Late Night Strike...

One quick update on the Senate's consideration of the stimulus bill. The only amendment after the Daily Strike was an interesting bipartisan proposal from liberal California Senator Barbara Boxer and conservative Nevada Republican John Ensign. The proposal is called "repatriation." The amendment would lower the corporate tax rate from 35% to 5.3% for those companies who bring financial holdings back to the US from overseas. The amendment mandates that these companies invest the money in selective ways, like job creation, capital formation and clean energy. I don't know enough about this amendment to make a firm judgment on it, but it seems to me that even with significant strings attached, we're still giving money directly to corporations, ones that have chosen to go overseas in the first place. The motion to waive the budget rules to pass the amendment failed to get the 60 required votes. It lost 42-55. Most Democrats voted against the Boxer/Ensign amendment, while most Republicans voted for it. Crossover lists:

Dems Voting Aye:

Akaka (HI)
Bayh (IN)
Boxer (CA)
Feinstein (CA)
Lieberman (CA)
Nelson (NE)
Pryor (AR)
Reid (NV)
Warner (VA)

Republicans Voting Nay:

Barrasso (WY)
Collins (ME)
Enzi (WY)
Grassley (IA)
Murkowski (AK)
Sessions (AL)
Snowe (ME)