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FOREIGN SURVEILLANCE
As the No. 3 Republican in the House, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., helped lead a GOP walkout Thursday to protest House Democrats for letting some provisions of the terrorism surveillance law expire Saturday.
"Our intelligence agencies need the tools necessary to listen in on terrorists who threaten and plot to do harm to our country," said Cantor in a statement. "The Senate worked together in a bipartisan fashion earlier this week to accomplish this goal, but the House Democrat Leadership refuses to do the same."
In the Senate, Jim Webb, D-Va., expressed regret over the Senate-passed bill, saying it did not go far enough to protect constitutional rights and establish judicial checks on the executive branch spy program.
House Democrats cited similar concerns in choosing not to rubber stamp the Senate bill before leaving on a 12-day break.
Webb sent a letter to potential conference committee members asking lawmakers to keep such civilian protections in the final version of the bill. The House passed a bill last October with the additional checks and balances.
GUEST WORKERS
With an eye already on summertime, Rep. Thelma Drake, R-Va., is urging House colleagues to support her bill that would allow more foreign guest workers into the U.S. this year than the law currently allows.
Drake's "Giving Relief to Small Business Act" would allow any foreign worker who received an H-2B visa in the past three years to return this year or next without being counted against the annual limit of 66,000 H-2B visas the U.S. issues.
"It is crucial that Congress passes this legislation immediately so small businesses in Hampton Roads have the legal workforce they need for the busy summer season," Drake said in a statement.
Introduced earlier this month, Drake's H-2B exemption bill has 10 cosponsors, including Cantor and Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va.
ELECTRICITY WOES
Sens. Jim Webb and John Warner joined 10 other senators in calling for oversight hearings about a federal power line program they fear will undermine the states' authority in deciding where to build public utilities.
The Department of Energy, trying to prevent power blackouts along the congested East Coast, created two electric corridors - a Southwest corridor and a Mid-Atlantic corridor that includes 15 Virginia counties and seven Virginia cities. The corridor extends south to Madison County.
In a letter to Senate energy committee leaders, the dozen senators want a hearing to look into implications of the corridors as laid out by the Energy Department.
Webb said the department should have consulted with the states and allowed more comment from the public.
CALL FOR ART
Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., is asking high school students in his district to enter their art in the 2008 Congressional Arts Competition.
Entries are due April 30 to Forbes' district offices in Emporia, Colonial Heights or Chesapeake. The winner will be invited to a ceremony in June, and winning artwork will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol complex.
Each member of Congress selects one exhibit for display from his or her district. Forbes' district covers Petersburg, Chesapeake, and south to the Virginia-North Carolina border.
Last year's winning entry in Forbes' district came was pencil artwork by Ashleigh Roberts, a senior at Dinwiddie High School.
--Neil Simon