Good evening and welcome to the Daily Strike, on what was a historic day in Washington. Today was also the last day one chamber of Congress was in session until early September, so look forward to some interesting August recess features in the blog.
SOTOMAYOR: The Senate today confirmed the nomination of Sonia Maria Sotomayor to be the 111th Justice on the Supreme Court. Sotomayor will be sworn in Saturday as the first Latina, and only the third woman Justice in our country's history. There's been so much else going on the news lately, and there wasn't any real controversy to this nominee, so Sotomayor's nomination has been put on the backburner. It's unfortunate, because her confirmation is a truly significant achievement for our country, and reaffirms the American dream; that with hard work and dedication, there is no limit to what you can achieve. It may sound a bit cheesy, but as she's confirmed, I think it is important to step back and appreciate living in a place where a girl who grew up in public housing in the Bronx now sits as one of nine Justices on the Supreme Court.
The vote on the nomination went just as expected, with 68 Senators voting yes, and 31 voting no. All 59 Democrats (and Democratic-leaning Independents) who were present voted in the affirmative. Senator Kennedy (MA) is still unable to make it to the Senate chamber. Amazingly, Senator Robert Byrd (WV), a full 92 years old and suffering from several recent illnesses, was wheeled into the chamber to record his "aye" vote. Senator Mikulski (MD) just had surgery on her leg, and was also brought in on a wheel chair to vote. The 9 Republicans who voted yes were Collins (ME), Snowe (ME), Martinez (FL), Lugar (IN), Voinovich (OH), Alexander (TN), Bond (MO), Gregg (NH) and Graham (SC). Interestingly, 4 out of these 9 will be retiring next year. The other 31 Republican Senators voted no, and will now face the wrath of Hispanic voters who will wonder how they could turn down such a qualified, inspiring nominee, especially when their main basis of opposition was a couple of snippets from old speeches, and an unproven theory that she was a "judicial activist."
An interesting side note about the vote was that the result was announced by the newest Senator, former comedian Al Franken (D-MN). When the Senate is conducting normal business, majority freshmen will alternate presiding over the chamber so that they can become acquainted with Senate rules. Usually, however, for really important votes, the President Pro Tempore will sit in the chair and announce the final tally. The President Pro Tempore is Robert Byrd, who is probably physically unable to announce a roll call vote, so I guess they decided to let Franken continue his regularly scheduled shift.
President Obama spoke right after the vote, hailing the confirmation as a historic step in America's push to become a "more perfect union." The confirmation is a significant political victory for the President. He was able to get his first nominee on the court with very little controversy, and he was able to elevate someone who the country can be proud of. I admit it, I'm on the Sotomayor bandwagon, and I'll be very happy to see her sworn in by arch conservative Chief Justice John Roberts.
THE SENATE: After the Sotomayor vote, the Senate had to deal with the Cash for Clunkers program before it skipped town. Cash for Clunkers, of course, was a program approved in June that allows people to turn in gas guzzling cars and get a $4500 rebate towards a purchase of a more fuel efficient car. The program was so popular that it ran out of money quickly. The House appropriated an additional $2 billion last week, and then adjourned for the recess. The Senate therefore, could not make any changes to the bill if it wanted to send something to the President's desk.
A lot of Senators, including Democrat Tom Harkin (IA) and a handful of Republicans, acted like they didn't know about this restriction, and insisted on voting on several amendments before final passage. Here's a rundown of the amendments:
-The Harkin amendment, which I support, would only allow people making under $75,000 to take advantage of the program. It's a good idea, but not worth scuttling the whole bill over. The amendment was tabled 65-32 (with Harkin mysteriously voting to kill his own amendment, I'm assuming it was some sort of parliamentary maneuver even I wouldn't understand).
-Next, was a Republican substitute, offered by Senator Kyl (AZ) which would have conducted a study on the effectiveness on the program instead of doling out more cash. What would a study accomplish? We're trying to get people buy cars to jump start the economy! Why top something if it's clearly working? The amendment failed 40-57. Democrats Bayh (IN), McCaskill (MO), Nelson (NE) and Warner (VA) voted yes, while Republicans Bond (MO), Brownback (KS) and Collins (ME) voted no.
-Next was an amendment from Senator Gregg (R-NH) to "prevent generations of tomorrow from paying for cars today." I assume he was trying to make a clever point about the deficit, but I don't know what the practical implications of the amendment would be. Anyways, it failed by a vote of 46-51, and it needed 60 votes anyway because it violated budget rules. Fiscal "hawk" Democrats Bayh (IN), Bennet (CO), Conrad (ND), Lincoln (AR), McCaskill (MO), Nelson (NE) and Warner (VA) couldn't resist.
-Then two joke amendments from two joke Senators, Coburn (OK) and Clown (LA) that sought respectively to redirect funding from the program to worthy charities, and to set a date for ending the TARP program. Coburn's amendment I could understand if he was actually serious about spending public money for charitable purposes, but I know he isn't, and that he was just trying to prove that Cash for Clunkers is not a necessary program. Clown is just a clown. The amendments each failed 41-56.
-Finally, an amendment from Senator Isakson (GA), which dealt with his pet issue of tax credits for home purchasers. A worthy cause, but again, not worth killing the bill. The amendment failed 47-50 (it needed 60 to pass).
After all of these amendments were disposed of, the bill finally passed this evening by a vote of 60-37, and will be sent to President Obama's desk immediately for his signature. Republicans Alexander (TN), Bond (MO), Brownback (KS), Collins (ME), Corker (TN), Snowe (ME) and Voinovich (OH) voted yes. Democrats Leahy (VT), Nelson (NE) and Warner (VA) voted no. Nelson and Warner are both moderate Democrats who always want to seem thrifty with the taxpayer's money, but Leahy is usually a reliable liberal. I don't know why he voted in the negative.
Congress is now officially in recess, and will not return until September 8th. We will give a comprehensive review of the Congressional session so far later this weekend.
That's it for us today, a toast to Sonia! See you tomorrow and LEAVE COMMENTS!
Showing posts with label Cash for Clunkers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cash for Clunkers. Show all posts
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Weekly Strike-8/3-8/9
Good morning and welcome to the Weekly Strike, where we preview the week in politics. If you're just joining us either for the first time or after a long hiatus, make sure to catch up on the last few entries so you're up to date on last week's action. Also, leave us some comments!
THE WHITE HOUSE: The President has two main jobs this week. One, he needs to sustain the push for health reform. I think he is starting to change his strategy, talking less about cost control (which doesn't really mean much to your average American) and more about how insurance reforms will make you and your family more secure. His second task is to lay some political cover ahead of this Friday's unemployment numbers, which are expected to increase. Sure, job losses aren't nearly as steep as they were under the last few months of George W. Bush. And if we didn't take politically difficult steps to rescue the economy, we would be in much more dire shape. But that won't stop Republicans from beating their "where are the jobs?" mantra to a pulp.
On the health care front, the President doesn't have anything specifically scheduled for this week, but he is rumored to be planning a Western campaign-style swing to promote health reform at a series of town hall meetings. The President will be very aggressive when it comes to employment in jobs. Obama will hold an event in Elkhart, IN on Wednesday. Elkhart has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, and it is also the first place Obama visited after he took office in January. The President will try to convince the American people that the stimulus helped us avoid an even greater catastrophe, and it is helping significantly to begin a slow recovery. Vice President Biden will hold a similar event Wednesday at the proverbial "undisclosed location."
The rest of the President's schedule this week is a mixed bag. Today, he holds an event in Virginia to celebrate the implementation of the 21st Century GI Bill, which significantly expands educational opportunities for veterans. The President will be joined by Veterans Secretary Eric Shinseki, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) (the author of the legislation) and former Republican Senator John Warner, also of Virginia and himself a World War II veteran. The President will also have lunch today with the premier of Kuwait, and will hold a private meeting with liberal Senator Tom Harkin (IA), presumably to talk about health reform. I would be thrilled if the President spoke a little more with the Harkins of the world, and less of the Baucus/Conrads.
THE SENATE: Speaking of these fools, we have to deal with another week of the United States Senate before they go on their August recess. One thing we will not see is action on health reform, either on the Senate floor or in the Finance committee. Bipartisan negotiations are "ongoing." Chairman Baucus has set a September 15th deadline for bipartisan negotiations before he brings whatever he has to the committee for a vote. I think liberal Democrats should play the role of Republicans and sabotage the process to prevent these centrists from making progress on a watered-down bill. Then again, some progress is better than no progress. It would be nice to see the committee accomplish SOMETHING, so that a bill can be merged with the Senate HELP committee bill, and brought to the full Senate.
As for actual Senate floor action this week, the main story will be the expected confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Before the Senate gets to that, it will dispose of its 4th of 12 appropriations bill tonight, this one dealing with Agriculture spending. Majority Leader Reid has called for a 5:30 vote to cut off debate on the bill. I expect the bill to move forward relatively easily. It will probably pass sometime tomorrow after the Senate votes on a few amendments. The Senate will begin debate on Sotomayor Tuesday morning, and a vote is expected sometime Thursday evening or Friday morning. I'm sticking to my prediction that she'll pass with about 65-70 votes. 6 Republicans have come out in support of the nominee so far. I don't expect any Democrats to defect, though since the NRA is scoring the vote in its annual rankings, I wouldn't be shocked if a couple of fearful Democrats vote no. The obvious suspect is Senator Ben Nelson (NE), but look out for Mark Begich (AK), who has said he is unsure.
Once Sotomayor is confirmed, the Senate still will have a couple of business items to consider. Last week, the House voted to direct $2 billion in stimulus funding to the "cash for clunkers" program, in which people can get a $4500 credit for a new fuel efficient car when they turn in an old gas guzzler. The program was so popular that it ran out of money in a week, and the White House has been forced to suspend it. I'm sure there is a majority in the Senate to boost funding to this program, but a bipartisan group of Senators, led by John McCain (R-AZ) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) say they oppose spending more money on the program and have promised to delay action on the Senate floor. To complicate matters, the Senate can't amend the bill, because the House is out of town and would be unable to approve changes. Senator Reid also wants to bring up a previously-stalled bill to increase tourism, something vitally important to his home state of Nevada. It's unclear whether the Senate will have enough time to accomplish all of these goals.
The House, of course, is out of session, and won't be back until after Labor Day.
That's it for now, see you tonight!
THE WHITE HOUSE: The President has two main jobs this week. One, he needs to sustain the push for health reform. I think he is starting to change his strategy, talking less about cost control (which doesn't really mean much to your average American) and more about how insurance reforms will make you and your family more secure. His second task is to lay some political cover ahead of this Friday's unemployment numbers, which are expected to increase. Sure, job losses aren't nearly as steep as they were under the last few months of George W. Bush. And if we didn't take politically difficult steps to rescue the economy, we would be in much more dire shape. But that won't stop Republicans from beating their "where are the jobs?" mantra to a pulp.
On the health care front, the President doesn't have anything specifically scheduled for this week, but he is rumored to be planning a Western campaign-style swing to promote health reform at a series of town hall meetings. The President will be very aggressive when it comes to employment in jobs. Obama will hold an event in Elkhart, IN on Wednesday. Elkhart has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, and it is also the first place Obama visited after he took office in January. The President will try to convince the American people that the stimulus helped us avoid an even greater catastrophe, and it is helping significantly to begin a slow recovery. Vice President Biden will hold a similar event Wednesday at the proverbial "undisclosed location."
The rest of the President's schedule this week is a mixed bag. Today, he holds an event in Virginia to celebrate the implementation of the 21st Century GI Bill, which significantly expands educational opportunities for veterans. The President will be joined by Veterans Secretary Eric Shinseki, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) (the author of the legislation) and former Republican Senator John Warner, also of Virginia and himself a World War II veteran. The President will also have lunch today with the premier of Kuwait, and will hold a private meeting with liberal Senator Tom Harkin (IA), presumably to talk about health reform. I would be thrilled if the President spoke a little more with the Harkins of the world, and less of the Baucus/Conrads.
THE SENATE: Speaking of these fools, we have to deal with another week of the United States Senate before they go on their August recess. One thing we will not see is action on health reform, either on the Senate floor or in the Finance committee. Bipartisan negotiations are "ongoing." Chairman Baucus has set a September 15th deadline for bipartisan negotiations before he brings whatever he has to the committee for a vote. I think liberal Democrats should play the role of Republicans and sabotage the process to prevent these centrists from making progress on a watered-down bill. Then again, some progress is better than no progress. It would be nice to see the committee accomplish SOMETHING, so that a bill can be merged with the Senate HELP committee bill, and brought to the full Senate.
As for actual Senate floor action this week, the main story will be the expected confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Before the Senate gets to that, it will dispose of its 4th of 12 appropriations bill tonight, this one dealing with Agriculture spending. Majority Leader Reid has called for a 5:30 vote to cut off debate on the bill. I expect the bill to move forward relatively easily. It will probably pass sometime tomorrow after the Senate votes on a few amendments. The Senate will begin debate on Sotomayor Tuesday morning, and a vote is expected sometime Thursday evening or Friday morning. I'm sticking to my prediction that she'll pass with about 65-70 votes. 6 Republicans have come out in support of the nominee so far. I don't expect any Democrats to defect, though since the NRA is scoring the vote in its annual rankings, I wouldn't be shocked if a couple of fearful Democrats vote no. The obvious suspect is Senator Ben Nelson (NE), but look out for Mark Begich (AK), who has said he is unsure.
Once Sotomayor is confirmed, the Senate still will have a couple of business items to consider. Last week, the House voted to direct $2 billion in stimulus funding to the "cash for clunkers" program, in which people can get a $4500 credit for a new fuel efficient car when they turn in an old gas guzzler. The program was so popular that it ran out of money in a week, and the White House has been forced to suspend it. I'm sure there is a majority in the Senate to boost funding to this program, but a bipartisan group of Senators, led by John McCain (R-AZ) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) say they oppose spending more money on the program and have promised to delay action on the Senate floor. To complicate matters, the Senate can't amend the bill, because the House is out of town and would be unable to approve changes. Senator Reid also wants to bring up a previously-stalled bill to increase tourism, something vitally important to his home state of Nevada. It's unclear whether the Senate will have enough time to accomplish all of these goals.
The House, of course, is out of session, and won't be back until after Labor Day.
That's it for now, see you tonight!
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