Late yesterday afternoon the House voted 215-205 approving Rep. Mike Pence's (R-IN) amendment to the Department of Commerce and Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies appropriation bill (H.R. 3093). The Pence amendment prohibits funds appropriated in the bill from being used by the Department of Justice to enforce provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) dealing with ''electioneering communications.'' The amendment does not change the ability of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to charge civil penalties.

A recent poll finds that 18-29 year-olds want a bigger government with more services. The Democracy Corps poll was conducted May 29 - June 19 and included 1017 18-29 year-old respondents. Generally speaking, would you rather have a bigger government providing more services or a smaller government that provides fewer services? Bigger government, strongly .................... 40 Bigger government, not so strongly........... 28 Smaller government, not so strongly......... 12 Smaller government, strongly................... 16 (Don't know/refused) ................................ 4

Congress is rushing to get lots done before its August recess. The Farm Bill is one of the bills Congress is working madly on. The entire House will probably vote on it today. The Farm Bill essentially sets the federal government's agricultural policy- crop subsidies, farmland conservation payments, bioenergy, and anti-hunger programs, like Food Stamps. It needs to be renewed every five years.

As we blogged earlier this month, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has been without a quorum since July 2006. This has prevented it from fully addressing all of its responsibilities since January of this year. The agency oversees the safety of thousands of domestic and foreign consumer goods used in homes, schools, and sports.