USA
The House was expected to vote on a patients' rights bill after the White House and GOP leaders agreed to a last-minute compromise on details. President Bush and Rep. Charles Norwood, (R) of Georgia met halfway on the issue of where patients may sue their HMOs: in consumer-friendly state courts or in federal courts. Under the deal, HMOs could be sued at the state level, but such cases would be governed by rules used in the federal court system that require patients to exhaust their appeals to outside reviewers first.
The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved Bush nominee Robert Mueller to head the FBI. The 10 Democrats and nine Republicans sent the nomination to the full Senate, which was expected to confirm Mueller this week. In testimony this week, Mueller, a former Marine-turned-federal-prosecutor, vowed to restore public confidence in the nation's lead crime-fighting agency, saying it needs stronger management and accountability.
Dealing the administration its first serious confirmation setback, however, the Senate Commerce Committee voted along party lines against Bush's choice to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission Despite Mary Sheila Gall's years of service as a deputy on the commission, Democrats said she favored business interests too much. Supporters said the opposition to her was based on politics.
An federal appeals court refused to reconsider its decision that Microsoft illegally mingled its Windows operating system and Internet browser, handing the software giant a setback in its four-year antitrust battle with the government. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia cleared the way for the case to be sent back to a lower court to decide Microsoft's penalty for being an illegal monopoly.
The House approved 240 to 189 Bush's energy bill - a package aimed at increasing the domestic supply via drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as well as through conservation. In the end, most House members, including some Democrats, agreed that drilling could be carried out without harming the environment. The measure also offers tax incentives totalling $33.5 billion over 10 years for a wide range of energy producers.
Defying Bush's veto threat, the Senate approved a $60.1 billion transportation bill that requires Mexican trucks to meet strict safety standards before gaining unfettered access to US highways. Bush and Republican allies said the measure violates the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. Supporters say tough standards are justified because the vehicles are likelier to flunk inspections. The House passed a stricter measure that bans Mexican trucks from US roads entirely.
The Navy resumed bombing exercises in Vieques, Puerto Rico, despite pleas from politicians and residents to stop. Last week, almost 70 percent of the island's residents voted in a nonbinding referendum for an immediate end to the tests. Meanwhile, the House Armed Services committee endorsed a measure that would cancel a referendum in November that, if passed, would require the Navy to leave Vieques by 2003. That plan would require a replacement training site before the bombing could end.
