Despite rounds of complaints by Republicans, the U.S. House of Representatives late Wednesday approved the Homeland Security spending bill championed by U.S. Rep. David Price of Chapel Hill.

The vote was 389-37, Barb Barrett reports.

Price, a Democrat, is chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on Homeland Security, responsible for writing and passing legislation that pays for border security, airport security, disaster response, immigration matters, the Secret Service and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The bill spends $42.6 billion — a $2.6 billion increase over last year, but slightly below President Barack Obama’s request.

"This bill will enable our government to better protect the American people against all major threats," Price said in a statement. "The key investments made here will assist first responders and enhance security on our borders, at our ports, and in aviation and transit.  And this legislation makes these investments in a fiscally responsible manner, coming in under the President’s budget request and saving $1.8 billion through elimination of 17 programs and reduced funding for another 40 programs."

Republicans said Democrats had wrongly limited amendments on the spending bill on the House floor. As part of their opposition, they repeated offered motions to adjourn early Wednesday, then requested roll calls when the motions were rejected, according to Congressional Quarterly.

The triangle region would receive more than $10.6 million in earmarked money from the spending subcommittee in Congress les by Chapel Hill Democratic Rep. David Price.

The House Committee on Appropriations passed the homeland security bill Friday. The earmarks are spending projects directed to home districts. The spending bill for th 2010 fiscal year must still pass the full House, and then goes to the Senate.

Nearly half of Price's total, $5 million, would go to a new joint center at UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University, Barb Barrett reports. The N.C. Collaboratory for Bio-Preparedness would conduct suveillance of biological threats for the state. Democratic U.S. Reps. Brad Miller, of Raleigh, and Bob Etheridge, of Lillington, also sponsored the earmark.

Price also sent: $3.5 million to Research Triangle Institute, a non-profit organization, for a cyber security testing project; $1 million to LOGTECH in Chapel Hill, which provides Department of Defense training; $1 million to the N.C. Emergency Operations Center and $165,000 for the N.C. Division of Emergency Management.

DURHAM — Republicans are lining up to challenge Democratic Congressman David Price next year.

B.J. Lawson, a Cary businessman and former physician, who lost to Price in November said he plans to launch another bid, Rob Christensen reports.

Lawson, who said he will formally announce his candidacy on his website next week, said that his 37 percent showing was strong considering the Democratic-leaning district. He said one of the problems in defeating Price, is that the Republicans put up a different opponent every two years.

But Lawson will likely have competition in a GOP primary.

Frank Roche, 46, a semi-retired financial industry executive from Apex, said he plans to run as well.

He said he hoped to win over support of more traditional conservatives, who may not be comfortable with some of Lawson’s more Libertarian leanings.

Both attended a luncheon of the Durham County Republican Women on Tuesday at the Hope Valley Country Club.

A pet project of U.S. Rep. David Price is getting renewed attention after an Air France crash.

The Transportation Security Administration plans this summer to test a "black box" recorder that would detach from a plane during a crash, USA Today reports.

Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, has supported detachable black boxes since 2003, arguing they would help ensure that cockpit-voice and flight-data information can be recovered.

He supported the pilot program with a $3.5 million earmark in the 2008 budget and has sponsored unsuccessful legislation requiring them in the past.

The cause of a crash of Flight 447 over the Atlantic Ocean is still unknown, and investigators fear they may not be able to recover the plane's recorders.

Update: In a statement, Price noted that detachable black boxes were recommended by the 9/11 Commission.

"As this tragedy clearly demonstrates, better information for investigators cannot come too soon – both for victims' families and also to determine whether an incident may be a threat to national security," he said. 

A former financial staffer for former GOP Sen. Elizabeth Dole's re-election campaign plans to launch a new website this week to track the doings of her opponent, Kay Hagan.

Hagan, a Democrat and former state senator, defeated Dole in November, Barb Barrett reports.

Matthew Bales, 24, has worked five months to develop his site, KayHaganTracker.com. He says it will go live Wednesday and feature Hagan's legislation, her positions on issues and her voting record.

"It will track all the promises she made on the campaign trail," said Bales, who worked for Dole's re-election campaign last year.

He said he will hold Hagan accountable when she doesn't live up to her pledges, but congratulate her when she does. He sees his site as a resource for constituents.

"I'm not trying to be a bad guy," Bales said. "It's not a partisan issue; it's an accountability issue."

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Some staff changes were announced this week.

Colleen Flanagan, press secretary for U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, will leave to serve as communications director for the Democratic Party in her home state of Connecticut.

Meantime, Rep. Bob Etheridge has hired a new press secretary, Don Owens.

Owens previously worked as a legislative assistant for Rep. David Price and as director of public affairs for the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

A North Carolina native, he formerly lived in Raleigh and is a graduate of Elon University.

He replaces Joanne Peters, who now works for the Democratic National Committee.

RALEIGH — Work began this morning on a $57 million new National Guard/emergency nerve center in West Raleigh, one of the most visible North Carolina projects funded by the federal stimulus package.

Gov. Beverly Perdue and Congressman David Price were among those who braved a light rain to to shovel the first dirt on the high tech project that will serve as headquarters for not only National Guard operations, but will serve as the center for the state’s response to hurricanes, tornados and other natural catastrophes.

The governor called it "a state of the art facility," Rob Christensen reports.

The project is being funded largely from the stimulus package passed by Congress earlier this year that is designed to help jump start the economy. About $41 million of the cost comes from the stimulus legislation.

Price, a key House budget chairman who help obtain the money, said the project would result in the creation of 4,000 jobs.

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U.S. Rep. Walter Jones stood on stage behind President Barack Obama today as the president signed a sweeping credit card reform act into law.

Jones, of Farmville, was a co-sponsor of the reform bill and the only Republican House member to have a seat on the stage at this afternoon’s White House ceremony, Barb Barrett reports.

He won re-election to his 8th term last year after a tough GOP primary battle in which some Republicans said Jones wasn’t conservative enough on some issues.

Among those in the audience were Democratic Reps. Brad Miller of Raleigh and David Price of Chapel Hill. Miller also co-sponsored the bill.

And Price inserted a key disclosure requirement in the bill that forces credit card companies to tell borrowers how much it would cost them to make just minimum payments on their debts.

The Tar Heels are being praised on the floor of the U.S. House.

North Carolina's Congressional delegation unanimously cosponsored a resolution honoring the men's basketball team of UNC-Chapel Hill, which won the NCAA championship.

U.S. Rep. David Price, an alumnus and a professor at rival Duke University, saluted President Obama's "bipartisanship" in picking UNC on his bracket while employing a former Duke basketball player.

Another alum, Rep. Brad Miller, took a gibe at Price, noting that he has taught "at a nearby institution of lesser reputation."

"I wanted to make sure there was somebody here with absolutely unmixed loyalties who could speak in favor of this resolution," he said.

He praised the school's academic standards for athletes, noting the graduation rate for the basketball team is high.

Congress considered the resolution for 24 minutes.

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What does North Carolina's delegation talk about in Congress?

The Sunlight Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on government transparency, has created a fun new way to answer that question.

The Capitol Words project uses speeches recorded in the Congressional Record to measure the frequency of specific words used by each member of Congress.

Some results from the past year are obvious. Reps. G.K. Butterfied, Mike McIntyre, Heath Shuler, Howard Coble and Bob Etheridge basically said "North Carolina" the most. 

Sen. Richard Burr, who is the ranking member of a Veterans Affairs committee, said the word "veterans" the most — some 277 times.

Rep. Walter Jones, who represents Camp Lejeune, said "Marine" 98 times, while Rep. David Price, who chairs an Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security, said "security" 48 times.

Other results were a bit surprising. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican, said the word "Democrats" some 428 times — the most of any word used by the delegation. 

To see North Carolina's words by year, month and session, click here.