Boehner: Bipartisan Prayer Service Can Be ‘Source Of Solace’
CNN reports: “Congress has responded to the Saturday shootings of 19 people, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, with a “collective embrace” rather than a ‘torrent of accusations,’ House Speaker John Boehner said at a bipartisan congressional prayer service Wednesday. ‘Our nation mourns for the victims. It yearns for peace. And it thirsts for answers,’ the Ohio representative said in his welcome statement at the service, according to a transcript of his remarks. The service, held for members of Congress, their spouses and some staffers, was not open to the public.”
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama will meet at 1:30 p.m. ET with senior advisers. He does not currently have any scheduled public events.
Biden In Iraq For Talks
Reuters reports: ” U.S. Vice President Joe Biden flew into Iraq on Thursday for his first visit since Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was reappointed for a second term and cost-cutting Republicans took over the House of Representatives. Biden, picked by President Barack Obama as his point person for Iraq, met Maliki for talks as the U.S. military prepares for a full withdrawal eight years after ousting Saddam Hussein.”
House GOP To Gather To Restart Agenda
Roll Call reports: “House Republicans gather today in Baltimore to plot the path forward for their hard-fought new majority under the inevitable shadow of the shootings in Tucson, Ariz., which essentially put the GOP agenda on hold this week. But Members insist they don’t plan to forestall their agenda for long and see no reason to alter their strategy for implementing it, even if they get a later start than they hoped.”
Gun-Control Advocates Disappointed With White House Silence
The Hill reports: “The White House has disappointed gun-control advocates on and off Capitol Hill with its silence on the issue. Although President Obama ran on campaign vows of reinstating the assault-weapons ban and closing the gun-show loophole, among other reforms, he’s been all but mute on those issues since entering the White House two years ago — a silence that’s continued in the wake of Saturday’s shootings in Arizona.”
Clinton Talks Tough To “Stagnant” Mideast Allies
Reuters reports: “Countries across the Middle East need to shake up corrupt institutions and reinvigorate stagnant political systems or risk losing the future to Islamic militants, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday. Clinton, wrapping up a five-day tour through the Gulf Arab region, had tough words at a gathering of regional leaders in Qatar, saying too many Middle East governments were not keeping pace with demographic and political changes.”
