the law," said Mark Grueskin, the attorney for a coalition formed to implement Amendment 41.
RELATED: Supreme Court silent on ethics law
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_5760247
House OKs self-sufficiency standards bill
http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070427/NEWS01/704270331/1002
The Colorado House passed a bill Thursday that will develop "self-sufficiency" standards for each county that will give residents an idea of what kind of income they'll need to maintain a basic lifestyle. "This bill brings to light the true cost of living in various parts of our state," said Rep. Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley, who sponsored the bill with Sen. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood. "We're empowering families with information that could help them get off of welfare and put them on a path toward financial independence." The House voted 39-22 to approve the bill. The Senate voted 20-15 earlier this month in favor of the bill, so it now goes to Gov. Bill Ritter for action. Committee and floor votes on the bill generally have been along party lines, with Democrats voting in favor and Republicans against. Republican leaders said adopting the self-sufficiency standard could be used to expand the number of people qualifying for social-service programs.
Lawmaker's 'get out of jail free' example not completely accurate
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5507529,00.html
A state lawmaker didn't have all the facts when she testified that a teen rape victim ran into her attacker a few weeks later, back on the street, after he'd been deported to Mexico, Adams County District Attorney Don Quick said Thursday. Before a House committee Wednesday, Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument, held up Gabriel Chavez-Hurtado as an example of an illegal immigrant who received a "get-out-of-jail- free card." That is when a violent offender, in the United States illegally, agrees to deportation, opening the door for a defense attorney to have his state criminal charges wiped clean, she said. Quick gave this account of the case: The victim-attacker encounter in Adams County did occur, but charges against Chavez-Hurtado were never dropped, as Stephens implied Wednesday.
Today’s complete Colorado news
Today’s complete daily news: http://media.progressnowaction.org/digest/042707.htm
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