As Democrats try to unify the party after a bruising 17-month long primary campaign, conflict between two party leaders appears to linger from the 2006 campaign.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California praised Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean's "50-state strategy," a plan to develop and build parties in all 50 states rather than just the traditional battleground states.

Dean pointed to his tie, which was designed with a red and blue map of the United States.

"Rahm told me to wear it today," Dean said.

If humor conceals one's true feelings, there might have been an element of a jab in Dean's comment.

In 2006, Dean and Rahm Emanuel, then chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, sparred over how and where to spend the party's money.

Dean wanted to spend to beef up state party organizations in so-called Republican-leaning "Red States" whereas Emanuel wanted to spend in states where Democrats were most likely to win House races.

Emanuel, frustrated that Dean was not committing more money to winning the House, cursed out Dean in a meeting in 2006. There's a Washington Post story about the meeting if you want to spend time Googling it.

Dean eventually pledged $250,000 for each competitive House race. Democrats won more than enough seats to reclaim the majority they lost in 1994.

Both chambers of Congress overwhelmingly passed the farm bill last week and now the legislation awaits President Bush's veto.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Republican, and Democratic Reps. Tom Allen and Michael Michaud voted for the bill. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, voted against it.

The Senate will take up a massive emergency war supplemental spending bill, which also includes billions for domestic spending measures.

The House will debate a defense authorization measure, which does not include money for a third DDG-1000 Navy destroyer. The bill likely will pass and it sets up a show down when the bill goes to a conference committee, where House and Senate negotiators will sort out the differences between the two bills.

The House also will consider legislation to extend dozens of tax credits for research and development, families with children, and provide property tax and Alternative Minimum Tax relief.

Senator Susan Collins attended the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday as a guest of the National Journal magazine, a well-respected weekly that covers politics and policy issues.

The dinner is a big confab with Washington reporters, the President and other elected and government officials. The event has generated some bad press. In the 1990s, Don Imus, the radio disc jockey, told some off-color jokes about the Clintons' marriage. In 2006, Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report either spoke truth to power or embarrassed President Bush with his sharp sarcasm and ironic humor.

The White House Correspondents Association, which organizes the event, lost its nerve after Colbert's performance and invited Rich Little, who is known for his impersonations, in 2007.

Craig Ferguson, the host of CBS' "Late Late Show," performed on Saturday night.

The event was first held in 1914, but it really took off in 1987 when Michael Kelly, a journalist who was killed in Iraq at the start of the war in 2003, invited Fawn Hall, Oliver North's secretary in the White House. The next year Kelly invited Donna Rice, former Senator Gary Hart's flame on board the yacht, Monkey Business.

Senators Olympia Snowe and Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, asked the U.S. attorney general on Tuesday to review a Board of Immigration ruling that the threat of genital mutilation is grounds for asylum, but those who have already fallen victim to it would not be eligible.

Snowe and Levin said in a statement that the ruling ignored "the real ongoing effects that victims of FGM are faced with for the remainder of their lives."

“The rationale behind the BIA’s decision fails to protect against this particularly heinous form of gender-based persecution and ignores the physical and psychological effects that harm that awaits women subjected to this horrifying practice in their home countries,” Snowe said in a statement. “Women who have fallen victim to FGM should not be forced to exist in an environment where they are vulnerable to further persecution.”

Snowe was approached by a group of academics who asked her to write the letter.

It will be another full week on Capitol Hill as the House and Senate return to Washington today and Tuesday.

First, we're expecting several thousand truckers to show up on the West Lawn of the Capitol (the side facing the Washington Monument) to protest the cost of fuel. We'll be tracking that story today.

Second, Democrats are hoping they can ink deals on a budget resolution and a farm bill. On Friday, lawmakers agreed on farm and nutrition programs and a finance package based mainly on maintaining customs fees.

House Democratic moderates dropped categorical opposition to a budget
without budget reconciliation and Alternative Minimum Tax offsets and opened
negotiations over alternatives.

Sen. Olympia Snowe's bill banning genetic discrimination, which passed the Senate 95 to 0, heads to the House where it is expected to win approval.

The biggest issue coming down the pike is a war spending bill. Democratic leaders are considering splitting the bill into three parts: spending for Iraq, new spending on domestic programs, such as extending unemployment benefits, suspending the Bush administration's plan to cut Medicaid, and infant nutrition funding, and a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq. The House will act before the Senate.

As I have written before, one goal I have with this blog is to pull back the curtain on what it's like to be a reporter, how we go about our jobs and how we interact with the people we cover and with each other.

Every day Congress is in session and sometimes when it is not, I show up to work at a desk in the Senate Press Gallery on the Capitol's third floor above the Senate Chamber. There is a row of seven cubicles and I'm at the end between the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Tulsa World.

Like everyone else in every other office, gossip is rampant. There's always chatter about who's up, who's down, who's in, who's out (a combination of "The Apprentice" and "Project Runway").

That said, here's the buzz in the press gallery today.

Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Republicans, disagreed on Thursday on whether to create a House-Senate task force to investigate changes to a $10 million earmark in 2005.

Snowe voted against the proposal while Collins supported it. The measure failed 49 to 43, 60 votes were needed for passage.

Both senators voted to ask the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation into whether a powerful lawmaker changed the earmark for a highway interchange in Florida after the House and Senate had approved the bill.

Collins joined 17 senators – 13 Republicans and four Democrats – who voted for both investigations.

House Democratic and Republican leaders support an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

As everyone within range of a television or newspaper knows, the Pope conducted a Mass at the new Washington National's baseball park and many lawmakers, including Se. Susan Collins, a Republican, and Rep. Michael Michaud, a Democrat, were there.

The Congressional trade papers are filled with stories about Senator Robert Byrd, D-W. Va., the 90-year-old chairman of the Appropriations Committee, who is in poor health. Byrd, the longest serving senator ever, held his first hearing in weeks yesterday, trying to silence critics and end the scrutiny about whether he is up to the job.

Later today, Collins and Senators Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Ben Nelson, D-Nebr., will say that the Iraqis ought to pay for more reconstruction and security costs.

Finally, Michaud and several Democrats and an Ohio Republican visited Iraq last weekend. We'll get some color from his trip later this afternoon.

And ... after breaking her wrist earlier this winter, Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Republican, finally had her cast removed. She now carries around a squeezable ball to strengthen the muscles in her forearm.

Senator Susan Collins' staffers beat Senator Olympia Snowe's staffers in the Cherry Blossom 10-miler, which was held on April 6.

Each team fielded five runners. Collins' office ran a combined time of 4 hours, 25 minutes and 19 seconds to finish 12 of 18 Senate teams.

Snowe's office ran a combined time of 4 hours, 31 minutes and 28 seconds to finish in 16th place.

Kay Gerard, Collins' scheduler from Madawaska, led the Maine delegation, finishing in 1:23.

Erik Neccia led Snowe's office in a time of 1:30:08.

The Politico has a new feature called The Huddle , which provides a nice preview of what's happening in Congress on any given day.

The Pope is visiting Washington this week and he will conduct a mass at the Washington Nationals' new baseball stadium.

Of course, April 15 is tax day.

Last week, the Senate passed a housing bill that includes tax incentives for the purchase of homes now in foreclosure and relief for homebuilders and other money-losing businesses. The House would prefer a broader package that will likely see floor debate the last week of April.

The House will take up several bills this week, including a student loan measure and legislation that would cancel the debt of 24 developing nations. The Senate is taking up a bill to make technical corrections to a massive highway bill signed into law several years ago.

Both chambers must extend the nation's farm program. House and Senate Democrats cannot agree on how to move forward, stalling a new farm bill.

The Bush administration likely will request later this month $108 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Bush has warned Congress not to load the bill with domestic spending initiatives.

On Tuesday, Army Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. There's a lot of coverage in today's newspaper and in other papers from around the country.

The hearing room in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Constitution Ave., across the street from the Capitol, was jam packed. Here's a good look at the types of people - besides reporters and congressional aides - who attended the hearing.

Below is my time line.

Gen. David Patraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker will testify before Congress on Tuesday.

Their testimony comes amid bloody fighting in Sadr City and after last week's battle in the southern Iraqi city of Basara,

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, and Democratic Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton also will get to question (lecture?) the general and ambassador.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, also will get a chance to question the general and ambassador when they testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Senate Democrats will press Republicans to join them in offering a second stimulus package to help stem home foreclosures and extend unemployment insurance payments.

Here's what's happening with the rest of the Maine delegation:

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, introduced a bipartisan legislation that would allow small business owners to pool resources across state lines to make health insurance more affordable.

Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, introduced legislation last week that would give first time home buyers a $5,000 tax credit (those of us living in Washington, D.C., have had access to this credit since 1997 because it was part of a budget agreement between President Clinton and former Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.).

He also introduced a bill to improve Internet access in rural areas, and is holding a press conference today in Bangor to promote the legislation.

If President Bush sends a free trade agreement up to Capitol Hill for ratification, watch for Rep. Michael Michaud, D-Maine, to lead the opposition.

Every year, the Citizens Against Government Waste, a government watchdog group, compiles the Congressional Pig Book, a list of the pork-barrel projects in the federal budget.

The 2008 Pig Book identified 11,610 projects at a cost of $17.2 billion in the 12 Appropriations Acts for fiscal 2008. The group defines pork as "a line-item project in an appropriations bill that designates tax dollars for a specific purpose in circumvention of established budgetary procedures."

The group singles out specific earmarks for an "oinker" award and, thankfully for us here at PoliticalExtra, the group singled out a project for Maine.

"The Taxpayers Get Steamed Award" goes to to GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe and Rep. Thomas Allen, a Democrat, for $188,000 for the Lobster Institute.

We'll dig into the Lobster Institute later, but for now check out the Pig Book here.

The Senate will consider a housing relief bill this afternoon. Last month, Republicans managed to block a similar bill. But as the housing crisis and economy have worsened, Democrats believed they might be able to peel off a few more votes.

Last night, the House approved a bill introduced by Rep. Tom Allen, a Democrat, that would centralize funding for a nationwide ocean-monitoring system, which is modeled on the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System (GoMOOS). Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Republican, has companion legislation pending in the Senate.

It's also April Fools Day and Roll Call, a four-day a week publication for congressional insiders, has a very funny front page with the beginnings of fake stories (the paper is subscription only so readers cannot really find anything at its web site).

Here are some of the jokes:

"Clinton, Obama Working it Out? Harris Urges them to make-up."

That is, Katherine Harris, the former GOP congresswoman and Florida secretary of state, who played a prominent role in the 2000 election recount.

"GOP to Grab One Open Seat."
The story goes on to say that House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, decided to write off Republican chances in the fall and will spend his campaign funds buying a skybox at the Washington Nationals' new stadium.

"Putting More Mirth in Murtha."
The story goes on to say that Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., the defense appropriations subcommittee chairman and a big backer of earmark - or pork barrel - spending, has sworn off pork and converted to Judaism.

The Senate will try again to pass a housing stimulus bill this week, even enough Senate Republicans - more than 40 - blocked a previous attempt to move a housing bill several weeks ago.

The House on Monday will vote on legislation introduced by Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, to direct the president to establish a National Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System.

The bill has been placed on the suspension calendar, meaning that debate on the bill is suspended but two-thirds of the House must vote for the measure for it to pass. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has a similar bill.

But all eyes will look toward next week when Army Gen. David Petreaus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker testify before several Congressional committees. Congress also will debate another supplemental spending bill to pay for the Iraq war. Last year, President Bush asked for $197 billion and Congress, after much back and forth, delivered $70 billion.

This debate certainly will lead both sides to rehash old questions and frame new ones - and certainly presidential politics will hang over the debate. Democrats will argue that the Iraqis must take more responsibility and that the Bush administration must show more progress by meeting more benchmarks. Republicans will maintain that the war is the central front in the war against terrorism and that the surge succeeded and that Iraqis are taking the lead.

It's unclear how the recent fighting - and cease fire - will affect the debate because it's not clear whether the Iraqi assault, backed by American air power, was a political and military success, a draw or a disaster.

Congress' two-week Easter recess ends on Monday and, like all recesses, this one passed too slowly for my editors and too quickly for me.

When the House and Senate return, they head into an eight-week session until Memorial Day. That probably will be the longest stretch that they are in session this election year.

While Congress will be overshadowed by the presidential race, the House and Senate must go about the standard business of government: namely, getting the budget resolution passed and starting work on the dozen or so appropriations bills that keep the government running each year.

The House and Senate will work to reconcile the differences in their respective budget resolutions. On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will consider a Global AIDS bill, and the U.S. Fire Administration Reauthorization Act.

The Senate will reconsider a housing foreclosure-relief bill, which Republicans had filibustered earlier this month.

Perhaps the biggest even will occur a week from Monday, on April 8, at 9:30 a.m., when Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee later that day.

This morning we provided some context around Sen. Susan Collins' voting streak.

Her opponent, Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, has a 98 percent voting record since arriving in Congress in 1997, according to his Congressional office.

In the 109th Congress (from 2005 through 2006), Allen missed 12 votes of 1,202 votes cast, or one percent of all votes cast. As a comparison, Rep. Michael Michaud, D-Maine, missed 8 votes of 1,205 votes cast (the disparity is not clear to me right now) according to a Washington Post database that tallies votes.

In the current 110th Congress, Allen missed 3.2 percent or 42 votes of 1,288 votes cast. Michaud has missed 1.5 percent or 19 of 1,275 votes cast. The Democratic-controlled House appears to be much more active than the previous Congress and, keep in mind, there are still nine months remaining in the 110th Congress.

Four lawmakers, all Democrats, have perfect voting attendance records in the 110th Congress. To be fair, one is Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Speakers traditionally do not cast votes, so she has voted 127 times by choice.

Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y., the former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, announced Thursday that he is retiring from office.

Who is Tom Reynolds? Hang on. What's this got to do with Maine? Nothing really, but it shows how tough the political landscape is for congressional GOP candidates this year.

Reynolds, the former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is the 29th lawmaker to retire or leave office this year; only six Democrats are retiring this year. (In 1992, 67 lawmakers left Congress, in part, because it was the last year campaign finance laws allowed lawmakers to pocket their campaign war chests).

That means in 2008 Republicans are faced with winning 29 open seats, which normally are much harder elections to win. Given the number of open seats the NRCC has to defend, it will be tough for the Republicans can recapture the House.

Rep. Tom Allen released two statements on Tuesday about the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War. One statement came from his official congressional office and the second statement came from his campaign (it is not kosher under campaign finance laws to have the same statements).

I am hearing from at least one of Maine's other lawmakers that they, too, could have a statement. We will post that upon receipt.

Below is the statement from Allen's congressional office.

The House and Senate approved budget resolutions - a blueprint for spending and tax policy - last week and skipped town. They return on March 31 for a grueling eight-week session.

Just like last year, Congressional Democrats added $20 billion more to domestic spending programs than President Bush requested. To avoid having him veto any appropriations bills, Congress can just wait until Bush leaves office before completing the fiscal 2009 budget. Even though the fiscal year begins Oct. 1, 2008, Congress can pass "continuing resolutions," or budgets that keep the government afloat at current spending levels.

Once again, the biggest dispute between House and Senate Democrats is over the alternative minimum tax, which now affects more middle-income earners because there are so many deductions in the tax code.

Both plans provide AMT relief for 20 million people. House Democrats said they would make up for lost revenue through tax increases and/or spending cuts. Senate Democrats said they would just "eat" the losses.

Senate Republicans and Democrats made sure that senators running for re-election and president had to make some tough choices on Thursday during the debate over the2009 budget proposal.

The Senate voted on more than 40 amendments to the so-called budget resolution, a blueprint for spending and tax proposals for the fiscal year starting on Oct. 1, 2008.

House Democrats passed their own budget resolution on Thursday, too, but they did not allow amendments. They did, however, let the Congressional Black Caucus, Progressive Caucus, and the Republican Study Committee to offer their own budgets (please see previous post for results).

Back to the Senate.

In response to the city of Berkeley, Calif., kicking the Marine Corps recruiting station out of town, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., proposed eliminating local projects or earmarks for the city. The Senate rejected the measure, but Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Republicans, voted for it.

Republican Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins voted against a proposal on Thursday night to place a one-year moratorium on lawmakers' local projects.

The Senate voted 71-29 to block the amendment even though Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, and Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., supported the measure.

In the House, Democratic Reps. Tom Allen and Michael Michaud also opposed a similar provision, which Republicans included in their alternative budget for 2009. That measure failed 157-263.

Allen said on Tuesday that he had not decided whether to vote for a one-year moratorium. But as a member of the House Budget Committee, he voted against an amendment offered by Republicans on the panel to block earmarks in next year's budget.

The House rejected alternative budgets offered by the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Allen and Michaud voted against both budgets.

The House and Senate on Thursday passed non-binding budget resolutions, the sweeping blueprints of what a budget should look like. House and Senate negotiators must reconcile differences between the two proposals before May 15. Once that happens, the appropriators can begin filling in specific spending details.

The Senate is casting vote after vote today on amendments to the fiscal 2009 budget resolution.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, will offer an amendment eliminating subsidies for oil and gas companies, providing a $500 tax credit for individuals who purchase clean burning wood stoves and a tax credit for the purchase of a plug-in hybrid electric cars.

‘This amendment will help set us on a path toward energy independence and provide a more sensible energy tax policy," Collins said on the Senate floor today.

Clickhere.here to listen to Collins' remarks.

Congress honored the men and women of the Armed Forces on Thursday morning in the Capitol's Rotunda, a week before the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq.

About 100 lawmakers from both chambers attended the 40-minute ceremony, including Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine. She sat next to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and two seats away from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

The House and Senate Democratic and Republican leader delivered brief speeches, but they were overshadowed by Fiona Gabriela Torres, a student at Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax, Va. She sang the national anthem to start the ceremony.

McCain, however, was the star of the ceremony, as his colleagues flocked to say hello or congratulate him. Afterward, he huddled and seemed to have a laugh with Sens. John Warner, R-Va., Sam Brownback, R-Kans., and Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn.

McCain received lots of "welcome backs" from the Senate door keepers and professional staffers. He has returned to vote on an amendment to impose a one-year moratorium on earmarks.

Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are expected to return to Capitol Hill today as well.

Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, and Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, plan to offer an amendment to next year's budget resolution that will add $2.6 billion to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance program.

A vote could come as early as today on the measure.

Lawmakers from the northeast tried unsuccessfully to add more LIHEAP money to the economic stimulus package that passed earlier this year.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., on Tuesday called a government watchdog's visit to Maine in January "inappropriate."

Lautenberg questioned Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Iraq reconstruction projects, about his visit to Maine from Jan. 2 through Jan. 4.

To view his testimony, click here.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, accompanied Bowen to Maine. He delivered a speech at Husson College and participated in an editorial board meeting with this newspaper.

During the editorial board meeting, Bowen praised Collins' record of government oversight as chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

His comments were noticed by a State Department official, who subsequently told The Washington Post that, "This is the kind of thing we're taught not to do."

The House and Senate have a busy week planned before they recess for the Easter break. They will return March 31.

While the presidential contest is getting all the attention, Democrats captured former Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert's congressional seat. What this means for 2008 is unclear, but it certainly gave Democrats ammunition that the political climate here.remains anti-Republican.

The Senate will begin debating the 2009 budget this week and the House will have a full day debate on the FISA/wiretapping bill.

The House and Senate must pass a budget resolution by March 15 and they must agree to one by April 15 (there's no penalty if they do not; the president does not sign them into law). After that, the appropriators will get to work filling in specific spending amounts.

National Journal, a magazine for Washington insiders, tallies a series of votes each year to determine who is the most liberal and most conservative members of Congress.

You might have heard about this last week when Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was scored as the most liberal senator.

Well, here are the rankings for Maine.

Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, scored a 76.8 percent on the liberal scale, making him the 107th most liberal member of the House.

Rep. Michael Michaud, D-Maine, scored 68.8, making him the 144th most liberal member of the House.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, scored 47.8, putting her right smack dab in the middle at number 50.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, scored a 47.2, and placed one spot above Snowe at number 51.

The research group Knowlegis released its annual rankings of lawmakers based on various criteria to demonstrate power and effectiveness in 2007 and 2008.

The rankings are based on position, indirect influence, legislative activity and earmarks.

Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe ranked 52 and Sen. Susan Collins ranked 68 out of the 100 senators.

Democratic Reps. Tom Allen ranked 109th and Michael Michaud ranked 317th out of 435 members of the House.

Two senior House lawmakers asked the attorney general today to investigate whether former New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens (who also pitched for the Red Sox) lied to the panel about using steroids.

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., sent the following letter to Attorney General Mukasey today. The text of the letter follows:

Legistorm is an informative web site because it allows everyone from journalists to the curious citizen to check out what congressional staffers get paid. The site compiles data on congressional offices, which is all publicly available but hard to get to unless you are in Washington.

For example, Rep. Tom Allen's chief of staff, Mark Ouellette, earned $31,250.01 from April through July in 2007. Rep. Mike Michaud's former chief of staff, Peter Chandler, earned $29,250, for the same quarter.

On the Senate side, Sen. Olympia Snowe's chief of staff, John Richter, earned $75,000 for a six month period from July through Sept. last year while Sen. Susan Collins' chief of staff Steve Abbott earned $80,329.

On Tuesday, Legistorm announced that it is posting financial disclosure reports for staffers.

Here's a summary of what is expected this week on Capitol Hill.

Congress and President Bush are going to have to figure out how to compromise on FISA, pass a farm bill, rewrite some energy tax proposals and craft a budget resolution. The Senate also will consider legislation to withdraw troops from Iraq.

Tonight, at George Washington University, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., and Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., will debate each other college-style to bring some decorum and civility to Congress.

Otherwise, it looks as if presidential politics will start to overshadow everything Congress does or does not do.

Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, and his wife, Diana, issued this statement this morning regarding her recent diagnosis of breast cancer. It was sent by his campaign spokeswoman, Carol Andrews, to the media.

"In recent days a routine mammogram detected breast cancer in what doctors have described as a very small malignancy believed at this point to be in its early stages. We will not know the entire story until surgery yields more information, but we are very optimistic that Diana will fully recover.

"Along with our daughters and loved ones, we intend to fight this disease privately but wanted to share this news as directly as possible. We very much welcome your thoughts and prayers.

Here is the story from the Associated Press about Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., who died today. It's been a rough year in the House, where six sitting members have passed away. They include Julia Carson (D-Ind.), Jo Ann Davis (R-Va.), Paul Gillmor (R-Ohio), Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Calif.), and Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.).

Rep. Tom Lantos, Holocaust survivor, dies
By: The Associated Press
February 11, 2008 09:42 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) - Rep. Tom Lantos of California, the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, has died, his spokeswoman said Monday.

Lynne Weill said that Lantos, 80, passed away at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center in suburban Maryland.

Lantos, a Democrat who chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee, disclosed last month that he had been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus.

Each Sunday evening, I get an email from a prominent lobbyist in Washington (I'm one of hundreds on the list), but here it is below. It's a nice wrap up of what Congress faces, lots of policy mixed with a little politics.

It starts here:

Congress and President George Bush notch a bipartisan accomplishment this
week by enacting an economic stimulus measure. On Thursday, the House
adopted Senate amendments, adding rebates for low-income seniors and some
veterans, clearing the package for the President. Rebate checks are likely
to be processed before summer.

This week, lawmakers face another deadline to renew warrantless wiretapping
authority before it expires February 16. Retroactive immunity for
telephone companies that facilitated post-9/11 warrantless wiretaps
continues to be the legislation's Senate stumbling block. If Senators
approve immunity, the Senate bill will have to be reconciled with a House
plan that does not include immunity language. Representatives may also
consider a package of energy tax incentives, including the elimination of
some tax breaks for oil and gas companies.

Rep. Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, died today, CNN is reporting.

Lantos announced last year that he would not seek reelection due to illness. He was a Hungarian survivor of the Holocaust. His life story is quite remarkable; if I recall, he fled both Nazism and communism as a 10-year-old.

He represented a liberal enclave in San Francisco and the surrounding area (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi represents the core of San Francisco).

When more is known by one of the congressional trade papers in Washington, I'll post a link.

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, and Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., lashed out at each other Tuesday morning over a Democratic economic stimulus package, which Reid is trying to pass.

If the House of Representatives is a truck stop, the Senate is more of a country club. But it appears, that in the early days of the second session of the 110th Congress, that the roles have been reversed.

The House is reveling over a bipartisan economic stimulus package, which overwhelmingly passed the House last week. The Senate's leaders are bickering.

Even by the hyper-partisan nature of today's political discourse, the words exchanged between Reid and McConnell this morning were striking.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., took to the Senate floor a few hours ago to honor the New York Giants football team.

It would be nice, in the words of a former press secretary to President Bush, if they would declare the country today a "gloat free zone."

Here's the official press release:

"WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer will officially celebrate the New York Giants stunning Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots by delivering congratulator remarks from the Senate floor and introducing a resolution praising Big Blue.

"Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., will praise Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning and specifically recognize defensive linemen Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Michael Strahan, and wide receivers David Tyree and Plaxico Burress for game-breaking plays."

Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, just sent out this press release:

"Rep. Tom Allen will make good on his Super Bowl XLII wager with Rep. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y., on Tuesday when he stops at The Clam Shack on the bridge in Kennebunkport to purchase a gift certificate for two quarts of fried clams."

Had the Patriots prevailed, Allen would have won two boxes of New York wine. I'm not a big drinker and certainly don't know my wines, but this might just be the only silver lining in the Patriots' loss. Who wants to drink New York vino?

“The Patriots made us proud all season, and this is the most disappointing wager I have ever lost,” Allen said. “I have invited my friend, Tim Bishop, to come to Kennebunkport sometime between May and October to enjoy his clams. I look forward to introducing him to more than just Steve Kingston’s renowned seafood but to all that Maine has to offer the millions who visit here each year.”

Roll Call, The Hill and Politico are the three so-called trade newspapers that cover Capitol Hill. They are to Congress what Variety is to Hollywood or Daily Racing is to horse racing.

Last week, Politico reported a short but informative sketch of Sen. Olympia Snowe, which you can read here.