Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, (D-NV) said he is encouraging his caucus to oppose cloture on the pending ethics overhaul bill in an effort to force a vote on a politically unpopular deal to turn operations at six U.S. ports over to a United Arab Emirates-owned company.

A surprise move by Sen. Charles E. Schumer, (D-N.Y)., to block the Dubai ports deal caused a ruckus on the Senate floor and temporarily derailed debate. The Senate was in the midst of debating an amendment on the lobbying bill when Schumer said he wanted to talk about that amendment. But in a move that blindsided Republicans, Schumer instead offered an amendment to bar the sale.

The right-wing House Republican Study Committee has put together their budget alternative, called "Contact for America: Renewed." It calls for a budget even more drastic (and frightening) then the one proposed by the President himself. Their process reform recommendations towards the end of the document however, are particularly interesting, especially in regards to areas such as earmark reform.

The Senate approved funding yesterday for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program in a 68-31 vote to accept a second-degree amendment offered by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME). The amendment provides an additional $1 billion for LIHEAP for this fiscal year, disbursing half of it through both LIHEAP's traditional funding formula and a contingency fund to be released at the discretion of the White House. The focus is now on the House, where a number of conservative members have argued that the added LIHEAP funding this year is not paid for.