CNN reports that the Bi-Partisan “Gang of Eight” is set to release their much-anticipated immigration compromise plan Tuesday. Some of the details:

Any undocumented immigrant who entered the country after December 31, 2011, would not be eligible for citizenship.

In what appears to be a growing scandal, GOP sources now say the FBI has been called into the Kentucky leak of a private meeting with Sen. Mitch McConnell and campaign aides.

Via The Lid:

Having decided against running for U.S. Senate against Sen. Mitch McConnell, celebrity actress Ashley Judd can now reflect on why her decision not to run was most likely a good one.

While everyone this week has been hyper focused on the SCOTUS hearings on the Defense of Marriage Act, it seems an interesting provision was quietly slipped into the Agricultural Appropriations Bill, which passed through Congress last week. Monsanto Company is a group that produces genetically modified organisms or GMO’s and genetically engineered seeds and crops (GE). With the new provision that was snuck into the bill, federal courts are effectively barred from being able to cease sales or planting of these controversial GMO’s, despite any future health issues that may arise.

I was born and raised in Augusta. I came home today to announce my candidacy for U.S. Senate. #GASen

— Phil Gingrey (@PhilGingreyMD) March 27, 2013
 

Representative Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta) joined his House colleague Rep. Paul Broun (R-Athens) Wednesday in Georgia’s U.S. Senate race to fill the senior spot currently held by Sen. Saxby Chambliss. This announcement comes as no surprise considering Gingrey is the senior Republican congressman in the Georgia delegation and is now at the ripe age of 70. His formal announcement is scheduled this afternoon at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington) led the charge this weekend to pass the first budget in four years in the United States Senate

There is a lot of political posturing going on in DC right now in regards to Senators up for reelection in 2016. As a caveat to such posturing, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) was happy to announce this weekend that for the first time in over four years the US Senate has successfully passed a budget. The vote stuck almost strictly to party lines with a 50-49 vote, ending with a $3.7 trillion budget proposal. The Senate’s budget proposal included 70 amendments that were voted on as well as over 500 that were offered. The budget proposal was led by Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington) and included votes on the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline as well as an opt out of the Medical device tax included in the Affordable Care Act which would, if imposed, create a 2.3% tax on medical devices. Miraculously, both of these amendments passed with bi-partisan support.

Friday night, US Senators symbolically voted to repeal a portion of ObamaCare — the medical device tax. The particular provision, if imposed, creates a 2.3% tax on medical devices, which could lead to the loss of some 43,000 jobs.
Senators voted overwhelmingly in favor of repealing the provision, passing by a vote of 79 to 20. The new tax is projected to raise nearly $2 billion in new revenue in 2013 and $20 billion over the next seven years according to United Liberty.

It’s no secret that the Federal incarceration rate has seen rapid growth in recent years while state and local incarceration rates have been on a steady decline. Why the strange divergence? It certainly isn’t because people aren’t breaking the law. A bi-partisan group of Senators believe that comprehensive reform of Federal mandatory minimum laws is the answer. In an attempt to curb these mandatory minimums, Senators Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and Pat Leahy (D-Vermont) have introduced a bill known as the “Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013,” effectively giving judges the option to give more reasonable sentences to federal offenders.
So how does the safety valve work? Julie Stewart, president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums and the chief consult on the Paul-Leahy bill, explains:

Senator Rand Paul’s filibuster last week gained much more than just national recognition – it gained an international spotlight for a potential 2016 Presidential bid. Senator Paul has clearly been a favorite amongst the Libertarian party as well as a large, moderate portion of the GOP since his entrance to the US Senate in 2011.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) addressed CPAC attendees this afternoon in the Potomac Ballroom, after an introduction from Al Cardenas, Chairman of the American Conservative Union.  In his remarks, Senator Scott stressed the importance of understanding the “why” of our problems rather than simply the “what.”  ObamaCare, he stated, will add a new tax of at least 25% and expands the federal government’s reach much further than it has ever been before.  Regarding this, he said, “We’re heading in the wrong direction.”

Senator Scott expounded on the fact that the federal government acts recklessly and irresponsibly when they handle taxpayer dollars.  ”Nobody in America who sits at their kitchen table, who understands that they make $22,000 per year, would choose to spend $34,000 per year.”  He stressed the importance of the economy over the government:  ”We need to grow our economy and not our government.”

Scott, a former congressman, was appointed last December by South Carolina governor Nikki Haley to the post left vacant by retiring Senator Jim DeMint. At the time, Scott was the only black member of the Senate from either party.

Optimism rang from Senator Scott’s speech; in his own words, “I believe that America’s greatest hour is still ahead of us.”