Wednesday in politics: Obama to unveil gun proposals, and more

President Barack Obama will announce a package of proposals at midday Wednesday that are meant to curb gun violence.

“The president has made clear that he intends to take a comprehensive approach,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday. “We can no longer stand by without taking action.”

Vice President Joe Biden, who led the task force that put together the proposals, also will attend the announcement.

[Obama to unveil gun violence response today]

Obama assigned Biden to take the lead on coming up with the package following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., that left 20 children and six adults dead.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday afternoon titled “Gun Violence Prevention: A Call to Action,” and Janet Robinson, the Newtown superintendent of schools, will be one of the witnesses.

Also worth noting Wednesday: House Republicans gather in Williamsburg, Va., for the first day of their three-day annual retreat, and back on Capitol Hill a group of Democratic House members plan to unveil a bill that would abolish the federal debt ceiling.

And then there is this: Former Republican S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford returns to politics Wednesday when he launches a bid for his old congressional seat in the state’s 1st District. The two-term governor hit national headlines in 2009 when an affair with an Argentinian woman was uncovered. Reporters were told that Sanford had gone hiking on the Appalachian Trail, but Sanford confessed to the affair at a tearful news conference when he returned from Argentina.

Sources: Yahoo News’ The Ticket, Yahoo news reporters Olivier Knox, Associated Press, Reuters.