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No Help for Farm Bill From Miffed Kansans in the House

Few states are as identified with farming as Kansas. Among its nicknames are the “The Wheat State” and “American’s Bread Basket.” And Kansas’s lawmakers are quick to point out the importance of agriculture to the state’s economy.

But when a new five-year farm bill, which authorizes nearly $1 trillion in spending on farm and nutrition programs, came up for a vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, the entire Kansas congressional delegation voted against it.

It was the first time that all members of the state’s delegation has voted against a farm bill, according to a review of congressional votes by The New York Times dating from the 1950s.

For many farmers in Kansas, which is heavily dependent on agriculture â€" it ranks seventh in farm production â€" the vote was a surprise.

‘We were really disappointed that they didn’t vote with us,” said Steve Baccus, president of the Kansas Farm Bureau, which represents the state’s farmers. “There were lots of things that we didn’t like in the bill, but after suffering through the worst drought in 50 years in 2012 and with the 2008 farm bill expired, we supported getting something done.”

Mr. Baccus, a fourth-generation farmer from Minneapolis, Kan., who grows wheat, corn and soybeans, said his group tried to lobby the state’s congressional delegation in support of the bill, even if they were opposed to some of the provisions contained in it.

“We felt like this was the best shot of getting something passed in this political environment,” he said. “But I guess for many of them the cons outweighed the pros.”

In statements issued after the farm bill vote, members of the Kansas delegation, all Republicans, said that they supported farming and realized the importance of agriculture to the state, but that they could not get past the bill’s flaws.

For Representative Tim Huelskamp, a fifth-generation farmer who represents the state’s First Congressional District, which is top in the nation for agriculture products sold, it was spending on the food stamp program that was first on his lists of concerns.

“This program is in desperate need of reform, and yet this bill makes only nominal changes,” he said. “Instead of status quo in this, the fastest-growing welfare program in the entire government, we should have taken the opportunity to provide meaningful work reform requirements, especially for able-bodied adults, as we passed in the U.S. House.”

Representative Lynn Jenkins, who represents the Second District, said she voted against the bill because it cost too much and failed to achieve regulatory reform for farmers.

One of her main concerns: a new $20 million catfish inspection office at the Agriculture Department that has been the source of criticism by a number of lawmakers because it duplicates a cheaper existing inspection office at the Food and Drug Administration. Critics said the office, created in the 2008 farm bill at the request of Southern lawmakers from catfish-producing states, was created to keep out catfish from countries such as Vietnam, a potential violation of international trade laws.

Representative Mike Pompeo, from the state’s Fourth District, said his no vote was a result of his opposition to provisions in the new farm bill that would create trade and regulatory burdens for the state’s livestock producers. Meat and poultry producers are opposed to language that requires retailers to list the country of origin of meat.

“Last year I voted in favor of a farm bill that was not perfect, but a step forward,” Mr. Pompeo said. “Voting against this bill was not a easy decision, but I believe it reflects a step backwards to the old Washington of pet projects, reckless spending and harmful regulation.”

Representative Kevin Yoder, from the Third District, did not say why he opposed the bill.

In the end, the Kansas delegation vote did little to affect the outcome of the farm bill’s passage. It passed comfortably, 251 to 166.

Mr. Baccus said farmers held no ill will toward the delegation.

“It was a difference of opinion on this one piece of legislation,” he said. “We will still work with them to promote the interest of the state’s farmers.”



Landrieu Patriarch Talks About Family’s Political Prospects

In an interview with Moon Landrieu, the former New Orleans mayor, for Friday’s article about the fortunes of his political family business in Louisiana, the family’s patriarch weighed in on the family’s prospects. His son, Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans, has a Democratic primary on Saturday and his daughter, Senator Mary Landireu, also a Democrat, is facing a grueling re-election effort later this year in increasingly Republican Louisiana.

“The fact that they are running within a year of one another is not entirely new to us, what is a little different is the nature of the opposition in Mary’s campaign at this time, which is the totally negative PAC money that has started so early to mischaracterize her,” he said, referring to a deluge of ads underwritten by the billionaire conservative activists Charles and David Koch. “Because they keep feasting on one aspect of her voting record and that is the Obamacare act.”

He acknowledged Mr. Obama’s unpopularity across the state, saying the president “has had a couple of bad moments” and fretted that it increased the degree of difficulty of his daughter’s re-election. He expressed less worry about any spillover from a rumored Republican plot to stir up anti-Landrieu sentiment among blacks in the mayor’s race into his daughter’s contest down the road.

“If you know our history on race going back to the 1960s, we have always had a very solid good relationship with the African American community,” he said. After pausing to accept a kiss from another daughter, Melanie, named after a character in Gone With the Wind, Moon shook his head. “I have at times said ‘Mary, come on home girl, there’s another life out here.’”

There is a reason politics is the life Mary and Mitch know. A half century ago, Moon stood in Ella Brennan’s kitchen and made the case to her then-husband, a political consultant, as to why he was uniquely suited to run for mayor.

“Back then the city was like a Pousse-café,” said Ms. Brennan, referring to a layered cocktail of rainbow colored alcohols. Now the 88-year-old grand dame of New Orleans restaurants and matriarch of another of the city’s great - and at times feuding - families, she added, “We felt Moon was the man who could really mix it.”

Since then, Ms. Brennan has seen the Landrieu family rise and has thrown countless parties for them at her stately Garden District home next to her famed Commander’s Palace restaurant. She has lent Mary her house for functions and seen Mitch serenade George W. Bush at a post-Katrina party and sing the Ave Maria at the funeral of Representative Lindy Boggs, her frequent Sazerac drinking buddy. (“I saw them lunching at Commander’s one day,” James Carville said of the women, “and told my daughter to go to the table and genuflect.”)

Mr. Carville has played a significant role in launching the career of the similarly bald mayor, who is a former lieutenant governor with big ambitions and possible designs on the governorship â€" or something more. Mitch’s father served as President Carter’s onetime housing secretary, and his supporters see a potential role in Washington for Mitch, too.

Asked if he would serve out his term if re-elected, Mitch said, “Let me answer your question for a minute.” He then spoke for 2 minutes 47 seconds about having the best job on earth, knowing who he is, catching the city from falling off a cliff, what went wrong in 1960, his “run to the fire” governing style, the new airport he was building, “the younger generation of New Orleaneans,” and “multidimensional” goals. “At the end of the day I think the future is going to win out,” Mitch concluded.

Asked again if he would serve out his term he said: “The answer is I will. Now, in politics you can never say never” and added “To speculate what could happen in Washington or not, who the heck knows! It would have to be something really really dramatic for me to interrupt.”

“Like something really good?” he was interrupted.

“Really really good,” he said. “Really good.”

That healthy sense of self also allows the mayor to say such things as “I am the symbol of New Orleans catching herself turning herself around and going in the right direction.”

But while there are indeed clear signs of progress in a city devastated by Hurricane Katrina, the mayor also still struggles with high crime rates, blight and blatant inequality. The pousse-café Ella Brennan spoke of his father stirring is still not entirely mixed. In the Tremé neighborhood just outside the French Quarter, a pink graffiti scrawl reads “School’s Out Forever” across a dilapidated junior high school’s “Have A Happy Sum er” sign. Downtown, drivers pass under yellow billboards reading “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” Attendees of a mayoral forum Wednesday night in the Katrina devastated Lower Ninth Ward swerved around potholes as deep as ditches.

But electorally speaking at least, one of the kids is probably all right. At the forum, Mitch, the middle child of the Landrieu clan, sat next to a candidate who pleaded with the crowd to “Google me.” The mayor instead made his pitch for continuing to move forward as one city and noted all the federal assistance New Orleans had received during his tenure. All at once, he was campaigning for his older sister.

“We have to give credit to Senator Landrieu for this,” he said.



Applaud, Tweet and Repeat at the State of the Union

Immediately after a president’s State of the Union address is delivered, news organizations frequently seek to answer a question: How many times did members of Congress stand and applaud? In this era when social media has become an important arena for politics, and in some ways eclipses the statements and interviews representatives and senators issue after an address like the State of the Union, another question may be more important: How many tweets did members of Congress send during the speech?

During Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, representatives and senators - or members of their staffs - were busy responding to every word coming out of President Obama’s mouth. Members of Congress sent just under 1,500 tweets during the president’s address. While only drops in the bucket compared with the millions of tweets sent about the address by viewers all over the world, the level of activity illustrates how Mr. Obama’s immediate audience was reacting to what he said in real time.

The number of tweets sent by members of Congress in five-minute increments during the 2014 State of the Union address. Seen.coThe number of tweets sent by members of Congress in five-minute increments during the 2014 State of the Union address, starting at 9 p.m. ET.

The New York Times worked with Seen, a company that produces social summaries of live events, to collect tweets sent from official House and Senate member accounts starting from around the time Mr. Obama entered the House chamber until just after he finished speaking. The collections of members’ Twitter accounts were taken from the lists maintained by the official Twitter accounts of the House Democrats, House Republicans, Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans.

As would be expected, more tweets were sent by the hundreds of members of the House of Representatives than came from the much smaller number of senators. But perhaps reflecting the Senate’s traditions of decorum, the volume of tweets was skewed well in favor of the House’s members, with only about 120 tweets being written by senators of either party.

And even among representatives, there was a skew toward the Republican majority of the chamber. Over 900 of the total tweets were written by members of the House.

Of course if members of Congress and their staffs couldn’t give their fingers a rest as they listened to President Obama, they weren’t the only branch of government working on overdrive during the speech. The White House Twitter account sent about 150 tweets during the speech from start to finish, to say nothing of all the White House’s related Twitter accounts. Considering the deluge from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the flood from the legislative branch was just one stream of political communication converging with another. And if everyone walked and talked in the capital city of Aaron Sorkin’s TV fantasy, the Washington of 2014 may be a place where everyone is sitting and tweeting.

So what were members of Congress tweeting about? In some cases, they were very forthright in acknowledging that members of their staffs would be writing the tweets:

But in other cases, abbreviation of language created the impression it really was the members tweeting themselves, and not their staffs from another location:

House Republicans tweeted at a high volume starting at approximately 9:20 p.m. Eastern, contesting President Obama’s pledges to enact his economic agenda without Congress’s approval:

And House Democrats began responding approvingly to President Obama in large numbers around the time he discussed equal pay for women:

But when all the political chatter was finished, maybe some members of Congress just wanted to send their constituents a selfie:



Live Coverage of Obama’s 2014 State of the Union Address

President Obama delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday night, and Times reporters and editors are providing analysis during the speech.

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5:26 P.M. Obama to Press Past Congress on Minimum Wage

President Obama plans to sign an executive order requiring that janitors, construction workers and others working for federal contractors be paid at least $10.10 an hour in the future, using his own power to enact a more limited version of a policy that he has yet to push through Congress.

The order, which Mr. Obama will highlight in his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday night, is meant to underscore an increased willingness by the president to bypass Congress if lawmakers continue to resist his agenda, aides said. After a year in which most of his legislative priorities went nowhere, Mr. Obama is seeking ways to make progress despite a lack of cooperation on Capitol Hill.

The minimum wage plan provides an example of what he has in mind. Mr. Obama called on Congress during last year’s State of the Union address to raise the minimum wage for workers across the board, only to watch the proposal languish on Capitol Hill, where opponents argued that it would hurt businesses and stifle job creation. With prospects for congressional action still slim, Mr. Obama is using the executive order covering federal contractors to go as far as he can on his own.

Read more

â€" Peter Baker



Lawmakers Go on the Record for Clinton

On Monday, Hillary Rodham Clinton again said she had not yet decided whether she would run for president in 2016. That has not stopped the Democratic Party from coalescing around her.

A new survey conducted by The Hill found that 56 Democratic lawmakers said they would support Mrs. Clinton in 2016. The list, released early Tuesday, included 22 congressional Democrats who had already publicly endorsed the former first lady, and 34 other Democrats who told The Hill that they, too, would support her.

The wave of early enthusiasm not only signals an interest in electing Mrs. Clinton as the party’s nominee, but also reinforces the somewhat limited landscape on the Democratic side should she choose not to run.

Representative Steny H. Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland, said he would back Mrs. Clinton, even though the governor of his state, Martin O’Malley, is a potential opponent of hers. In November, Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York endorsed Mrs. Clinton in a speech in Iowa; Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York has also been floated as a potential 2016 candidate.

Also on the list of supporters is Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who has gained popularity among some Democrats who would like her to represent the more progressive side of the party in 2016.

The early endorsements could come as a mixed blessing to the Clinton operation, which will need to tamp down the image of inevitability that impeded Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2008. Eleven of the lawmakers surveyed by The Hill, including Senators Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, endorsed Barack Obama over Mrs. Clinton that year.

The Hill spoke to each lawmaker twice to ask whether they would support Mrs. Clinton. A majority of those questioned did not respond or declined to comment. Below is the complete list of Clinton supporters surveyed:

Senators who back Clinton (18):
Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin
Barbara Boxer, California
Maria Cantwell, Washington
Dianne Feinstein, California
Kirsten Gillibrand, New York
Kay Hagan, North Carolina
Heidi Heitkamp, North Dakota
Mazie K. Hirono, Hawaii
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
Mary L. Landrieu, Louisiana
Claire McCaskill, Missouri
Barbara A. Mikulski, Maryland
Patty Murray, Washington
Charles E. Schumer, New York
Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire
Debbie Stabenow, Michigan
Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts
Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island

House members who back Mrs. Clinton (38):
Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey
Timothy H. Bishop, New York
David Cicilline, Rhode Island
Joaquin Castro, Texas
Danny K. Davis, Illinois
John Delaney, Maryland
Lois Frankel, Florida
Gene Green, Texas
Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona
Luis V. Gutierrez, Illinois
Janice Hahn, California
Colleen Hanabusa, Hawaii
Alcee L. Hastings, Florida
Brian Higgins, New York
Michael M. Honda, California
Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland
Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas
Hank Johnson, Georgia
Jim Langevin, Rhode Island
Sander M. Levin, Michigan
John Lewis, Georgia
Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts
Carolyn B. Maloney, New York
Doris Matsui, California
Gregory W. Meeks, New York
Grace Meng, New York
James P. Moran, Virginia
Richard E. Neal, Massachusetts
Chellie Pingree, Maine
Cedric L. Richmond, Louisiana
Tim Ryan, Ohio
Jan Schakowsky, Illinois
Allyson Y. Schwartz, Pennsylvania
David Scott, Georgia
Terri A. Sewell, Alabama
Louise M. Slaughter, New York
Dina Titus, Nevada
Frederica S. Wilson, Florida



How Would You Describe the State of the Union?


President Obama will deliver the State of the Union address to members of Congress and the American people Tuesday night. Times reporters and editors will provide analysis of the speech as it is delivered, but before the president speaks, we’d like to hear from you.

Peter Baker previewed the speech this weekend, noting that the president is likely to outline a modest agenda for 2014. We would like to know if you think the country’s current circumstances match Mr. Obama’s scaled-back ambitions.

How would you describe the current state of our union? Please share your opinion with us on Twitter by adding the hashtag #TellNYT to your tweet. We’ll collect some of the best responses and feature them ahead of our live coverage of the speech.



Sunday Breakfast Menu, Jan. 26

Sunday's Breakfast MenuStephen Crowley/The New York Times

President Obama will deliver his sixth State of the Union address on Tuesday, most likely tackling agenda-setting topics for 2014, like income inequality and immigration. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Republican of Washington, will give the official Republican response following the president’s speech. Senators Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, and Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, will each give their own rebuttals.

Mr. Obama’s surrogates will be making the rounds on the Sunday news shows to give a preview of his comments. Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, will go on ABC’s “This Week” and Univision’s “Al Punto” to give insights on the speech.

Dan Pfeiffer, a senior White House adviser, will appear on both CNN’s “State of the Union” and “Fox News Sunday.” Even the White House Instagram feed got a State of the Union makeover, courtesy of Valerie B. Jarrett, another senior adviser.

Republicans will also be giving the rundown on their likely take Sunday. Mr. Paul will preview his response on CNN, while Senator Ted Cruz of Texas will appear on CBS’s “Face the Nation” to discuss the State of the Union. Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, who spoke this week about outmaneuvering the Tea Party, will also appear on the program. On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mr. Paul will appear again, joined by Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois.

In two weeks, the Winter Olympics kick off in Sochi, Russia, but two terrorists attacks in Russia last December have sparked concerns about security. The Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey I. Kislyak, will speak with CNN about how American and other athletes will be kept safe at the Games. On NBC, former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff will also talk about safety at the Olympics.

Representative Michael T. McCaul, Republican of Texas and chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, has just returned from a trip to Sochi and will discuss his impressions on CBS. Representative Peter T. King, Republican of New York, will also talk about security threats at the Olympics on ABC.

In looking ahead to 2014, the House minority whip, Steny Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland, and the deputy majority whip, Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma, will debate what Congress can get done this year on CNN.

Back on “Fox News Sunday,” Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, will discuss the Republican strategy for the midterm elections. Mr. McConnell is also up for re-election this year.

On CSPAN’s “Newsmakers,”  Tony Perkins, the head of the conservative Family Research Council, will discuss the anti-abortion rally, March for Life, in Washington this week and the Republican National Committee annual winter meeting.

The Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates will share his opinions on the National Security Agency’s spying programs and on immigration policy on Univision’s “Al Punto.” The show airs at 10 a.m. Eastern.

On Bloomberg’s “Political Capital,” former Senator Tom Daschle, Democrat of South Dakota, and former Representative Tom Davis, Republican of Virginia, also discussed likely topics for the State of the Union address and the upcoming midterm elections. The show aired on Friday, and repeats through the weekend.



Hispanic Groups Start $5 Million Voter Registration Drive

WASHINGTON â€" The nation’s largest Hispanic group kicked off an effort on Thursday to register a quarter of a million new Hispanic voters by the midterm elections in November.

Officials at the group, the National Council of La Raza, said they planned to spend $5 million in tangent with Mi Familia Vota, a nonpartisan voter education organization, to target eligible voters.

The announcement comes shortly before House Republicans are to reopen discussions about an overhaul of immigration laws at their annual retreat next week. Gary Segura, a co-founder of the polling firm Latino Decisions, said that if Republicans eased their opposition to immigration changes, the decision could improve their electoral chances.

“The Republicans have a great deal to gain in terms of brand improvement and in terms of essentially demobilizing virulent opposition built around the supposition that they are the impediment to immigration reform,” Mr. Segura said.

Clarissa Martínez de Castro, La Raza’s director of immigration and civic engagement, said Democrats needed to hone their message, too. “I think it’s clear that Democrats need to demonstrate that they can actually deliver on promises made, and that it’s clear that voters need something to vote for, not just something to vote against,” she said.

About 39 percent of Hispanics said that Republicans care “some” or “a lot” about their community’s concerns, according to a recent Pew Research study. About 72 percent of Hispanics said the same of Democrats.

To reach their voter registration goal, La Raza and Mi Familia Vota will mail voter registration materials to more than 2.5 million Latinos in seven states â€" Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah â€" and will make follow-up calls.

The groups will also expand existing registration efforts in California and Florida, although officials did not detail that plan on Thursday.

La Raza has already raised $3 million from private foundations toward the $5 million effort, which Janet Murguía, the group’s president, said was a sign that donors recognize the importance of getting an early start on voter registration drives.

Last year, the Senate passed a bipartisan measure to overhaul immigration laws, and Ben Monterosso, executive director of Mi Familia Vota, said he hoped the new campaign would spur the House to act.

“We expect that the House of Representatives also gets the message and do their jobs, or else our community in November is going to go out to vote con más ganas â€" with more effort â€" to make sure that our interests are being taken care of,” he said.



McMorris Rodgers to Deliver Republican Response to State of the Union

Republicans have selected their official responder to President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night: Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a member of the party leadership from Washington State.

The choice of Ms. McMorris Rodgers â€" who even as the highest-ranking Republican woman in Congress is not well known nationally â€" gives Republicans a fresh face to deliver the party’s rebuttal to the president at a time when the G.O.P. has struggled with its perception among female voters.

In years past, both parties have alternated between governors and members of Congress to deliver the official response. This is the second year in a row Republicans have chosen someone from Capitol Hill, leaving out rising party stars like Governors Scott Walker of Wisconsin or Susana Martinez of New Mexico. Last year Senator Marco Rubio of Florida delivered the response.

John A. Boehner, the House speaker, and Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, made the announcement jointly on Thursday.

“Cathy will share our vision for a better America built on a thriving middle class, guided by a fierce belief in life and liberty, and grounded in greater trust between citizens and their government,” Mr. Boehner said.



Administration Is Finalizing Budget

President Obama will send his annual budget to Congress on March 4, about a month late because of lawmakers’ tardy agreement on the current fiscal year’s federal spending.

“Now that Congress has finished its work on this year’s appropriations, the administration is able to finalize next year’s budget,” Steve Posner, a spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget, said on Thursday. “We are moving to complete the budget as quickly as possible to help Congress return to regular order in the annual budget process.”

Congress reached a bipartisan budget deal in late December, nearly three months after the 2014 fiscal year began on Oct. 1. Only then was it able to agree to specific spending levels for domestic and military programs, which it did last week. Without final figures, the president’s budget office could not complete his multivolume submission for the 2015 fiscal year.

Last year, Mr. Obama’s budget arrived even later, in early April, because a fiscal fight between him and Congress delayed final action into January. Presidents are supposed to submit budgets in early February, but are often late.

In March, Congress begins its own budget-writing process, taking some of a president’s proposals into consideration and ignoring many of them, regardless of party.



In Lengthy Session, House Lives Up to ‘Do-Nothing’ Label


The House held one of its longest sessions in months this week, even though no legislative business was accomplished.

Although Congress is officially on a recess, the House conducted an unusually long pro forma session that lasted from 11:30 a.m. Tuesday until shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday. The American flag flew, the lights burned and two members of Congress and some ancillary staff members were forced to dress the part, even though nothing was really going on.

It has been customary for Congress to hold pro forma sessions during recess periods. In recent years, Republicans have tried to block the president from using his recess appointment powers to install nominees they opposed by holding these sessions, requiring members of both chambers to gavel in briefly to meet the definition of holding a congressional meeting.

Those sessions, however, tend to last a few minutes, with a prayer, a pledge and maybe a little legislative banter before the gavel is smacked and the session ends. They tend not to stretch over nearly two days of quiet.

But right before Christmas, it was House Democrats who declined to sign off on a holiday adjournment, citing the failure of Congress to come up with an agreement to extend unemployment benefits. Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 House Democrat, took to the floor on Dec. 26 to explain the logic.

Leaving town without dealing with the benefits, he said, was, “sadly, consistent with our failure to pass meaningful jobs legislation proposed by the president. It is, sadly, consistent with our failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform, which is broadly supported by business, labor, farmers, farmworkers and an overwhelming number of religious leaders and members of the faith community. It is, sadly, consistent with our failure to pass a farm bill, which could give confidence to those in dire need of help putting food on their family’s table that this Congress will not abandon them.”

Mr. Hoyer then threw in the towel, the House adjourned, end of story.

But because no adjournment message was put together for Martin Luther King’s Birthday â€" Democrats would have objected, they said â€" another pro forma session was called for Tuesday.

But then, snow intervened. While the session was meant to start midday Tuesday, the speaker’s authority was invoked, and Representative Luke Messer of Indiana was tapped to come in earlier in the day to avoid a precipitation mess and gavel in a four-minute session. (Prayer, pledge, some sort of oblique statement of “an imminent impairment of the scheduled time for the House meeting,” and goodbye.)

However, when that speaker’s authority is used, the House is unable to adjourn, though it can recess. So from Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. until Thursday at 9 a.m., nothing happened. Nothing at all. Then, Thursday morning, Representative Frank R. Wolf of Virginia sauntered in, announced that the House would return on Monday, smacked the gavel, and the people’s nonbusiness business thus concluded.



Caucus Click: Ruing Roe

Clockwise from top left, demonstrators at the March for Life in Washington on Wednesday; Senate aides waving to marchers from the balcony of the Russell Building on Capitol Hill; Chuck Raymond of the group Silent No More spoke of regrets; and remnants on the ground from the demonstration.Photographs by Stephen Crowley/The New York Times Clockwise from top left, demonstrators at the March for Life in Washington on Wednesday; Senate aides waving to marchers from the balcony of the Russell Building on Capitol Hill; Chuck Raymond of the group Silent No More spoke of regrets; and remnants on the ground from the demonstration.


On the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, abortion opponents gather in Washington for the annual March for Life, and, despite the exceptional cold, this year was no exception as hundreds of thousands marched through the capital.



Vitter to Run for Louisiana Governor

One of the country’s most well-funded conservative groups is betting that public anger against President Obama’s signature health initiative is broad and deep enough to expand the field of competitive Senate races this November.

The group, Americans for Prosperity, will begin a $1.8 million television advertising campaign on Tuesday attacking Democratic Senate candidates in Iowa and Michigan, states that went for Mr. Obama in 2012. The campaign, further bolstered by radio and Internet expenditures, will also include an advertisement thanking Representative Steve Daines, a Republican Senate candidate in Montana, for his efforts opposing the health care act.

The group, co-founded by the billionaire industrialist David Koch and financed by the political network overseen by Mr. Koch and his brother Charles, has already spent more than $20 million since August on grass-roots campaigns and advertising against the health law. The effort has focused on persuading Americans not to enroll in plans offered by the federal or state exchanges and attacking incumbent Democratic senators for defending the law.

Earlier salvos came in the run-up to the rollout of the website for the federal insurance exchange and during the ensuing public outcry over delays and glitches that hindered early enrollment. Now, as government officials resolve many of those issues and as enrollment increases, conservative groups are seizing on continuing uncertainty about the program’s benefits to stoke voter unhappiness.

In an interview, Levi Russell, a spokesman for Americans for Prosperity, said the new campaign would pivot to highlight the law’s real-world impact, including on people who unexpectedly lost their existing plans or were forced to choose new ones, despite Mr. Obama’s famous promise that people who liked their existing plan would be able to keep it.

“People are moving beyond their frustration with the technology and toward the actual service,” Mr. Russell said. “Obamacare’s more unpopular now than it ever has been, and its important to us to emphasize that message of accountability.”

The latest round of ads targets two incumbent Democratic members of the House who are seeking election to the Senate this year: Bruce Braley of Iowa and Gary Peters of Michigan. Both races are considered to be slightly in the Democrats’ favor, though the seats are far from safe.

One ad attacks Mr. Peters for attesting that the health care legislation would bar cancellation of existing policies and suggests the health law has cost 225,000 Michiganders their coverage.

“Call Congressman Peters and tell him that Obamacare isn’t working,” the advertisement urges.

The federal government is slated to spend millions of dollars this year on advertising to promote the health law and urging people, especially younger people, to sign up. Private insurers, who are providing plans under the health initiative, are expected to spend hundreds of millions more on consumer advertising.

But because those campaigns are aimed chiefly at increasing enrollment in states where it is lagging â€" rather than attacking vulnerable Democrats in states with Senate elections this year â€" the ads supporting the law may not have the same kind of political impact as the campaigns attacking it.



Conservative Group to Air Ads Attacking Health Law in Michigan and Iowa

One of the country’s most well-funded conservative groups is betting that public anger against President Obama’s signature health initiative is broad and deep enough to expand the field of competitive Senate races this November.

The group, Americans for Prosperity, will begin a $1.8 million television advertising campaign on Tuesday attacking Democratic Senate candidates in Iowa and Michigan, states that went for Mr. Obama in 2012. The campaign, further bolstered by radio and Internet expenditures, will also include an advertisement thanking Representative Steve Daines, a Republican Senate candidate in Montana, for his efforts opposing the health care act.

The group, co-founded by the billionaire industrialist David Koch and financed by the political network overseen by Mr. Koch and his brother Charles, has already spent more than $20 million since August on grass-roots campaigns and advertising against the health law. The effort has focused on persuading Americans not to enroll in plans offered by the federal or state exchanges and attacking incumbent Democratic senators for defending the law.

Earlier salvos came in the run-up to the rollout of the website for the federal insurance exchange and during the ensuing public outcry over delays and glitches that hindered early enrollment. Now, as government officials resolve many of those issues and as enrollment increases, conservative groups are seizing on continuing uncertainty about the program’s benefits to stoke voter unhappiness.

In an interview, Levi Russell, a spokesman for Americans for Prosperity, said the new campaign would pivot to highlight the law’s real-world impact, including on people who unexpectedly lost their existing plans or were forced to choose new ones, despite Mr. Obama’s famous promise that people who liked their existing plan would be able to keep it.

“People are moving beyond their frustration with the technology and toward the actual service,” Mr. Russell said. “Obamacare’s more unpopular now than it ever has been, and its important to us to emphasize that message of accountability.”

The latest round of ads targets two incumbent Democratic members of the House who are seeking election to the Senate this year: Bruce Braley of Iowa and Gary Peters of Michigan. Both races are considered to be slightly in the Democrats’ favor, though the seats are far from safe.

One ad attacks Mr. Peters for attesting that the health care legislation would bar cancellation of existing policies and suggests the health law has cost 225,000 Michiganders their coverage.

“Call Congressman Peters and tell him that Obamacare isn’t working,” the advertisement urges.

The federal government is slated to spend millions of dollars this year on advertising to promote the health law and urging people, especially younger people, to sign up. Private insurers, who are providing plans under the health initiative, are expected to spend hundreds of millions more on consumer advertising.

But because those campaigns are aimed chiefly at increasing enrollment in states where it is lagging â€" rather than attacking vulnerable Democrats in states with Senate elections this year â€" the ads supporting the law may not have the same kind of political impact as the campaigns attacking it.



Christie’s Potential 2016 Rivals Tread Carefully

Chris Christie’s potential rivals for the White House in 2016 stepped gingerly around the scandal involving road closures and political retribution in New Jersey, saying on Sunday that they were waiting for more details to come out.

“I think this is a story that’s still developing and we should reserve judgment,” Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who at this early date is seen as one of Mr. Christie’s top competitors for the Republican nomination, said on the CBS program “Face the Nation.”

“I really don’t have much to add other than that, and I wouldn’t delve into the political speculation as well,” he said. “That would be a mistake.”

While Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland, a Democrat who is said to harbor his own presidential ambitions once his term expires at the end of the year, drew a line between himself and Mr. Christie â€" at one point mentioning that he stays informed about traffic problems in his state â€" he was careful not to say too much.

“In terms of this incident, I don’t know that I can really shed more light on it,” he said on the CNN program “State of the Union.” “I think this is something for the people of New Jersey and the authorities up there to get to the bottom of.”

Former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who has signaled that he may run again in 2016, took a stronger stance. While he commended Mr. Christie’s decision not to dodge the issue, he said the scandal raised questions about his leadership.

“Personnel is policy,” Mr. Santorum said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And the people that you hire are the policies that are implemented.”

“It is very clear that the personnel there was not sensitive to what seemed to be a fairly obvious wrong thing to do,” he added.

Other Republicans on the Sunday shows defended Mr. Christie’s handling of the revelations that officials close to him ordered the traffic-clogging closings on the bridge out of political retribution against a mayor who declined to endorse his re-election. Mr. Christie’s second term began last week.

Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said that Mr. Christie had made up for mistakenly putting his faith in untrustworthy people by firing them.

“He admitted that he trusted people that lied to him, and he’s asking a lot of questions about himself as far as why that happened,” he said on NBC.

During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, praised the New Jersey governor for his “excellent” news conference on Thursday.

“Having gone through this, I know that you’ve got to answer every question. You can’t leave any question unanswered,” he said. “I think that he can now move on as long as another shoe doesn’t drop.”



Sunday Breakfast Menu, Jan. 11

Sunday's Breakfast MenuStephen Crowley/The New York Times

It was not Gov. Chris Christie’s week. The New Jersey Republican faced mounting criticism after emails and texts linked his office to lane closures on the George Washington Bridge from Fort Lee, N.J., in September. The closures were apparently retribution for the town’s mayor declining to endorse Mr. Christie for re-election. In a two-hour news conference on Thursday, Mr. Christie apologized, saying he was “blindsided” by the news. He fired Bridget Anne Kelly, his deputy chief of staff who wrote in one email, “time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.”

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and crisis management expert Judy Smith, the inspiration behind the show “Scandal,” will dole out advice for the governor on ABC’s “This Week.” Later in the show, Representative Adam Kinzinger, Republican of Illinois, and former White House adviser David Plouffe will join a political roundtable.

In its series on 2016 presidential hopefuls, CNN’s “State of the Union” will host Gov. Martin O’Malley, Democrat of Maryland, where he will likely be asked about his potential rival, Mr. Christie. Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, will also comment on Mr. Christie’s difficult week. Mr. McCain will also discuss the resurgence of violence in Iraq and extending long-term unemployment benefits.

On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus, will discuss the implications of the bridge scandal on Mr. Christie’s political future. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates made headlines this week for his revealing memoir, particularly his insights into the Obama administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East. Former Senator Rick Santorum and former Representative Jane Harman, Democrat of California, will weigh in on the book.

Mr. Christie’s woes will also lead off the conversation with Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” New Jersey Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski, who is chairman of the transportation committee investigating the toll lane closures, will also appear on the show. “Apologies are fine but do not answer the questions,” Mr. Wisniewski said Thursday of the scandal, which some news outlets are calling “Bridgegate.”

Fifty years ago this week, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty. Some lawmakers in both parties marked the anniversary by saying they would commit to helping the poor. Representative Elijah Cummings, Democrat of Maryland, will talk about the Democrats’ strategy on this issue on CBS.

“Fox News Sunday” will also examine new efforts to end poverty with Representatives Steve Southerland, Republican of Florida and the chair of the Republican Study Committee’s Anti-Poverty Initiative, and Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland and the ranking member of the House Budget Committee.

Escalating violence in Iraq has led some lawmakers to criticize President Obama for wasting the military success of President George W. Bush’s 2007 troop surge. On Fox, Senators James Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma and the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, and Ben Cardin, Democrat of Maryland and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, will debate the United States’ options in the Middle East.

On CSPAN’s “Newsmakers,” the House minority whip, Steny Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland, will detail his party’s agenda for 2014, including the expected debt ceiling debate in early February.

Representatives Bob Goodlatte, Republican of Virginia, and Luis Gutierrez, Democrat of Illinois, will discuss immigration in 2014 on Telemundo’s “Enfoque.” Earlier this month, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that state law permitted Sergio Garcia, an undocumented lawyer, to be admitted to the state bar and practice law. Mr. Garcia will tell his story on the show, which airs at noon Eastern.

Mr. Garcia will also appear on Univison’s “Al Punto.” Henry Cisneros, the former secretary of housing and urban development, will also discuss immigration reform on the show, which airs at 10 a.m. Eastern.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, appeared on Bloomberg’s “Political Capital” on Friday. The show repeats through the weekend.



Chamber to Split With Tea Party in G.O.P. Primaries

Ahead of primaries that will most likely serve as proxy wars for the overall direction of the Republican Party, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced its plans to take sides.

The activist, anti-establishment wing of the Tea Party is still holding strong in some congressional districts around the country, but national business-lobbying organizations like the Chamber of Commerce are moving away from some of those candidates - especially ones who do not support measures to encourage trade, infrastructure construction and immigration reform.

At its headquarters in Washington on Wednesday, the Chamber outlined its plans to intervene in Republican primaries in 2014 to help more pro-business candidates, who are not always likely to align with Tea Party ideals.

At first, the Chamber saw a lot to like in the Tea Party, said the organization’s president, Thomas J. Donohue.

“When the Tea Party first came out with who they were and what they believe, they talked about things that the Chamber very much supports,” said Mr. Donohue, noting shared support for lowering taxes and cutting the federal budget while promoting trade and job creation.

“Then,” he continued, “we had a lot of people who came along who had different views and they tried to hitch their wagon to the Tea Party engine, and those are the people that wanted to not pay the federal debt and to shut down government and to take more radical approaches to try and get where we all really want to get.”

Just hours after Mr. Donohue’s speech, an exemplar of the type of Republican the Chamber wants to support took the oath of office at the Capitol. Representative Bradley Byrne took office on Wednesday after winning a special election in Alabama. He defeated Dean Young, a Tea Party-backed activist, in a Republican primary so acrimonious that Mr. Young said he would not vote for Mr. Byrne in the general election and refused even to call him to concede defeat.

Mr. Donohue also noted that his organization would be throwing its resources and efforts into midterm advertising campaigns to protect a pro-business majority in the House and to advance its position and influence in the Senate.

“The business community understands what’s at stake,” he said. “We’ll have all the resources we need to run the most effective political program of 2014.”



Gerlach Retirement Opens Up Swing District in Pennsylvania

Representative Jim Gerlach of Pennsylvania, a perennial target for Democrats who covet his suburban district, announced on Monday that he will retire from the House after six terms.

Mr. Gerlach joined a steady trickle of Republican retirements and resignations, including Representatives Jon Runyan of New Jersey, Tom Latham of Iowa, Frank R. Wolf of Virginia and Tim Griffin of Arkansas, whose seats could now be in play. In all, 12 House Republicans have announced that they are stepping down, either immediately or at the end of the year. Democrats have seen just one, Jim Matheson of Utah, announce his retirement; Mr. Matheson’s district is so Republican, his departure is tantamount to ceding a seat.

In a midterm election where the battlefield was expected to be extremely narrow, the fight for control of the House is opening up slightly.

“It is simply time for me to move on to new challenges and to spend more time with my wife and family,” Mr. Gerlach said in a statement. “This is a tremendously difficult decision because I have had the opportunity to work with a multitude of dedicated public servants throughout the years. Together, we have worked to strengthen our communities and create opportunities for the hard-working families we have been privileged to represent.”

For most of his career, Mr. Gerlach has had a tenuous grip on his district, between Philadelphia and Reading, never winning more than 52 percent of the vote. President Obama won it handily in 2008. But after the 2010 redistricting run by ascendent Pennsylvania Republicans, the sixth district became considerably easier for the incumbent. Mitt Romney won 51 percent of the vote in 2012, Mr. Gerlach won 57 percent.

But Democrats vowed Monday to put the district in play. Michael Parrish, a businessman and former Republican, had filed to challenge Mr. Gerlach as a Democrat, and he could face a wide Republican field.

“Though we are losing a strong advocate for Pennsylvania, I have no doubt we will elect another Republican leader in November who will be the same thoughtful lawmaker that Jim is,” said Representative Greg Walden of Oregon, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.



Michelle Obama Extends Her Hawaii Vacation

HONOLULU â€" When President Obama departed Hawaii Saturday evening he left behind one notable thing â€" his wife, Michelle.

Mrs. Obama will be staying on Oahu for several days to spend time with friends in advance of her upcoming 50th birthday, according to a White House official. The extended visit to the Obamas’ annual tropical getaway is part of the president’s birthday gift to his wife, who turns 50 on Jan. 17.

On Saturday, before he left, Mr. and Mrs. Obama also went on a brief, 15-minute hike on the Na Pohaku O Hauwahine trail, before the president hit the golf course for a final time.

Mr. Obama’s daughters, Sasha and Malia, joined him on the Air Force One to return to Washington. The girls are scheduled to return school on Monday.



Sunday Breakfast Menu, Jan. 5

As lawmakers return to Capitol Hill this week, President Obama urged them to restore unemployment benefits for 1.3 million Americans who are without work. The program was cut in the two-year budget passed before the holidays.

Gene Sparling, the director of the National Economic Council, will explain the Obama administration’s economic agenda and its focus on reinstating benefits on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin will also appear on the show to talk about rebranding the Republican Party and whether he is considering a presidential run in 2016.

Mr. Sparling will also appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” along with CNBC’s “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer.

As athletes gear up for the 2014 Winter Olympics next month, Janet Napolitano, leader of the Presidential delegation to the Olympic games and former Homeland Security secretary, will discuss the games on NBC. Two recent terrorist attacks in Volgograd, Russia, have increased concerns about security at the Olympics.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will also talk about the Olympics on “Fox News Sunday.” Mr. Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential candidate, led the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics. He will also weigh in on the Affordable Care Act. Later on in the program, Ilyse Hogue, president of Naral Pro-Choice America, and Mark Rienzi, senior counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, will debate Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s decision to temporarily delay the health care law’s contraceptive mandate for some religious groups.

Senators Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, and Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, will both appear on ABC’s “This Week.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will also look ahead to the new year in Congress, addressing on CBS’s “Face the Nation” whether some partisan divisions could be overcome in 2014. Representative Peter King, Republican of New York and a member of the Intelligence Committee, will weigh in on the New York Times editorial recommending clemency for Edward Snowden. Later, Representative Matt Salmon, Republican of Arizona, will talk about the possibility for immigration reform this year.

On C-Span’s “Newsmakers,” Michael Needham, C.E.O. of Heritage Action for America, discusses the roots of the divisions among conservatives in the Republican Party, as well as the top issues for the group.

Former Senator John E. Sununu, Republican of New Hampshire, and David Plouffe, a former White House adviser, went on Bloomberg’s “Political Capital” to discuss Congress and the White House in 2014. The show aired on Friday and repeats throughout the weekend.



Sunday Breakfast Menu, Jan. 5

As lawmakers return to Capitol Hill this week, President Obama urged them to restore unemployment benefits for 1.3 million Americans who are without work. The program was cut in the two-year budget passed before the holidays.

Gene Sparling, the director of the National Economic Council, will explain the Obama administration’s economic agenda and its focus on reinstating benefits on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin will also appear on the show to talk about rebranding the Republican Party and whether he is considering a presidential run in 2016.

Mr. Sparling will also appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” along with CNBC’s “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer.

As athletes gear up for the 2014 Winter Olympics next month, Janet Napolitano, leader of the Presidential delegation to the Olympic games and former Homeland Security secretary, will discuss the games on NBC. Two recent terrorist attacks in Volgograd, Russia, have increased concerns about security at the Olympics.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will also talk about the Olympics on “Fox News Sunday.” Mr. Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential candidate, led the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics. He will also weigh in on the Affordable Care Act. Later on in the program, Ilyse Hogue, president of Naral Pro-Choice America, and Mark Rienzi, senior counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, will debate Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s decision to temporarily delay the health care law’s contraceptive mandate for some religious groups.

Senators Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, and Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, will both appear on ABC’s “This Week.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will also look ahead to the new year in Congress, addressing on CBS’s “Face the Nation” whether some partisan divisions could be overcome in 2014. Representative Peter King, Republican of New York and a member of the Intelligence Committee, will weigh in on the New York Times editorial recommending clemency for Edward Snowden. Later, Representative Matt Salmon, Republican of Arizona, will talk about the possibility for immigration reform this year.

On C-Span’s “Newsmakers,” Michael Needham, C.E.O. of Heritage Action for America, discusses the roots of the divisions among conservatives in the Republican Party, as well as the top issues for the group.

Former Senator John E. Sununu, Republican of New Hampshire, and David Plouffe, a former White House adviser, went on Bloomberg’s “Political Capital” to discuss Congress and the White House in 2014. The show aired on Friday and repeats throughout the weekend.



Obama Announces Gun Control Actions

HONOLULU â€" President Obama on Friday announced two new executive actions that will help further his gun control agenda. The actions will make it easier for states to provide information about mentally ill individuals to the federal background check system.

The Department of Justice is proposing to clarify that the term “committed to a mental institution” includes involuntary inpatient as well as outpatient commitments. The clarification would help states determine what information should be made accessible to the federal background check system.

The Department of Health and Human Services relaxed some privacy protections in order to help identify in the background check system those individuals who, under federal law, should be prohibited from owning a gun for mental health reasons. The department proposed a rule to give certain entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act permission to submit to the background check system the “limited” information required to prevent mentally ill people from obtaining firearms.

“Too many Americans have been severely injured or lost their lives as a result of gun violence,” the White House said in an email statement. “While the vast majority of Americans who experience a mental illness are not violent, in some cases when persons with a mental illness do not receive the treatment they need, the result can be tragedies such as homicide or suicide.”

The White House added, “The federal background check system is the most effective way to assure that such individuals are not able to purchase a firearm from a licensed gun dealer.”

This is not the first time the president has used his executive powers to try to strengthen the nation’s gun laws.



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