Congress complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, but who knows for how long

The news that Sen. Tim Johnson’s (D-S.D.) doctors expect him to return to work soon had officials busily preparing to make the Capitol Building adhere to the rules Congress made for every other federal building in the country.

Ramps, rails and other accommodations have been installed, as Johnson, after a six-month recuperation from a bleed in his brain, continues to try to get back to fighting form. Spokeswoman Julianne Fisher said Monday that Johnson can now walk across a room, although he remains dependent on a wheelchair most of the day.

{mosads}One might think the Senate would already be set up for disabled senators — it was only five years ago that wheelchair-bound Max Cleland (D-Ga.), who was injured during his service in the Vietnam War, was voted out of office.

Nope. Turns out Senate officials undid most of the measures they had put in place for Cleland, although Fisher noted that they were more than happy to redo them for Johnson.

“It’s OK that we are discussing these problems — it means the boss is coming back,” Fisher said. “It’s very exciting.”

Mobsters: uniters, not dividers

It seems that most of Washington took a break Sunday from hand-wringing over immigration policy so that HBO could frustrate us with an inconclusive series finale of “The Sopranos.”

Former Tom DeLay press secretary Jonathan Grella had many of his old Capitol Hill friends watching the show all the more carefully, after e-mailing out an NCAA-style pool to allow Sopranos watchers to predict who would live and who would die
in the final episode of the long-running drama.

But just because the show was over didn’t mean Grella, now vice president of public affairs at public relations firm Edelman, was ready to walk away. As he has with most Sopranos episodes this season, Grella then meticulously combed through the show for motifs (“Cars were significant in several scenes”), lessons learned (“Junior doesn’t remember what it was all about — it’s like, ‘was it worth it?’”) and a line-by-line analysis of the Journey song that played at the end of the show.

The Sopranos writers seemed to remember Washington, too. The show’s characters made more than a couple subtle and overt jabs at the Bush administration. Grella noted that a background image of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove dancing on stage earlier this year at the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association Dinner seemed to say, “Look at these guys laughing while we have all these problems.”

So, was that a problem for Grella?

“Oh, I’m a pop culture junky as well as a conservative — I’ve made peace with the incongruity,” he said.

A (not so dopey) drug gimmick

We know how boring presiding over the House can be; it’s something like having the batteries in the remote control go out when you’re flipping past C-SPAN.

Well, the Marijuana Policy Project is here to help.

Now, as they pass the time in the cloakrooms between votes or preside over the chamber, members can get in a game of solitaire and bone up on their drug policy knowledge at the same time.

The Washington-based organization, led by government-relations director Aaron Houston, printed up a set of playing cards called “The Deal on Medical Marijuana: 52 Reasons Why You Should Support Medical Marijuana Access.”

“Is it a gimmick? Sure,” Houston said. “But when you don’t have the resources the government has, there’s nothing wrong with using a gimmick in service of the truth.”

Stand by me

When Rep. Robert “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.) took to the floor seven years ago to deliver a glowing speech about an up-and-coming young college quarterback, how could he have known that he might one day help craft a bill to keep that young man in jail?

And, when he introduced a bill that would kick animal-fighting cases into federal courts and increase criminal penalties on those convicted of staging such fights, hometown hero Michael Vick was far from Scott’s mind.

But that’s life for you.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Vick, of Newport News, Va., is now under federal investigation after authorities discovered dogs and equipment associated with staged dog-fighting operations at a house he owned. Authorities raided the property for the second time last week. Vick has denied involvement in whatever went on at that house, saying he allows family members
to live there and rarely visits.

In an atmosphere in which politicians are quick to distance themselves from even the appearance of unsavory activities, Scott is far from retracting the lavish praise he heaped on the NFL star years back. When he was reminded of his years-old comments praising Vick’s talent and star quality and declaring how refreshing it was to see an athlete role model come out of his district, Scott stood firm.

“His background over the years has been one of being the perfect gentleman, so I’m hoping for the best,” Scott said.
 

Lott condemns slithering mice

Trent Lott wasn’t shy about complaining that bipartisan enemies of the Senate immigration legislation successfully killed off the bill last week.

When the Mississippi Republican, ever the extemporary speaker, called his colleagues to task on the Senate floor, no one metaphor was vile enough for him to make clear just how angry he was.

“Are we men or mice? Are we going to slither away from this issue and hope for some epiphany to happen? No. Let’s legislate. Let’s vote,” Lott said.