Supercommittee member Senator John Kerry (D-MA) stifles a yawn during proceedings. Congress' Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also known as the Supercommittee, held a public hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington DC on November, 1, 2011. Witnesses included former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY) and Erskine Bowles, co- chairmen, National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Also testifying were Alice Rivlin, former vice chairwoman, Federal Reserve, and former director, Office of Management and Budget and former director, Congressional Budget Office; and former Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM).
The U.S. Congress held a ceremony on Capitol Hill on November 2, 2011 to award the Congressional Gold Medal, its highest civilian honor, to more than 1,000 Japanese-American veterans, now in their 80s and 90s, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.
Protestors march through Lafayette Park on the way to the White House in Washington DC carrying a long mock-up of a pipeline with the writing "Stop the XL Pipeline" on November 6, 2011.