U.S. House of Representatives

$9.7 Billion Down, $51 Billion To Go: Obama Signs Off On Sandy Relief

"We'll take what we can get" seems to be the mantra of Washington lately. But Sandy relief shouldn't be held prison to that.Yesterday, President Obama put his pen to the paper on a bill that would hand a nearly-broke FEMA the ability to borrow $9.7 billion in funds to handle thousands of Sandy insur ... More >>

Adriano Espaillat Throws In The Towel; Charlie Rangel -- At 82 -- Is Likely Heading Back To Congress

Congratulations, New York -- the man to the right (at 82 years spry) is likely heading back to Washington D.C. to represent you in Congress for what will be his 22nd term as a member of the United States House of Representatives.Congressman Charlie Rangel has (unofficially) fended off Democratic pri ... More >>

Charlie Rangel Survives Primary (Despite Being 82 Years Old, Having Been Censured, And Being 82 Years Old)

Longtime Manhattan Congressman Charlie Rangel can breathe a sigh of relief -- the 82-year-old Democrat has survived what was expected to be the fight of his political life.Rangel, who fought in the Korean War before getting elected to Congress (42 years ago), came out on top in yesterday's five-pers ... More >>

The People Trying To Ruin The Internet: John McCain

At the Voice, we have been regularly following internet policy developments. We figured it would be cool -- maybe even a public service? -- to ID people who keep pushing for web-killing proposals such as CISPA, SOPA, and PIPA in this new, occasional feature: "The People Trying To Ruin The Internet." ... More >>

The People Trying To Ruin The Internet: Lamar Smith

Heard of CISPA? On April 26, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 248-168 in favor of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, which encourages companies such as Facebook to freely share your info with cops if you seem like a "cyber threat" and basically grants them legal immunity if ... More >>

The Voice Talks Gay Marriage and Race on WNYC's The Brian Lehrer Show [AUDIO]

After publishing our piece yesterday "5 Reasons Why Touré Is Wrong On Blacks, Gay Marriage and Obama," we had the chance to talk about the president's new support fo marriage equality with WNYC's Brian Lehrer. We took calls from black listeners and talked to Lehrer about the many reasons why we b ... More >>

Dan Halloran Running For Congress As A Heathen Republican? We Can Hardly Wait

Could Dan Halloran, our favorite member of the City Council, be running for congress? Hunter Walker reports at Politicker that this is a possibility. We've kept a close eye on Halloran since he ran as one of the first openly Heathens for public office in 2009, being swept onto the City Council as ... More >>

Despite Fears Of People Marrying Bacon, Washington State Legislature Passes Marriage Equality Bill

​It's turning out to be a very, very gay week for marriage. After the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that California's Prop 8 is unconstitutional, the House of Representatives of the State of Washington just passed a bill allowing same-sex marriage equality, 55 yay to 43 nay. Governor C ... More >>

Anthony Weiner Resigns; Benjy Bronk From Howard Stern Show Cheers 'Bye Bye, Pervert!'

​Updated Anthony Weiner spoke over a rowdy and disrespectful crowd member this afternoon, resigning from the United States House of Representatives. He spoke first of his mission to represent the New York middle class, but admitted, "The distraction that I have created has made that impossib ... More >>

House Votes to Block Federal Aid For Planned Parenthood

​The House of Representatives voted Friday afternoon to block Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funding by a count of 240-185. The measure was led by GOP Rep. Mike Pence, who argues that the government should not support organizations that "provide or promote" abortion. The group last ... More >>

Chris Lee, Craigslist Congressman, Has Been Known to Party Hard

via​Christopher Lee resigned yesterday, less than four hours after Gawker published a story from a woman who claims Lee contacted her on Craigslist, claiming to be single, and proceeded to send her a (fairly impressive) shirtless picture. "I promise not to disappoint," he told her sexily. Now, ... More >>

Charlie Rangel's Ethics Censure: Record-Breaking, Utterly Meaningless.

​Various news outlets are reporting that House of Representatives members have voted to censure an active member "for the first time in nearly 30 years" -- New York City's own Rep. Charles Rangel -- for the slew of ethics violations he was convicted of last month. The House, which voted 333-79 ... More >>

Charles Rangel to Insist He's Not That Bad

​I am not a crook, Rep. Charles Rangel of Harlem hopes to tell the House of Representatives in "a last stand to salvage his reputation." Rangel plans to ask the ethics committee for time on the floor in order to explain that his 11 counts of financial and fundraising "misdeeds" are not as bad ... More >>

You Are 0.1 Percent More Employed Than Last Month

​Hey, New Yorkers: Things are looking up. The state Department of Labor has new numbers out, which the New York Times says show a dip in the city's unemployment rate. It's true! Our rate of downtrodden, jobless recession victims for October is down to 9.2 percent! Which means September (whose ... More >>

Joe Bruno, Other Pols Use Campaign Funds to Pay Legal Expenses

Joe BrunoBy Adam Schwartzman Five prominent New York politicians have dipped into their campaign funds to pay for nearly $3 million in legal expenses associated with investigations of their possible misconduct, a Voice examination of campaign disclosure reports has revealed. While it's unclear if t ... More >>

Obama Appoints Transgender Federal Bureaucrat

​There is much excitement over President Obama's appointment of a transgender woman, Amanda Simpson, as Senior Technical Advisor to the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security. Simpson was previously a deputy director at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson and a Democratic candida ... More >>

Congress Considers Congratulating Yankees; Bill's Future Uncertain (Update: Bill Passes 386-17; 11 "Present," 19 Abstain)

​Among other urgent business, the House of Representatives is considering today a bill, introduced by Jose Serrano of The Bronx, "Congratulating the 2009 Major League Baseball World Series Champions, the New York Yankees." Among the bill's many Whereases: "Whereas this year the Yankees opened ... More >>

Electricity for All in Elia Kazan's Wild River

City boy–country girl sparks, and plenty of politics

Alan Greenspan supports extending unemployment benefits, but the Senate balks

In an appearance on This Week, former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan said he sees the unemployment rate rising above 10% and staying there for a while, but he's particularly concerned with the number of people who have been unemployed over six months. Greenspan says that prolonged unemployment can lead to ... More >>

Surf Noir: Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice

Diving into 1970 L.A., the noted novelist tokes up a comic detective tale

News Roundup: The Pixies, Bruce Springsteen, Ticketmaster/Live Nation, Michael Jackson

​--The Pixies have announced the dates for their Doolittle 20th anniversary tour, where the alt-rock legends will play the album in its entirety. The band will play nine cities, including three New York gigs: November 23, 24, and 25 at the 3,000-capacity Hammerstein Ballroom. We recently talke ... More >>

Caroline Kennedy FTW? Complaints Grow, But CK Stays On Track

Trumbo: Blacklist Drama

Doc remembers a persecuted screenwriter

The 'W.' Stands for 'War Criminal'

The House and a shot not yet heard 'round the world

Fiction Meets Reality: Sex Scandal Updates on Vito Fossella and Eliot Spitzer

Top 10 Reasons Why NSA Wiretapping is Bad For America

While Schumer Slept

For five years, New York's senior senator said nothing about the toxic cloud that hung over his own constituents.

Oh, What a Wonderful War!

Minutemen Take Border Battle to 39th Street

McDonald's Spills Its Guts

Big Mac to come with a warning label

Opening (Some) Doors for Blair's Son

Morning Report 5/24/05
Compromising Democracy

Your Corporate Congress at Work

Food for Thought

Unimpeachable Sources

Congress: Low Friends in High Places

Union of Lost Souls

Leading Democrats Go AWOL on Overtime Vote

Whimper of Mass Destruction

What Didn't They Know? When Didn't They Know It?

Demonstrators Regroup, Plan MLK Day Actions

Activists Focus on the Mounting Costs of War

Wheedle, Leverage, Organize

Paul Wellstone's Lesson for the Overwhelmed Dems

Cache Your Chips

Anthrax as AIDS

The Agent Is Different, but the Anxiety Is Essentially the Same

Bush Sucks Support From Southern Democrats

Right-Wing Congress Cuts Taxes, Cans Rules Protecting Workers

Stealth Homophobia

What a Bush Administration Would Mean for Gays

Nation Could Get Bipartisan Presidency

Congress Has Power to Give Shrub and Joe the Keys; Gore, Cheney Would Get Bus Fare Home

Features

Features

A Guide to Key Congressional Races

The Rich, the Mighty, and the Hopeful

It’s the Supreme Court, Stupid

The Next President's Picks Could Determine the Fate of Roe v. Wade 

The New American Majority

Women and minorities swung the election to the Democrats. Can the Republicans now claim them?

House of Hypocrites

While congress is set to sit in judgment of President Clinton, many of its members have their own indiscretions to deal with. Lucky for them Ken Starr isn't investigating them and the notoriously lax ethics committee is.