It’s been said Washington is the Hollywood for ugly people, but don’t tell a handful of lawmakers that.

The Hill — a daily publication that covers Washington — is out with its annual 50 Most Beautiful People list and six members of Congress have landed coveted spots in the newspaper’s yearly roundup of the more attractive Capitol Hill inhabitants.

President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders sought to soothe relations with the party’s disgruntled left wing Saturday in advance of elections in which Republican gains could upend the White House agenda.

Today, President Obama called on Congress to extend critical unemployment insurance to millions of Americans looking for a job. The U.S. Senate on Tuesday will vote on extending unemployment benefits for Americans still struggling to find work and overcome the lingering effects of the recession. In the three previous efforts, Senate Republicans have blocked the extension of emergency relief for the unemployed. Across the country, this stonewalling has already blocked assistance to 2.5 million Americans, and hundreds of thousands more are impacted by each additional week of delay.

President Barack Obama has sidestepped Congress by using a recess appointment to make Dr. Donald Berwick the new head of the federal agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid, the White House announced Wednesday.

Some 300,000 teachers face lay-offs this coming year. Congress hasn’t even had a vote on legislation that would keep them employed. Teenage employment was at record lows last year — when the stimulus bill funded some summer jobs.

He’s tired of having meetings with members of Congress. Tired of trying to talk with the Obama administration and the president himself. Tired of hearing people say that they sympathize with his effort to fight the federal government’s widespread and longtime discrimination against the nation’s black farmers.

You may have heard that former New York Governor George Pataki is launching a new organization to oppose the recent healthcare legislation that passed. He passed through Austin, Texas today, and I appeared on the local Fox affiliate’s morning show opposite him to make the case for healthcare.

The Internal Revenue Service this week began mailing postcards to more than four million small businesses and tax-exempt organizations to make them aware of the benefits of the recently enacted small business health care tax credit.

Yesterday afternoon, I received an invitation from the White House to join the President and other health care advocates from around the country for a bill-signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. Earlier today, I witnessed President Obama sign into law health care for America.

I had the displeasure of watching Fox News this morning, where the analysts said that the President had missed some deadlines and that health care reform was dead. Additionally, I read that Republican Senators claimed the Senate Parliamentarian had ruled that a reconciliation fix bill.

President Obama has delayed his upcoming trip to Asia by three days to remain in Washington for what could be the climax of his year-long battle for health-care reform, his press secretary announced via Twitter this morning.

The Center for Responsible Lending commends Bank of America for its decision to stop charging overdraft fees on debit card purchases. With this change, Bank of America—which issues more debit cards than any other bank— joins another banking giant, Citibank, in practicing responsible debit card overdraft policies.

President Obama, promising to do everything in his power to make the case for reform, has urged Congress to finish their work on health care and schedule an up-or-down vote in the next few weeks.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of the 18th Congressional District was endorsed by last Thursday Congressman Al Green and many ministers. At a breakfast at Holman Street Baptist Church in the Third Ward, 33 ministers joined Congressman Al Green to show their support for the longtime Congresswoman.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has won two more endorsements in her re-election campaign for the 18th Congressional District.

Announcing his support Sunday was Houston City Controller Ron Green, the first African American elected to that position. Green, who is a constituent of Jackson Lee, praised the Congresswoman for the federal funds she has brought to Houston.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hey, folks. A year ago when President Obama established the Middle Class Task Force and asked me to chair it — and I might add, we were only in office I think two days, Melody, when he set up this Middle Class Task Force — because as we campaigned around the country, he made it clear that we were going to be sure that as we grew this economy, the middle class was not left behind as they had been the previous 10 to 12 years. And as we move from recession to recovery, our focus is the middle class.

President Barack Obama will announce in Wednesday’s State of Union address that he’s proposing to save $250 billion by freezing all non-security federal discretionary spending for three years, according to two senior administration officials.

A record number of state and federal elected officials will roll up their sleeves to serve local communities across the country tomorrow, Monday, January 18, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.

The economists say the recovery has begun. Conservatives in both parties are calling for the government to cut back its spending and reduce its deficits. The Federal Reserve has announced it will begin rolling back the special facilities it created to stave off financial collapse.

President Obama met with top bank executives on Monday, calling on Wall Street to make an “extraordinary” effort to boost the U.S. economy after benefiting from the bailout paid by taxpayers.