Today in Washington DC!

JUMPSTART OUR BUSINESS STARTUPS ACT: Vote Passed (390-23, 19 Not Voting). This House bill would ease reporting and regulatory requirements for small businesses trying to raise capital in order to take the company public. The White House supports the bill, but its path in the Senate is unclear. Rep. Walter Jones voted YES.


BUREAU OF RECLAMATION SMALL CONDUIT HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT AN RURAL JOBS ACT OF 2011. Vote Passed (265-154, 13 Not Voting). The House passed this bill that would encourage the development of small-scale hydropower facilities on federal lands. The bill's future in the Senate is unclear. Rep. Walter Jones voted YES.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE: During the debate over the transportation bill, the Senate rejected this amendment that would have allowed construction of the Keystone XL pipeline to proceed without presidential approval. Sixty votes were needed to adopt the amendment. FYI, Sen. Richard Burr and Sen. Kay Hagan both voted YES.

THE SENATE: Convened at 10, and this evening by a solid bipartisan majority will vote to pass a two-year, $109 billion revamp of highway and transit programs. The bill, which the House may clear as soon as next week, would give states more flexibility in spending federal transportation money and streamline environmental reviews so projects get started quicker.

Senators will vote at noon on two amendments — one giving states even more flexibility, the other tinkering with the formula for apportioning aid to the states; after their weekly caucus lunches they will vote on as many as 20 more — including proposals to allow states to put toll booths on interstates, create tax credits for cars fueled with natural gas and permit more flights over the Grand Canyon.

THE WHITE HOUSE:  Obama just announced that his administration, the EU and Japan have banded together to press an unfair trade practices case against China. They want the WTO to get the country to end export restrictions on tungsten, molybdenum and “rare earth” elements. The minerals are used to make hybrid car batteries, flat-screen TVs, wind turbines, mercury vapor lights, smartphones and camera lenses.

The president is spending the bulk of the rest of the day combining re-election politics, global diplomacy and his intense interest in March Madness. He and British Prime Minister David Cameron will leave the Ellipse at 4:20 en route to Ohio (18 jump-ball electoral votes) — plenty of time to make the 6:30 tipoff at the University of Dayton between Western Kentucky and Mississippi Valley State in the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Air Force One will get the two back to Washington by 10:35. (Michelle Obama is doing her part for the “special relationship” by taking Samantha Cameron to a summer-Olympics-in-London-themed “Let’s Move” event for school kids at American University.)