Congressional Calendar February 8-12, 2010

Capitol Hill digs its way out of Snowpocalypse II Monday, beginning with two nominations. Craig Becker is hoping to be confirmed for a spot on the National Labor Relations Board. Critics fear that as a former attorney for the AFL and SEIU, he may be too close to organized labor. Expect some fireworks on the floor as the final vote approaches. Joseph Greenway Jr is vying for a spot on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. His nomination is expected to go though without incident.

UPDATE: Due to weather, the Senate has pushed back votes on Becker and Greenaway to Tuesday.  The Senate policy lunches, which usually occur on Tuesday, have been moved back to Wednesday.  More updates as we get them...

Democrats may unveil their jobs bill at some point next week, though as of this post, it is unclear what will be included in the bill or when it will be introduced.

House Democrats Tom Perriello of Virginia and Betsy Markey of Colorado are set to bring a bill to the floor repealing the antitrust exemption for health insurance and medical malpractice insurance companies. Supporters contend that the bill will end an unfair advantage insurance companies have to determine rates. Critics contend that the antitrust exemption allows companies to share information to set fair rates.

The House Oversight and Government Reform will have a hearing on Toyota’s sticky accelerator woes Wednesday at 2:00p. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is on the witness list, along with Yoshimi Inaba, the President and CEO of Toyota North America.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Wednesday at 9:30a. While the hearing is to discuss the DHS budget, we expect there to be off-topic questions from members about the failed Christmas Day bombing attack and the venue for trials of the alleged 9/11 conspirators.

Talk continues on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the Senate Armed Services holds a hearing on Thursday at 9:30a.

The Joint Economic Committee holds a hearing on policies to promote short- and long-term job growth. Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf will testify at 10:00a Tuesday

As always, more events will arise during the week, so stay tuned to the Fox News Channel for the latest developments…