The Beltway Ponders Afghanistan, Financial Reform and Immigration

"House approves money for Afghan surge" (Reuters):

Key members of the Democratic majority decided to let the legislation go to the House floor Thursday evening after adding the money for domestic U.S. programs they favored.

There was $10 billion to help avert teacher layoffs, $700 million for security on the border with Mexico and $142 million to help the oil-sullied Gulf Coast. Cuts were proposed to other programs to offset the spending.

"If American money is going to be building a nation, I'd like it to be mine," said Representative Louise Slaughter, chairwoman of the powerful Rules Committee, before the vote. MORE...

Greg Sargent comments:

Yesterday House Dems approved war funding for Afghanistan, but the more interesting vote may have been that nearly 100 Dems helped Republicans defeat an amendment that would have required the president to submit a timeline for redeployment of American troops out of the region.

"Cantwell will vote for financial reform bill" Joel Connelly (seattlepi.com):

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who voted against a Senate-crafted financial reform bill saying it was too weak, is giving badly needed support to a stronger version of the legislation worked out by a Senate-House conference committee.

Cantwell was one of only two Democratic senators to vote against the Senate version of the bill.

Cantwell said the conferees' version holds significant improvements over the original Senate bill, especially in its language requiring transparency in derivatives markets and tough penalties for evading the clearing and exchange trading requirements for derivatives. MORE...

"Obama presses 11 Republican senators to revive support for immigration reform" (WaPo), with video (01:58):

In his first major speech on immigration as president, President Barack Obama says that while the frustrations over it aren't new, Arizona's tough new anti-immigrant law and the protests surrounding it have created new tensions.
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