Reply #14: I Googled it- 73,000 hits! Here are a few:

[proud2BlibKansan]

Hastert Shuts Down Congress For DeLay’s Trial

Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert is putting the nation’s business on hold to give Tom DeLay time to complete his criminal trial:

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and his top lieutenants are seeking to avoid a divisive intra-party leadership fight…Hastert has scheduled the first House session of 2006 for Jan. 31 — after a holiday break of more than a month, and two weeks after senators are due to return to Washington. The late start gives DeLay, a Texas Republican, a greater amount of time with which to dispose of the charges, as new leadership elections could not occur until the House is back in session.

Hastert makes it clear that, in his view, giving DeLay one last shot to hold on to his leadership post is more important than doing work for the American people.

More at the Daily DeLay.

Filed under: Congress

Posted by Judd December 7, 2005 10:46 am

http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/07/hastert-shuts-down-congress/

In addition, Hastert has scheduled the first House session of 2006 for Jan. 31 — after a holiday break of more than a month, and two weeks after senators are due to return to Washington. The late start gives DeLay, a Texas Republican, a greater amount of time with which to dispose of the charges, as new leadership elections could not occur until the House is back in session.

Generally, the House reconvenes fairly soon after the new year. But this time around, Hastert is willing to put the nation’s business on hold for weeks, just to accommodate DeLay—and that’s assuming he is found innocent, or that his trial will even begin before January 31. Talk about a Congressional perk—Tom DeLay is so important that the schedule of the entire 435-member House of Representatives revolves around him. The other 434 representatives get personalized stationary and free flag lapel pins. Or something.

At least they all get a nice long vacation, which just peachy in this era of war, budget deficits, immigration reform, Gulf Coast reconstruction and the like. Hell, why not make it February 31? Or March? As long as DeLay’s interests are put first, everything else will fall into place nicely.

http://www.1115.org/2005/12/09/a-delay-for-delay/

That's right - over three months after Katrina, and without aid still arriving (lawmakers are "scrambling" to get aid before the end of the session), the Republicans are delaying the return of Congress to January 31 in order to give Tom DeLay, the indicted majority leader, time to wrap up his corruption trial. While people in the south wait for promised aid, the GOP is playing politics of the dirtiest sort - the kind that really hurts people:

UPN21: By accident or design, the schedule fashioned by House GOP leaders for early 2006 works to his advantage. After wrapping up its work for the year, the House will not return to session until Jan. 31. That is unusually late in the month, and two weeks after the Senate intends to be in session to debate the Supreme Court nomination of Samuel Alito. It also give DeLay additional time for a trial.

http://flickertail.blogspot.com/2005/12/gop-corruption-hastert-to-delay-return.html

Hastert DELAYS Congress (w/Poll!)
by ksh01
Wed Dec 07, 2005 at 09:54:18 AM PDT

Let's see: New Orleans is in ruins, Iraq is in disarray, Republicans being indicted and investigated, Mother Earth is exacting revenge for our horrible environmental policy.....sounds like we need our representatives hard at work to fix the various messes we find ourselves in.

Right?

Nope. The Boston Globe is reporting that House Speaker Dennis Hastert will delay convening the 2006 session of the House of Representatives until January 31 in order to give Tom Delay more time to fight the charges against him and return to leadership.

Extended vacation on the flip....
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/12/7/115418/388

http://www.google.com/search?q=hastert+congress+delay+jan+31&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official