Daily Political Wire 12-2-2010

George Wenschhof

House to Vote on Rangel Censure Today - the long drawn out process will finally come to a close today. The vote will decide whether to censure Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY) or issue a reprimand, as requested by Rangel. The House ethics committee found Rangel guilty on eleven counts of ethics violations and recommended censure. TheHill.com has more here.

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No Charges for Senator John Ensign (R-Nev.) - the senator had been under investigation for payments his parents made to his mistress and for his role in securing a job for the husband of his mistress. Ensign's lawyers say the Justice Department is no longer investigating him. You can read more here.

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House Ethics Committee Suspends Two Lawyers - they were placed on administrative leave with pay, for actions relating to the ethics investigation of Representative Maxine Waters (D- Calf.). She had been accused of steering bailout funds to a bank where her husband owned stock. Waters trail was to have started last month, but was called off without any explanation. stay Tuned... The NY Times Caucus Blog has more here.

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Knowing When to "Hold or Fold" When it Comes to Tax Cuts - the newly formed four member committee by President Obama charged to resolve the tax issue is already meeting with hopes for a proposal emerging as early as Sunday or Monday.

Meanwhile, the House will vote today to extend the tax cuts for those earning $250,000 or less. A largely symbolic vote, as the Senate will not pass it. FirstRead.com has more here.

The question remains as to what Democrats will be able to extract from Republicans in exchange for extension of all the Bush tax cuts. Stay Tuned...

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Former Republican Secretaries of State Urge Ratification of START Treaty - now we know why Colin Powell was meeting with President Obama recently at the White House. He is joined by four other former secretaries of state urging Republican senators to ratify the current START Treaty with Russia. Their op-ed in the Washington Post today can be read here.

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New "Watered Down" DREAM Act Submitted by Senate Democrats - in spite of a much less controversial bill, it is not expected to receive support during the lame duck session. Politico.com has more here. It is doubtful, more liberal Democrats in the House would pass this version anyway.

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