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IT'S EARMARK TIME
Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., requested federal money for two projects. One would provide more money for anti-gang and drug task forces in Virginia. The other would continue funding mass transit upgrades in the Dulles corridor.
Last Wednesday's deadline for lawmakers to request such earmarks from the House Appropriations Committee was extended to Monday due to computer problems.
Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., who did not make any such requests last year and won't this year, wants a moratorium on earmarks, according to a spokesman.
Critics say earmarking has funneled billions of dollars to home districts outside of the usual merit-based and competitive federal grant processes.
Freshman Republican Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., vowed to seek federal funding only for projects that will also receive state, local or private funding, a spokesman said. The office will notify local agencies of Wittman's earmark requests before releasing them to the media.
Democratic Reps. Jim Moran and Robert Scott and Republican Rep. Virgil Goode choose not to say what earmarks they've requested until the money is in the final budget, aides said.
NO ABSTINENCE FUNDING
Moran led 76 House members in asking Appropriation Committee leaders to eliminate federal funding for abstinence-only sex education programs in next year's budget.
A government report had found the programs do not deter teens from becoming sexually active.
"Not only do these programs not help our teens abstain from sex, many are rife with scientific inaccuracies, factual errors, and troubling biases that put our teens at greater risk for unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases," the House members said in a letter.
The current budget includes $113 million for the abstinence education program.
WEBB'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Sen. Jim Webb says his autobiography, "A Time to Fight," is "more personal than anything I've written."
Speaking to reporters at a breakfast Wednesday hosted by The Christian Science Monitor, the Virginia Democrat said the book, due out May 22 from Random House, deals with "who we are as a country."
Webb narrated an audio version of the book over the course of two days this month.
"There's a chapter on who looks over my shoulder when I try to make decisions," he said. "There's a section called 'What Went Wrong' -- talking about economic fairness."
Other chapters deal with "our failed criminal justice system" and "where we go from here," Webb said.
"So, no sex in this book?" a reporter asked, referring to novels Webb penned in the past.
"You'll have to buy it and see," said Webb.
SCOTT ON GUNS
A "logistical glitch" kept Rep. Robert Scott's name off a legal brief filed with the Supreme Court in support of Washington, D.C.'s ban on handguns, Scott said.
Thirteen other representatives, including Moran, signed the brief. Justices heard oral arguments Tuesday.
Scott, an attorney, said he supports the ban and that the Second Amendment right to bear arms was not intended to be an individual right.
"Courts consistently have ruled that right is in the context of a militia," Scott said. "Suggesting it is an individual right would put into jeopardy any kind of limitation."
-- Neil H. Simon
Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., requested federal money for two projects. One would provide more money for anti-gang and drug task forces in Virginia. The other would continue funding mass transit upgrades in the Dulles corridor.
Last Wednesday's deadline for lawmakers to request such earmarks from the House Appropriations Committee was extended to Monday due to computer problems.
Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., who did not make any such requests last year and won't this year, wants a moratorium on earmarks, according to a spokesman.
Critics say earmarking has funneled billions of dollars to home districts outside of the usual merit-based and competitive federal grant processes.
Freshman Republican Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., vowed to seek federal funding only for projects that will also receive state, local or private funding, a spokesman said. The office will notify local agencies of Wittman's earmark requests before releasing them to the media.
Democratic Reps. Jim Moran and Robert Scott and Republican Rep. Virgil Goode choose not to say what earmarks they've requested until the money is in the final budget, aides said.
NO ABSTINENCE FUNDING
Moran led 76 House members in asking Appropriation Committee leaders to eliminate federal funding for abstinence-only sex education programs in next year's budget.
A government report had found the programs do not deter teens from becoming sexually active.
"Not only do these programs not help our teens abstain from sex, many are rife with scientific inaccuracies, factual errors, and troubling biases that put our teens at greater risk for unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases," the House members said in a letter.
The current budget includes $113 million for the abstinence education program.
WEBB'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Sen. Jim Webb says his autobiography, "A Time to Fight," is "more personal than anything I've written."
Speaking to reporters at a breakfast Wednesday hosted by The Christian Science Monitor, the Virginia Democrat said the book, due out May 22 from Random House, deals with "who we are as a country."
Webb narrated an audio version of the book over the course of two days this month.
"There's a chapter on who looks over my shoulder when I try to make decisions," he said. "There's a section called 'What Went Wrong' -- talking about economic fairness."
Other chapters deal with "our failed criminal justice system" and "where we go from here," Webb said.
"So, no sex in this book?" a reporter asked, referring to novels Webb penned in the past.
"You'll have to buy it and see," said Webb.
SCOTT ON GUNS
A "logistical glitch" kept Rep. Robert Scott's name off a legal brief filed with the Supreme Court in support of Washington, D.C.'s ban on handguns, Scott said.
Thirteen other representatives, including Moran, signed the brief. Justices heard oral arguments Tuesday.
Scott, an attorney, said he supports the ban and that the Second Amendment right to bear arms was not intended to be an individual right.
"Courts consistently have ruled that right is in the context of a militia," Scott said. "Suggesting it is an individual right would put into jeopardy any kind of limitation."
-- Neil H. Simon