The Hill Articles: May 10, 2012

Senior Interior Department energy official to retire Senate adjourns with no deal on student loans, Ex-Im Ann Romney praises Michelle Obama’s ‘composure’ OVERNIGHT TECH: Committee to look at Microsoft competition allegations OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Svinicki nomination to move forward in Senate OVERNIGHT HEALTH: House GOP backs new healthcare cuts Biden apologized to Obama after gay marriage comments Panetta guarantees no US troops headed to Yemen A.B. Stoddard’s conversation with Rep. Schock about energy, gay marriage Report: IRS needs to improve whistleblower program Romney says candidates shouldn’t fundraise off gay marriage positions Reid furious as GOP blocks quick Senate Export-Import vote OVERNIGHT MONEY: Obama heads to Reno to tout housing refinance plan Verizon shareholders vote down net-neutrality proposal OVERNIGHT BALLOT BOX: Romney’s past becomes present campaign issue DAY’S END ROUNDUP Franken presses Justice Department to explain phone-tracking practices Hoyer endorses gay marriage Warren found listed as a minority professor at second law school Bristol Palin: ‘Glee’ shaped Obama’s shift on gay marriage Dems take on bullying with $182M grant proposal Obama, Romney and gay marriage: It IS a question of character Federal investigators urge stronger oversight of Medicare Part D Panetta says House debt deal a recipe for gridlock Sen. Rubio claims the White House is undermining his version of DREAM Act TSA denies placing 18-month-old on ‘no fly’ list Mica: ‘Great progress’ on including Keystone pipeline in highway bill Bachmann no longer a Swiss citizen Dems looking to slim down big banks Donald Layton tapped to head Freddie Mac Twitter reacts to Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage Brown-Warren race a dead heat Joint Chiefs head doesn’t ‘see a need’ for East Coast missile site Report: FTC investigating Facebook-Instagram deal Romney looks to woo mothers at first campaign event after report of prep school pranks Cantor says defense authorization, VAWA up in House next week Postal Service bleeds $3.2 billion in latest quarter Mica: Highway bill negotiations ‘moving along’; will meet with Boxer next week VAWA tribal provisions are constitutionally sound
 Pentagon picks Welsh to replace retiring Schwartz Banking regulator lays out plan to avoid future bailouts White House ramping up efforts to boost tourism House OKs spending bill — first of the year Sen. DeMint knocks Obama as ‘hypocritical’ on energy tax breaks Sen. Kyl: Obama equates free enterprise with ‘Gordon Gekko-style greed’ GOP lawmakers call for defunding of public broadcasting Civil-liberties groups urge rejection of White House-supported cyber bill Bernanke to Dems: Congress endangers recovery by not finishing its work Senator Webb is (still) wrong on Burma Romney campaign: Obama auto bailout ads an ‘attempt to distract’ from economy House votes to replace Pentagon cuts mandated by debt deal Boehner: ‘American people are focused on the economy,’ not gay marriage Conflict mineral crackdown draws critiques McKibben: Activists should be ‘willfully naive’ in oil subsidy, climate battle Report: Drunken driving charges against former FAA chief Randy Babbitt dropped Democratic National 
Convention chooses 
official barbecue sauce Pelosi: Support for gay marriage is worth the political backlash Leader Pelosi: ‘I’ve never pushed to become Speaker’ Reid: Democratic party platform will include pro-gay-marriage plank ‘Smart Security’ is what’s needed in Afghanistan Restaurant group: ‘Let Obama eat his hot dog’ Obama administration sues ‘America’s Toughest Sheriff’ Did Obama set a marriage trap for Romney? Poll: Obama edges Romney in Fla., but Rubio would swing state back to GOP Ex-Im Bank stalling in Senate over student loan amendment NRCC names first batch of ‘Young Guns’ candidates ‘Will & Grace’ creator: Biden gay marriage remarks looked ‘choreographed’ Report: Subsidiaries support 21 million jobs Internal poll shows Democratic challenger even with Rep. Allen West US holds out hope that France will reconsider Afghanistan pullout Analyst: Romney plan would boost Pentagon budget by $2 trillion Obama campaign offers presidential tweets for Mother’s Day Senators’ Mother’s Day plans: Flowers for 
Klobuchar, McCain; 
Rubio keeps lips sealed Boehner: Gay marriage debate a distraction, GOP focused on jobs Sticks and stones RNC attacks ‘celebrity in chief’s’ Hollywood fundraiser President Obama’s support for gay marriage demonstrates the moral leadership America needs Ryan: Sequester replacement bill a return to governing DCCC Chairman: Candidates free to disagree with Obama No more delay to help homeowners Sarah Palin endorses Ted Cruz in Texas Senate race HHS: New cuts to ‘red tape’ to save billions for healthcare providers Consumer group wants details of Verizon-cable research project Romney on childhood prank: ‘Back in high school I did some dumb things’ Energy diplomacy: A potential key to rapproachement with Iran Obama’s same-sex marriage stand is all about votes Rep. Polis: Obama’s gay marriage decision ‘very personal,’ not political Sequester replacement bill advances in House House panel moves $643B defense bill Obama campaign launches ad touting auto bailout Kerry lays out three challenges in Afghanistan ahead of NATO summit On the announcement Senate Democrats hope to pass Export-Import Bank legislation Thursday Gay marriage: Politics or principles No Playboy mansion visit for rabbi (and candidate) Obama campaign’s latest Web ad heralds same-sex marriage announcement No deal announced on student interest bill as Reid, McConnell stress openness News bites: Browser war flare-up edition Poll: Portman would be of little help to Romney in Ohio As it went with Kerry, so it will go with Obama Trade gap widens in March on record imports Trade gap widens in March on record imports The power of a president to change America ‘Fox and Friends’ mocks Biden’s ‘awkward’ Jeopardy appearance Democrats seize on report of ‘vicious’ Romney school prank News bites: The latest on Chesapeake Energy News bites: Settled Poll: Romney holds almost 50-point advantage among white evangelicals Jobless claims fall again as labor market continues recovery Black Caucus members reject GOP proposal to ease Voting Rights Act Presidential candidates’ Mother’s Day traditions include lilacs, ‘something handmade’ Obama: Intel agents were on top of bomb plot ‘the entire time’ Republicans: Senate should confirm regional EPA officials Giuliani: Obama gay-marriage stance undercuts effort to paint Romney as flip-flopper Thursday: Appropriations, sequester replacement in the House News bites: Trouble across the Atlantic Obama: Romney taking credit for auto bailout an ‘Etch A Sketch’ moment News bites: Fewer completing HPV vaccine, and more Obama: Biden forced timing of gay-marriage announcement Thursday’s global agenda: Countdown to NATO summit Election up for grabs in 180 days MORNING READ GOP shies away from offering healthcare reform alternative Votes on immigration policy could hurt VP chances for Sen. Portman, Rep. Ryan House Armed Services vote bans gay marriage on military bases Amendments are done: House to pass Commerce/Justice spending bill Thursday Rep. Frank tells GOP he won’t seek federal benefits after his wedding in July House approves Export-Import bill in bipartisan vote despite fire from right Obama gay marriage stance could win younger voters, lose independents President Obama endorses gay marriage Rep. Frank ‘disappointed’ in Obama administration position on marijuana Conservatives criticize GOP bill to replace automatic cuts