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CHAIRMAN NYE
Rep. Glenn Nye, D-2nd, will be the only Virginia freshman to wield a subcommittee gavel in the 111th Congress.
Democrats on Wednesday selected Nye to chair the Contracting and Technology Subcommittee of the House Small Business Committee. Only three freshmen members were selected to serve as subcommittee chairmen. All are from swing districts.
Nye's subcommittee will help small businesses secure federal government contracts and expand technology-based businesses, Nye said.
"Small businesses ... have to be at the center of our economic recovery plans," he said, calling for small business to receive a greater share of the billions of dollars awarded in federal contracts each year.
Nye was successful in getting a tax credit for businesses that hire unemployed veterans included in the House-passed economic stimulus bill.
Nye also serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
BIPARTISANSHIP
Despite leading his party to completely oppose President Barack Obama's stimulus plan in the House, Republican Whip Eric Cantor said Wednesday's party-line vote should not mark the end of bipartisanship and accused the White House and its allies of "making political threats."
Cantor, R-7th, said House Republicans are committed to working with Obama, but he called on the president to disavow plans by a group of liberal organizations, who intend to run TV ads to encourage moderate Republican support for the stimulus in the Senate.
The ads, slated to run in Alaska, Iowa, Maine, and New Hampshire, urge viewers to call their senators and ask them to support the stimulus plan.
"Let us be clear: attack ads will not create jobs or help struggling families but will only serve to undermine our nation's desire for bipartisanship," Cantor said in a statement.
Cantor's press release cited news reports quoting unnamed White House sources saying the vote on the stimulus bill would be used against opposing Republicans in upcoming elections.
TOBACCO IN AND OUT
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., introduced an amendment Wednesday to avoid using a $31.5 billion tax increase on tobacco to pay for an expansion of government-funded children's health insurance. Webb wanted a tax on hedge fund managers imposed instead.
He withdrew the amendment, with assurances from Senate colleagues that similar tax changes could be revisited at a later date, an aide said.
"We all have our own issues with respect to whether tobacco should be used or not used, but to fund an entire program based on tobacco is not the way to move forward," Webb said on the Senate floor.
Instead of a 61-cent per pack increase on the cigarette tax to pay for the children's health bill, Webb had proposed adding a tax on carried interest, which is the pay currently received by hedge fund managers.
He still voted for the children's health insurance bill, which passed the Senate Thursday.
CONNOLLY CASH
Making his pitch for strengthening the municipal bond market, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, D-11th, was to address a meeting of state and local finance officers Friday.
Connolly is working on legislation with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., to have the federal government guarantee municipal bonds.
With investors leaving the municipal bond market in favor of buying Treasury bonds and credit markets largely frozen, Connolly said cities need help beyond what they would receive in Obama's economic stimulus bill.
"If this particular issue is not addressed, it could lead to a contraction of the national economy to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars at precisely the time we are trying to stimulate it," Connolly said.
-- Neil Simon
Rep. Glenn Nye, D-2nd, will be the only Virginia freshman to wield a subcommittee gavel in the 111th Congress.
Democrats on Wednesday selected Nye to chair the Contracting and Technology Subcommittee of the House Small Business Committee. Only three freshmen members were selected to serve as subcommittee chairmen. All are from swing districts.
Nye's subcommittee will help small businesses secure federal government contracts and expand technology-based businesses, Nye said.
"Small businesses ... have to be at the center of our economic recovery plans," he said, calling for small business to receive a greater share of the billions of dollars awarded in federal contracts each year.
Nye was successful in getting a tax credit for businesses that hire unemployed veterans included in the House-passed economic stimulus bill.
Nye also serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
BIPARTISANSHIP
Despite leading his party to completely oppose President Barack Obama's stimulus plan in the House, Republican Whip Eric Cantor said Wednesday's party-line vote should not mark the end of bipartisanship and accused the White House and its allies of "making political threats."
Cantor, R-7th, said House Republicans are committed to working with Obama, but he called on the president to disavow plans by a group of liberal organizations, who intend to run TV ads to encourage moderate Republican support for the stimulus in the Senate.
The ads, slated to run in Alaska, Iowa, Maine, and New Hampshire, urge viewers to call their senators and ask them to support the stimulus plan.
"Let us be clear: attack ads will not create jobs or help struggling families but will only serve to undermine our nation's desire for bipartisanship," Cantor said in a statement.
Cantor's press release cited news reports quoting unnamed White House sources saying the vote on the stimulus bill would be used against opposing Republicans in upcoming elections.
TOBACCO IN AND OUT
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., introduced an amendment Wednesday to avoid using a $31.5 billion tax increase on tobacco to pay for an expansion of government-funded children's health insurance. Webb wanted a tax on hedge fund managers imposed instead.
He withdrew the amendment, with assurances from Senate colleagues that similar tax changes could be revisited at a later date, an aide said.
"We all have our own issues with respect to whether tobacco should be used or not used, but to fund an entire program based on tobacco is not the way to move forward," Webb said on the Senate floor.
Instead of a 61-cent per pack increase on the cigarette tax to pay for the children's health bill, Webb had proposed adding a tax on carried interest, which is the pay currently received by hedge fund managers.
He still voted for the children's health insurance bill, which passed the Senate Thursday.
CONNOLLY CASH
Making his pitch for strengthening the municipal bond market, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, D-11th, was to address a meeting of state and local finance officers Friday.
Connolly is working on legislation with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., to have the federal government guarantee municipal bonds.
With investors leaving the municipal bond market in favor of buying Treasury bonds and credit markets largely frozen, Connolly said cities need help beyond what they would receive in Obama's economic stimulus bill.
"If this particular issue is not addressed, it could lead to a contraction of the national economy to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars at precisely the time we are trying to stimulate it," Connolly said.
-- Neil Simon