by Justin Lin, policy intern NEWS:

• It seems that Sen. Rand Paul and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have quite the interesting relationship. Joe Scarborough, a former member of the House, called the relationship between McConnell and Paul a "marriage of convenience" designed to boost Paul's chances of election come 2016. According to Jesse Benton, who worked for both Rand Paul and Ron Paul, tolerating McConnell is to boost Rand Paul's chances of election. (Washington Times)
• House Democrats who are looking to pass some sort of re-expansion of the Voting Rights Act may receive support from Eric Cantor, the House Minority Leader. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) has stated that he anticipates cooperation from Cantor, though other House Republicans have not expressed much interest in restoring the aspects of the Voting Rights Act struck down by the Supreme Court. (The Hill)
• Barack Obama recently called his relationship with John McCain as that of a "classic romantic comedy." McCain responded with a little ribbing by saying that a more fitting comedy would be I Love Lucy or The Honeymooners. In an interview with CNN's John Brennan, McCain pointed to potential areas that both sides of the aisle can work together. (Politico)
• According to Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), around 40-50 GOP House members are in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, meaning the bill would pass the House if brought to the floor for a vote. However, with regards to immigration, House Speaker has promised to only bring votes to the floor that have received support from a majority of support from those in the House Majority. (Washington Post)
• Many Americans are quite disgruntled with Congress and don't think they deserve their August recess. In a poll by Fox News, 82% of those surveyed said that they did not think Congress worked hard enough to merit the break. The same poll found that 48% believed that President Obama deserved his vacation, with 80% of Democrats believing he worked hard enough. (Politico)

by Justin Lin, policy intern NEWS: Drug giants such as Amgen and Genentech have been lobbying for state legislatures to... View Article

by Justin Lin, policy intern NEWS: Candidates Mike Duggan and Benny Napoleon, who are running for the Detroit mayorship, are... View Article

by Justin Lin, policy intern NEWS: President Obama is going to Phoenix today to talk about making reforms to Fannie... View Article

by Justin Lin, policy intern NEWS:

• According to a recent Quinnipac poll, Chris Christie was viewed the most favorably in the country, topping out at 53.1 "degrees." He beat out Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and President Barack Obama, but amongst Republicans Christie was only at eighth place. (Politico)
• It is often hard to say who exactly is involved with immigration reform in the House, and there may be more than 10 representatives working on the bill right now, an extraordinarily high number. House Speaker John Boehner has been criticized for a hands off approach, but Boehner's aides have responded by pointing out that he is delegating the process out to trusted colleagues in the House. (National Journal)
• The August recess has arrived, which makes the time ripe for lobbyists to arrive in the home districts of certain congressmen and congresswomen. Congress faces many battles in the coming September, with the debt limit hike and immigration reform, among other issues. In addition to lobbying groups, different liberal organizations plan to show up at certain districts and make a lot of noise. (Washington Post)
• Many GOP governors have been urging against trying to force a government shutdown, arguing that doing so would hurt the economies in their respective states and would leave the party to shoulder much of the blame. The governors also discussed the Affordable Care Act and many GOP governors pointed out the legislative difficulty of repealing the law. (New York Times)
• Tom Steyer, a billionaire environmentalist from California, is heavily supporting Terry McAuliffe for governor of Virginia. Steyer has decided to personally advocate for McAuliffe because he considers Cuccinelli's views on environmental issues objectionable, but Cuccinelli has already fired back, with a spokesman saying that Steyer is another advocate of the "war on coal." (Politico)

by Justin Lin, policy intern NEWS:

• Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), an Iraq war veteran and first-term representative is reportedly going to run for the Arkansas Senate seat, though Cotton's spokeswoman has not confirmed nor denied such reports. Cotton faces incumbent Democratic senator Mark Pryor, but he has received a lot of support from both the establishment and conservative wings of the party. (Washington Post)
• Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), the Democratic National Committee Chairwoman, has set a goal to give $2.5 million to Democrats in the House, putting her on par with Minority Whip Steny Hoyer in terms of amount donated. She has spent a lot of time in her position talking to important donors, and though some are enthusiastic about her leadership, others in the party say that she has not built enough strong relationships with members of her own party. (Politico)
• House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is leading the push to save $40 billion with the food stamp program by imposing more stringent regulations on the work requirement and forcing able-bodied persons off the rolls. However, many Democrats have expressed misgivings about Cantor's approach, saying that he has alienated Democrats and has even put Republicans in a tough position to compromise. (Politico)
• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is going to face two more primary challengers, State Sen. Lee Bright, and Nancy Mace, who was the first female to graduate from The Citadel, a senior military college. Graham faces another challenger, Richard Cash, who has also run for congress before, and unlike many other states, South Carolina holds a runoff if no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the primary. (Washington Post)

by Justin Lin, policy intern NEWS:

• A bill by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Tom Udall (D-NM) would create an office that would argue in favor of privacy rights in the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) courts. This follows a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with several officials from the Obama administration and former judges. In addition, the three senators will be introducing another bill to change the way FISA judges are appointed. (The Hill)
• Gun control groups and gun rights groups have been raising a lot of money in the first half of the year. Gun control groups started by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords have raised over $8.6 million in the first half of 2013. However, gun rights groups have raised quite a lot as well, with the NRA raking in $7.1 million in the first half of the year, up from $4.8 million at this point last year. (Public Integrity)
• Republican Senators Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Mike Lee gave speeches to a group of 300 college students, which was received with great fervor. The three gave speeches that attacked certain members of the Republican establishment or of the establishment as a whole, with many students calling on Paul to run for president as he gave his closing remarks. (Politico)
• Usually August is quieter for Congress and both political parties, but Democrats are using August to target many Republicans at their events. Hold them Accountable, a progressive organization, has encouraged their members to show up at local events to talk to these Republicans. Another group, Organizing for Action, was personally encouraged by Obama to be active during the August recess. (Washington Times)
• The deal between Republicans and Democrats regarding the confirmation process nearly fell apart when Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AL) initially voted no to end the filibuster of Obama's nomination of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. However, Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Susan Collins (R- Maine) were able to convince Murkowski to change her vote to end debate. (New York Times)

by Justin Lin, policy intern NEWS:

• Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, expressed interest in running for the open senate seat following the retirement of Sen. Carl Levin. Camp is the House's strongest fundraiser and many believe that he would turn the Democratic-leaning Michigan into a possible win. However, Camp has to consider a variety of factors, such as the fact former Michigan Secretary of State Teri Lynn Land is also running for the Republican nomination. (Roll Call)
• Two documents detailing the activities on the NSA were released Wednesday: one by the Obama administration acknowledging that the United States tracks all domestic phone calls and another leaked document that shows how the NSA monitors web browsing. The monitoring program, called XKeyscore, is generally used for information mining abroad and has reportedly led to the capture of more than 300 terrorists. (New York Times)
• West Virginia state senator Evan Jenkins has announced that he will change his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican and will challenge Rep. Nick Rahall, who has served in the House for 40 years. The district voted 65% for Romney in 2012 but currently the district is reported as "Likely Democratic," according to the Cook Political Report. (Washington Post)
• Over 100 pro-immigration groups are now targeting House GOP to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Many of these groups are formed at the grassroots level, with the intention to show that ordinary citizens and the general public want immigration reform to pass. However, these groups will be facing some opposition from groups such as NumbersUSA and Federation for American Immigration Reform that do not support the Senate immigration bill. (Politico)
• Alison Lundergan Grimes, the secretary of state for Kentucky, has begun her campaign for the Senate seat with a bang at her campaign rally. Grimes attacked McConnell but tried to distance herself from President Obama, pointing out differences on coal, balancing budgets, and the Affordable Care Act. Grimes is set to deliver another speech Saturday in Graves County. (Politico)

by Justin Lin, policy intern NEWS:

• Might California Republicans make a resurgence in the state legislatures? Democrats in California currently have the governor's seat and supermajorities in both the state Assembly and Senate, but a recent win by Republican Andy Vidak may begin charting the progress for a resurgence in the state. Vidak, who speaks fluent Spanish, beat Leticia Perez for a state Senate seat in a county that was heavily Democratic and had a large Hispanic population. (Washington Times)
• Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is considering running for the Alaska Senate seat, but a recent poll showed her trailing by a 12 point margin. The same poll found that voters in Alaska have a 58% unfavorable rating towards the governor, and nearly the same percentage of people considered her not an Alaskan as those who did consider her an Alaskan. (Politico)
• The FBI addressed a letter to Senator Rand Paul explaining that it does not believe it requires a warrant to use drones for surveillance, citing Supreme Court cases that permitted the use of manned drones. This letter follows a July 19 letter from the FBI's congressional liaison office that stated it had used drones in ten different instances in the past, including eight time for criminal surveillance. (Washington Times)
• It has been long speculated that Hillary Clinton is eyeing another presidential run, but it looks as though she will have a head start. A pro-Hillary super PAC called Ready for Hillary is focused on running a strong ground game early on in the race and has already raised $1 million. For the time being, however, the Clintons remain silent on a presidential bid. (Washington Times)
• Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MA) has begun hosting fundraisers for vulnerable Democrats in the House along with other top House Democrats. Rep. Debbie Wasseman-Schultz (D-FL), the Democratic National Chairwoman, and Rep. Joseph Crowley recently hosted another fundraiser for other vulnerable House Democrats. (Roll Call)

by Justin Lin, policy intern NEWS:

• Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has called the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) "anachronistic" and favors comprehensive reform on the issue. The senator expressed grave concerns over the potential that the government has in tracking people's cellphones but could not elaborate, since he is not allowed to disclose information he received as part of the intelligence panel. (Washington Post)
• How secure are the House's information technology systems? According to a memo by two systems administrators, there are many potential points of entry to very sensitive information through a variety of different ways, including finding passwords of representatives' networks or by accessing the Wireless Access Points (WAPs) that are present in obvious yet often private locations. (Roll Call)
• The House Ethics committee is reviewing four members, Michele Bachmann, Peter Roskam, Timothy Bishop, and John Tierney for misconduct relating to campaign finance. Three of the four have disputed the claims by the ethics committee, and the committee is quick to point out that it has not reached any conclusion as of yet. (Roll Call)
• President Barack Obama has narrowed the list of potential nominees for Federal Reserve Chairman, and the main figures that it seems he is considering are Lawrence Summers and Janet Yellen. President Obama recently attended a party for Summers's birthday but Summers is a figure disliked by both Democrats and Republicans, making the situation much more complicated. (Bloomberg)
• The Senate's blank-slate approach to tax reform has been leading to senators proposing new tax breaks. The secret process involved with submitting tax reform proposals has essentially allowed the senators to propose tax breaks for certain industries without any political cost, a process Majority Leader Reid has refused to involve himself. Republicans and Democrats still disagree on whether this tax reform should be deficit neutral or should raise some revenue. (National Journal)