Per the US Senate roll call vote on H.R. 1424 (as amended) -
See how your Senator, and others, voted – after the jump…

By a vote of 74 to 25, the US Senate passed the re-vamped bailout bill that was defeated in the House on Monday.
The bill allocates 700 Billion Dollars to be used buy up shares/assets within the financial market. The goal is to alleviate the nation’s (and other nations’) banking/investment industry load of failing assets – and hopefully restore the credit market.
The Senate was determined to add provisions that would protect “ordinary” investors/savers as well. One “add-on” is a temporary increase in FDIC insurance – from $100k to $250k.
Also, the “revised” bill includes some popular tax provisions – such as …read more

When the planets alined, as they sometimes do, in such a way that I gained the opportunity to schedule an interview with Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D, PA) I was thrilled, and a little more than nervous.
My nerves were completely unfounded, as the “interview” was more of a conversation about the issues facing small businesses, such as health care, taxes and policies that she and her party have planned to assist and revitalize the economy.
And I quickly realized, whilst filtering through my pages of notes, that each topic really deserved its own post – a series of posts.
So, …read more

Opensecrets.org has a couple of very interesting pages up, especially worth looking at now that the government’s plans for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have circulated.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Invest in Lawmakers — This page lists campaign contributions that came from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since 1989. There are 354 lawmakers on this list.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Takeover Costs Congressmen Who Were Invested — This page lists 28 lawmakers who were invested in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Freddie Mac — This page is run down on Freddie Mac’s lobbying and influence.

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones suffered a brain aneurysm yesterday. Sources reported to the Plain Dealer that Tubbs Jones was removed from life support at 12:19 p.m, but CNN reports that, while earlier reports said that she had died, she was still alive with limited brain function, according to the chief of staff at Huron Hospital.
Tubbs Jones is the first African-American woman to represent Ohio in Congress. She is also a superdelegate and was scheduled to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

The U.S. Senate still files all disclosures on paper. The process costs taxpayers $250,000 every year and creates a blind spot in campaign contributions: during the four to six weeks it takes to process paper disclosure forms, the public does not know who has contributed to a given candidate’s campaign. That blind spot occurs just before elections, limiting the information’s impact on an election.
There have been several attempts to rectify the matter since 2003, but none as serious as the current push to pass S.223. S.223 would require Senate candidates to file electronically, providing for both faster and cheaper processing. …read more

There’s a title in front of John McCain’s name: Senator. But does he really deserve it? Since January 2007, he’s missed 63 percent of the votes held in the Senate. The last time he was present for a vote was April 8.
Of course it takes a lot of time to campaign for president. Barack Obama has missed 20 votes in the last 20 days. But Obama has actually missed relatively few, and has made a point of showing up for Senate votes every few weeks. He hasn’t let three months go by at a time.
There’s one reason in particular …read more

The Bush administration has admitted that the national budget deficit is edging towards $490 billion. The current record is only $413 billion, from 2004.
Of course, that $490 billion isn’t precisely accurate. There are about $80 billion in the U.S.’s military spending that didn’t make it into that estimate, due to the way the budget deficit is calculated.
The estimate hasn’t been officially released yet… an anonymous official slipped a few news agencies a head’s up before a press conference later today. White House press secretary Dana Perino is refusing to comment, although she did point reporters towards the fact that …read more

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T. Boone Pickens – the legendary oil man and venture capitalist testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee this week, imploring the Senators, and Congress in general, to support his plan to release the US from their dependency on foreign oil (and oil altogether).
His plan focuses on using one of the US’s greatest resources – wind.
You can check out more of his plan at PickensPlan.com

Can you spot Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in the above clip from The Dark Knight? We only see him from the back, but he’s the gentleman that says: “We’re not intimidated by you thugs.”
The Joker (Heath Ledger’s character) responds: “You know, you remind me of my father. I hate my father.”
This isn’t the good senator from Vermont’s first time in a Batman flick — he’s not an actor, but Leahy had a cameo in Batman and Robin, and voiced a bit role in Batman: The Animated Series.