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Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke testified about the economy today before the House Budget Committee.

Here’s a clip of him being questioned by Texas Democrat Chet Edwards about making permanent the tax cuts from earlier this decade, about short-term actions to boost the economy and about the need for long-term fiscal responsibility by the federal government.

For more on Bernanke’s testimony, read coverage in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report and The Washington Post.

Bill Beach, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis, testified to the Joint Economic Committee yesterday about plans to stimulate the economy. He argued that Congress should let the Fed take the lead on stimulating the economy in the short term and instead focus on the long term.

“Congress should take this moment of slow growth to do what it does best — to set broad economic policy.”

Categories: Texas, Producer's Picks, Budget, Taxes, Economy, Chet Edwards, Federal Reserve Board

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The National Republican Congressional Committee, which is the campaign arm of House Republicans, has produced a series of videos that features GOP lawmakers making the case for putting them in charge of Congress again.

The last of the series, titled “Rediscovering Your Party,” went online Friday. “We’re returning to our roots of fiscal discipline, traditional values, reform, and defense and homeland security,” says Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana.

Other participants in the series were: Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee; Minority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri; Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio; NRCC Chairman Tom Cole of Oklahoma; Jeb Hensarling of Texas; Kevin McCarthy of California; Patrick McHenry of North Carolina; and Candice Miller of Michigan.

The earlier videos covered topics like: earmarks in spending bills; accountability and transparency for federal spending; opposition to the “fairness doctrine” that once required equal time for competing viewpoints on the airwaves; and the Republicans’ prospects for regaining the House majority in 2008.

Categories: Military, House, California, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Politics, Kevin McCarthy, Terrorism, Budget, Economy, Roy Blunt, John Boehner, Social Policy, Marsha Blackburn, Patrick McHenry, Candice Miller, Tom Cole, Jeb Hensarling

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Rep. Ron Paul of Texas has been climbing the Republican presidential charts in all the ways that matter — fundraising, poll numbers and friendly media coverage. His rise has been strong enough that he’s using it as a selling point in a new television advertisement dubbed “Catching On.”

The ad touts his opposition to keeping U.S. forces in Iraq, his efforts to protect Americans’ privacy and civil liberties in the age of terrorism, his fiscal conservatism and his understanding of healthcare issues as a former doctor. “He’s catchin’ on, I’m tellin’ ya,” one person says in the ad.

The ad is only Paul’s third of the campaign. The other two ran earlier this year in Iowa.

Categories: Texas, Health, Civil Liberties, Terrorism, Budget, AdWatch, Ron Paul, Rep. Ron Paul

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House Democrats today resurrected the debate over legislation to reauthorize and expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as S-CHIP. The chamber passed the bill, dubbed “S-CHIP 2.O,” by a vote of 265-142.

President Bush vetoed an earlier bill on the subject and the House failed to override his veto. House Republicans largely opposed the bill and forced numerous procedural votes to stall passage.

Here are video excerpts of the debate from: Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas; Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y.; and Hilda Solis, D-Calif.

Categories: New York, California, Tennessee, Texas, Producer's Picks, Health, Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner, Vetoes, Hilda Solis, Marsha Blackburn, Louise Slaughter, Sheila Jackson Lee

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The House voted unanimously today to condemn last month’s act of vandalism against the Vietnam War Memorial last month. Here’s what Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, had to say about the vandals who tossed an oily substance on the memorial:

I find this vandalism unconsionable and un-American. Why on earth would someone want to reignite the pains of the past? Defacing the wall was the ultimate act of cowardice. … It breaks my heart to think that someone would senselessly harm and deface the names, the honor, the legacies of great patriots” whose names are listed on the memorial.

Categories: Military, Texas, 110th Congress, History, Sam Johnson

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