Good evening and welcome to the Daily Strike. I could get used to these bill signing days!
RECONCILIATION: Today, President Obama, surrounded by lawmakers and students, signed the Health and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act. The bill makes a series of changes to the recently enacted Affordable Care Act, and also includes a separate unrelated measure that overhauls federal student loans.
Since last week, the President got a signing ceremony in which he dealt exclusively with his health care achievement, today's event was focused on student loans. The signing took place at a Northern Virginia Community College where Second Lady Jill Biden is a professor. Mrs. Biden introduced the President.
The student loan reform bill is a great progressive accomplishment on its own. The bill ends government subsidies to financial institutions that make student loans. It was incredibly inefficient for the government to subsidize private lenders, since private companies rack up quite a bit of overheard. Instead, the government will now be the originator of all student loans. This will save the government about $68 billion. With this savings, the government will invest in higher education in a number of ways. The funding for Pell Grants will be doubled. Student loan payments will be capped at 10% of a graduate's discretionary income, with any remaining balance forgiven after 20 years. Those who enter public service will have their loans forgiven after 10 years. The bill also makes historic investment in historically black colleges, and sets aside $2 billion for community colleges, which will enable 5 million more students to earn certificates or degrees over the next decade. I'm slightly disappointed that negotiatiors stripped down the funding from $10 billion to $2 billion for community colleges, but they needed to use that money to pay for part of the health care legislation. Mother Strike is particularly concerned about this issue, and I'm sure she would like to see the Obama administration commit more money in the next budget.
Nevertheless, the President has taken another huge step in helping out the struggling families of this country. He even talked again today about how this reform contributes to his idea of a "new foundation" for the economy. He had abandoned this rhetoric last year, to our great disappointment. Hopefully we can continue to build this foundation over the next few months by enacted financial reform and energy legislation.
THE WHITE HOUSE: The President spent the second part of the day with French President Nicholas Sarkozy. The two Presidents announced that new sanctions against Iran will be adopted "in weeks." Iran has so far rejected any attempts at reaching some sort of deal to curtail their nuclear ambitions. It's pretty clear at this point that strong UN sanctions might be the only way to put on some pressure. Any UN resolution will need the approval of France, which has a permanent seat on the Security Council.
On a separate note, Sarkozy had a vintage DC lunch at Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street. Awesome.
That's pretty much it for today. See you tomorrow!
Showing posts with label Reconciliation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reconciliation. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
The Weekly Strike-3/29-4/4
Good evening and welcome to the Daily Strike. For those of you Jewish readers, Happy Pesach! For those who aren't Jewish, nobody's perfect.
NORMALCY: The amazing thing about the upcoming week in politics is how devoid it will be of drama. Health care has passed. The reconciliation package of fixes have passed. Student loan reform has passed. Congress has skipped town. There are no tea-partiers in the streets of Washington. There is a welcome sense of quiet around here. But nevertheless, there is enough going on to merit an entry.
AFGHANISTAN: After last week's historic victories, President Obama jetted off on a secret trip to Afghanistan over the weekend. He met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and put pressure on him to bring stability to his government in his second term. The success of the President's mission in Afghanistan depends largely on whether Karzai can make his government more appealing to the Afghan people than the Taliban alternative. The President also met with U.S. troops, where he thanked them for their dedication and sacrifice.
With all of the domestic battles brewing in the past couple of months, there has been very little focus on Afghanistan. Part of the reason is that the military has made significant gains. However, if there isn't adequate civilian progress, this could still be a perilous endeavor for the President.
THE WHITE HOUSE: The President has returned from his trip, and faces a very busy week ahead of him. Today, the President participates in a credentialing ceremony for foreign ambassadors. He then hosts a Passover Seder at the White House. The Strike wishes very much that he was invited.
Tomorrow, the President will sign the Reconciliation Act of 2010 at the White House. Because health care already got some pomp and circumstance last week, I expect the President this week to be more geared towards the student loan reform measure that got included in the reconciliation package. The President will also go on the road this week to tout his accomplishments. He will make stops in Maine and North Carolina.
CONGRESS: Congress, after its most productive session in a long, long time, has a well-deserved two week recess. Over the weekend, the President used the occasion to make 15 recess appointments, including one to liberal hero Craig Becker at the National Labor Relations Board. The President's nominees have been held up consistently over the past year due to unprecedented GOP obstructionism. I'm glad the President took advantage of this opportunity.
Congress did skip town without passing an extension of unemployment and COBRA benefits. Republicans did not allow a vote on these extensions, because they were not paid for. As a result of this politicking, millions of Americans will lose benefits next Monday, the 5th. Democrats plan to pass another extension when Congress comes back on April 12th, and they will make the extension retroactive, so people will still get benefits they would have accrued over the week of April 5th.
That's it for now, we'll see you tonight!
NORMALCY: The amazing thing about the upcoming week in politics is how devoid it will be of drama. Health care has passed. The reconciliation package of fixes have passed. Student loan reform has passed. Congress has skipped town. There are no tea-partiers in the streets of Washington. There is a welcome sense of quiet around here. But nevertheless, there is enough going on to merit an entry.
AFGHANISTAN: After last week's historic victories, President Obama jetted off on a secret trip to Afghanistan over the weekend. He met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and put pressure on him to bring stability to his government in his second term. The success of the President's mission in Afghanistan depends largely on whether Karzai can make his government more appealing to the Afghan people than the Taliban alternative. The President also met with U.S. troops, where he thanked them for their dedication and sacrifice.
With all of the domestic battles brewing in the past couple of months, there has been very little focus on Afghanistan. Part of the reason is that the military has made significant gains. However, if there isn't adequate civilian progress, this could still be a perilous endeavor for the President.
THE WHITE HOUSE: The President has returned from his trip, and faces a very busy week ahead of him. Today, the President participates in a credentialing ceremony for foreign ambassadors. He then hosts a Passover Seder at the White House. The Strike wishes very much that he was invited.
Tomorrow, the President will sign the Reconciliation Act of 2010 at the White House. Because health care already got some pomp and circumstance last week, I expect the President this week to be more geared towards the student loan reform measure that got included in the reconciliation package. The President will also go on the road this week to tout his accomplishments. He will make stops in Maine and North Carolina.
CONGRESS: Congress, after its most productive session in a long, long time, has a well-deserved two week recess. Over the weekend, the President used the occasion to make 15 recess appointments, including one to liberal hero Craig Becker at the National Labor Relations Board. The President's nominees have been held up consistently over the past year due to unprecedented GOP obstructionism. I'm glad the President took advantage of this opportunity.
Congress did skip town without passing an extension of unemployment and COBRA benefits. Republicans did not allow a vote on these extensions, because they were not paid for. As a result of this politicking, millions of Americans will lose benefits next Monday, the 5th. Democrats plan to pass another extension when Congress comes back on April 12th, and they will make the extension retroactive, so people will still get benefits they would have accrued over the week of April 5th.
That's it for now, we'll see you tonight!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
The Daily Strike-3/25/10-The End is Near
Good evening and welcome to the Daily Strike. That entry title is not in reference to the coming Armageddon that will rage because of health care.
HEALTH CARE: The end is near. Very, very near. Today, the Senate agreed to reconciliation bill, a package of changes to the health care law plus a major student loan overhaul, by a vote of 56-43. The vote came after about 12 hours of amendment votes over two days. Every single amendment failed.
For once, it was majority rules in the Senate, as reconciliation bills are not subject to the filibuster. Every Republican, as expected, opposed the bill. Democrats Lincoln (AR), Nelson (NE) and Pryor (AR) also were in opposition. Apparently, all of them decided to side with the student loan industry, and to protect some of the special deals that the reconciliation bill eliminated, like the so-called "Cornhusker Kickback."
Republicans had been making threats for weeks that they would be able to use procedural tricks to gut the reconciliation bill. By rule, reconciliation bills must consist of provisions that directly effect the federal budget. As it turns out, Republicans were only able to gut about two sentences from the bill. Both of the sentences are in the student loan reform section, and neither of them have a tangible effect on the overall bill. Therefore, the bill will have to go back to the House.
As I write, the House has begun debate on the Senate amendments to the reconciliation bill. Because the bill is only marginally different than the original one passed Sunday night, I expect it to pass by an identical margin. If there are changes in the vote, The final vote should come by 9pm this evening. At that point, the reconciliation bill will be sent to the President, and the Congressional debate on health care will officially be over. Hallelujah! Another chance to celebrate!
Just as the Congressional debate draws to a close, the fight for public opinion continues. Today, the President traveled to Iowa City, IA to hold a rally to celebrate the passage of health insurance reform. The President's speech was particularly strong, especially when he dared GOPers to try and repeal the bill. It is vitally important, now that the main health care bill is signed into law, that the President repeatedly highlights provisions that will immediately make lives better for the American people.
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS: As soon as the House approves the final changes to the reconciliation bill, Congress intends to go on recess for two weeks. For once, it looked like the recess would be well-deserved. Congress has accomplished a lot over over the last week. The problem is that unemployment benefits expire on April 5th, and Congress is not due back in session until April 12th. Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) in the Senate tried to bring up another temporary extension for a vote tonight, but the Republicans, like they did a few weeks ago, objected. This time, the objection was led by the obstructionist-in-chief, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. There are discussions happening on the floor as we speak, and hopefully they'll come up with some sort of agreement.
It is amazing that Republicans will hold unemployment benefits hostage for political purposes. They are trying to make a political point about the deficit, but in doing so, they are causing a lot of people to suffer.
THE HOUSE: Before the House took up the revised reconciliation bill tonight, they took up a Senate-passed bill that reauthorizes FAA programs. The House added some provisions of their own, so the bill will have to be returned to the Senate. The bill passed easily by a vote of 276-145. 34 Republicans voted yes, and 6 Democrats voted no.
So here we are, just hours away from health care reform becoming a full reality. It feels pretty good.
HEALTH CARE: The end is near. Very, very near. Today, the Senate agreed to reconciliation bill, a package of changes to the health care law plus a major student loan overhaul, by a vote of 56-43. The vote came after about 12 hours of amendment votes over two days. Every single amendment failed.
For once, it was majority rules in the Senate, as reconciliation bills are not subject to the filibuster. Every Republican, as expected, opposed the bill. Democrats Lincoln (AR), Nelson (NE) and Pryor (AR) also were in opposition. Apparently, all of them decided to side with the student loan industry, and to protect some of the special deals that the reconciliation bill eliminated, like the so-called "Cornhusker Kickback."
Republicans had been making threats for weeks that they would be able to use procedural tricks to gut the reconciliation bill. By rule, reconciliation bills must consist of provisions that directly effect the federal budget. As it turns out, Republicans were only able to gut about two sentences from the bill. Both of the sentences are in the student loan reform section, and neither of them have a tangible effect on the overall bill. Therefore, the bill will have to go back to the House.
As I write, the House has begun debate on the Senate amendments to the reconciliation bill. Because the bill is only marginally different than the original one passed Sunday night, I expect it to pass by an identical margin. If there are changes in the vote, The final vote should come by 9pm this evening. At that point, the reconciliation bill will be sent to the President, and the Congressional debate on health care will officially be over. Hallelujah! Another chance to celebrate!
Just as the Congressional debate draws to a close, the fight for public opinion continues. Today, the President traveled to Iowa City, IA to hold a rally to celebrate the passage of health insurance reform. The President's speech was particularly strong, especially when he dared GOPers to try and repeal the bill. It is vitally important, now that the main health care bill is signed into law, that the President repeatedly highlights provisions that will immediately make lives better for the American people.
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS: As soon as the House approves the final changes to the reconciliation bill, Congress intends to go on recess for two weeks. For once, it looked like the recess would be well-deserved. Congress has accomplished a lot over over the last week. The problem is that unemployment benefits expire on April 5th, and Congress is not due back in session until April 12th. Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) in the Senate tried to bring up another temporary extension for a vote tonight, but the Republicans, like they did a few weeks ago, objected. This time, the objection was led by the obstructionist-in-chief, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. There are discussions happening on the floor as we speak, and hopefully they'll come up with some sort of agreement.
It is amazing that Republicans will hold unemployment benefits hostage for political purposes. They are trying to make a political point about the deficit, but in doing so, they are causing a lot of people to suffer.
THE HOUSE: Before the House took up the revised reconciliation bill tonight, they took up a Senate-passed bill that reauthorizes FAA programs. The House added some provisions of their own, so the bill will have to be returned to the Senate. The bill passed easily by a vote of 276-145. 34 Republicans voted yes, and 6 Democrats voted no.
So here we are, just hours away from health care reform becoming a full reality. It feels pretty good.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The Daily Strike-3/24/10-Another Vote-a-Rama
Good evening and welcome to the Daily Strike. There are many reasons I wouldn't want to serve in the United States Senate. Tonight offers perhaps the best example: Senators are voting for nine hours on amendments to the health care reconciliation bill, and none of them have a remote chance of passing.
THE SENATE: The Senate spent the day debating the Health care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, which contains changes to the health care law, as well as a long-overdue overhaul of student loans. Reconciliation bills are only eligible for 20 hours of debate, unlike normal bills which can be debated indefinitely. At 5pm today, debate time expired. However, Republicans have had an opportunity to offer unlimited amendments, and they have been happy to use that opportunity. Republicans so far have proposed 23 amendments to the bill. The Senate has thus far voted on 3 of them, and they will presumably vote on the other 20 in the next several hours. As I said last night, Democrats are making a concerted effort to defeat every amendment so that the bill does not have to return to the House. Republicans are taking full advantage by proposing poison pill amendments (like bans on Viagra for sex offenders) that will force Democrats to take tough votes. I will not cover any of the Republican amendments, a) because they will all fail and b) I would be playing into their political gamesmanship.
It is entirely possible that the Senate can take an up-or-down vote on the bill by tomorrow evening. So far, only 2 of the 59 Senate Democrats have come out in opposition to the bill. Even nagging moderates like Lieberman (CT) and Bayh (IN) have agreed to back the measure. It's passage at this point is pretty much a formality. By Friday, two of the President's top domestic priorities will have been enacted into law.
HEALTH CARE: A couple of other quick notes on health care:
Things are getting scary out there. Several Democratic members of Congress have either been threatened or vandalized since Saturday's vote. Rep. Stupak (D-MI) has received death threats since agreeing to a compromise on abortion. Rep. Slaughter (NY), chairwoman of the Rules Committee, had a brick thrown through her window. Republicans and their conservative allies in the media bear full responsibility for this violence. They have egged on anxious tea-party crowds by portraying the bill as a totalitarian, socialist monstrosity that will kill grandma. Amazingly, Republican lawmakers have not fully denounced this behavior, thus making them complicit. I hope they realize the consequences of their overheated, hyperbolic rhetoric.
Also, the President signed an executive order today that re-establishes that no federal funding will pay for abortions. The order was part of an agreement with Rep. Stupak and other pro-life Democrats so that they would support the health care legislation. The order doesn't do much, but it allowed pro-life lawmakers to say that they stood up for their pro-life principals.
THE HOUSE: The House had a very productive day. Members passed two bills related to the President's jobs agenda. The first bill would exempt small businesses from paying capital gains taxes, enhance funding for "Build America Bonds" and provide other infrastructure tax incentives. The bill was fully paid for through a provision that closed a tax loophole for foreign companies.
The bill is essentially full of Republican ideas. It is a bill that provides tax breaks to small businesses that doesn't increase the deficit. The fact that all but 4 Republicans opposed the bill is more proof that they are only interested in seeing the Democrats fail. The bill passed by a vote of 246-178. Republicans supporting the bill were Cao (LA), Castle (DE), Kirk (IL) and Murphy (PA). Democrats opposing were Bright (AL), Minnick (ID), Mitchell (AZ), Owens (NY), Smith (WA) and Taylor (MS).
The Republicans tried to offer a motion to recommit that would repeal parts of the health care bill. Perhaps it was a sign of things to come. The motion failed by a vote of 184-239. All Republicans voted yes, as did 10 Democrats (disturbingly).
The next bill includes emergency funding for FEMA, as well as funding for youth summer employment. This bill passed by a vote of 239-176. The vote was almost entirely along party lines. 3 Democrats voted no: Minnick (ID), Nye (VA), and Taylor (MS).
The House will take up a Senate-passed bill that reauthorizes FAA programs. The House will then presumably adjourn for a two week recess, unless the Senate changes the reconciliation bill.
That's it for tonight. See you tomorrow!
THE SENATE: The Senate spent the day debating the Health care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, which contains changes to the health care law, as well as a long-overdue overhaul of student loans. Reconciliation bills are only eligible for 20 hours of debate, unlike normal bills which can be debated indefinitely. At 5pm today, debate time expired. However, Republicans have had an opportunity to offer unlimited amendments, and they have been happy to use that opportunity. Republicans so far have proposed 23 amendments to the bill. The Senate has thus far voted on 3 of them, and they will presumably vote on the other 20 in the next several hours. As I said last night, Democrats are making a concerted effort to defeat every amendment so that the bill does not have to return to the House. Republicans are taking full advantage by proposing poison pill amendments (like bans on Viagra for sex offenders) that will force Democrats to take tough votes. I will not cover any of the Republican amendments, a) because they will all fail and b) I would be playing into their political gamesmanship.
It is entirely possible that the Senate can take an up-or-down vote on the bill by tomorrow evening. So far, only 2 of the 59 Senate Democrats have come out in opposition to the bill. Even nagging moderates like Lieberman (CT) and Bayh (IN) have agreed to back the measure. It's passage at this point is pretty much a formality. By Friday, two of the President's top domestic priorities will have been enacted into law.
HEALTH CARE: A couple of other quick notes on health care:
Things are getting scary out there. Several Democratic members of Congress have either been threatened or vandalized since Saturday's vote. Rep. Stupak (D-MI) has received death threats since agreeing to a compromise on abortion. Rep. Slaughter (NY), chairwoman of the Rules Committee, had a brick thrown through her window. Republicans and their conservative allies in the media bear full responsibility for this violence. They have egged on anxious tea-party crowds by portraying the bill as a totalitarian, socialist monstrosity that will kill grandma. Amazingly, Republican lawmakers have not fully denounced this behavior, thus making them complicit. I hope they realize the consequences of their overheated, hyperbolic rhetoric.
Also, the President signed an executive order today that re-establishes that no federal funding will pay for abortions. The order was part of an agreement with Rep. Stupak and other pro-life Democrats so that they would support the health care legislation. The order doesn't do much, but it allowed pro-life lawmakers to say that they stood up for their pro-life principals.
THE HOUSE: The House had a very productive day. Members passed two bills related to the President's jobs agenda. The first bill would exempt small businesses from paying capital gains taxes, enhance funding for "Build America Bonds" and provide other infrastructure tax incentives. The bill was fully paid for through a provision that closed a tax loophole for foreign companies.
The bill is essentially full of Republican ideas. It is a bill that provides tax breaks to small businesses that doesn't increase the deficit. The fact that all but 4 Republicans opposed the bill is more proof that they are only interested in seeing the Democrats fail. The bill passed by a vote of 246-178. Republicans supporting the bill were Cao (LA), Castle (DE), Kirk (IL) and Murphy (PA). Democrats opposing were Bright (AL), Minnick (ID), Mitchell (AZ), Owens (NY), Smith (WA) and Taylor (MS).
The Republicans tried to offer a motion to recommit that would repeal parts of the health care bill. Perhaps it was a sign of things to come. The motion failed by a vote of 184-239. All Republicans voted yes, as did 10 Democrats (disturbingly).
The next bill includes emergency funding for FEMA, as well as funding for youth summer employment. This bill passed by a vote of 239-176. The vote was almost entirely along party lines. 3 Democrats voted no: Minnick (ID), Nye (VA), and Taylor (MS).
The House will take up a Senate-passed bill that reauthorizes FAA programs. The House will then presumably adjourn for a two week recess, unless the Senate changes the reconciliation bill.
That's it for tonight. See you tomorrow!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Daily Strike-3/23/10-The Signing Ceremony We've Been Waiting For
Good evening and welcome to the Daily Strike. Before I continue, I implore you to read a superb entry below by The Big Picture. His piece embodies why we still let him contribute to the blog, albeit reluctantly. Just kidding. Read it.
SIGNING CEREMONY: Today, the President signed the Senate health care legislation into law in the East Room at the White House. The ceremony was a joyous occasion for the many Democratic members of Congress on hand, many of whom have been working to get this done since my parents were teenagers. In the case of Rep. John Dingell, he's been working to get this done since my parents were 4 years old.
Vice President Biden spoke first, and spoke eloquently. That is, until his finished his remarks and turned to the President and said " this is a big f---ing deal." The TV crews picked it up, and Fox News had a field day with it. The Vice President was absolutely right, by the way.
The President then spoke in very clear terms, especially about the immediate benefits in the bill. Starting this year, insurance companies cannot deny coverage to children with preexisting conditions. The Medicare donut hole will begin to be closed. And deadbeats like myself and others my age can stay on their parent's insurance until they are 26.
Surrounded by the lawmakers that made this victory happen, like Speaker Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Reid, House Majority Leader Hoyer and the relevant committee chairs. The President signed the bill 20 different times, so he could give memento pens to those who will relish this victory for a lifetime. I'll leave it to The Big Picture to explain exactly why the bill is such a huge victory not only substantively, but politically. I'm still on cloud nine.
THE SENATE: The effort is not completely over, however. The Senate began consideration of the House-passed reconciliation bill, which contains important revisions to the health care law (it feels good to say that). By a vote of 56-40. All Republicans and Democrat Ben Nelson (NE) voted no, while every other Democrat who was present voted yes.
Debate on reconciliation bills is limited to 20 hours, so in theory, the Senate should finish consideration relatively soon. The problem is that the GOP can propose an unlimited amount of amendments. After the 20 hours expire, Senators will engage in a "vote-or-ama" of all the GOP amendments. Democrats want to defeat all of the amendments, because if the bill changes even slightly, the House would have to vote on it again. The Republicans, who love acting like 3rd graders, are taking great advantage of this opportunity by proposing difficult to oppose amendments. For example, Senator Coburn (R-OK) wants to prevent sexual predators from getting Viagra. Democrats might have to let some of their more vulnerable members vote for poison pill amendments, but they cannot afford to lose more than 9 of their members on any single amendment.
Republicans will also try to poke holes in the bill by making points of order that provisions are illegal under the reconciliation process. They might be successful in having the parliamentarian agree with them on a couple of points, but not enough to significantly alter the bill. The worst that could happen is that the House stays in this weekend to vote on Senate revisions.
And it all feels less tense now that we know we have health care reform!
THE HOUSE: The House voted today on a series of suspension bills, before turning to a bill full of tax breaks for small businesses and infrastructure spending. The bill, which cleared the Ways and Means Committee last week, is part of the Democrats' jobs agenda. We'll have more on the bill tomorrow.
That's it for now. Read The Big Picture's piece and leave comments.
SIGNING CEREMONY: Today, the President signed the Senate health care legislation into law in the East Room at the White House. The ceremony was a joyous occasion for the many Democratic members of Congress on hand, many of whom have been working to get this done since my parents were teenagers. In the case of Rep. John Dingell, he's been working to get this done since my parents were 4 years old.
Vice President Biden spoke first, and spoke eloquently. That is, until his finished his remarks and turned to the President and said " this is a big f---ing deal." The TV crews picked it up, and Fox News had a field day with it. The Vice President was absolutely right, by the way.
The President then spoke in very clear terms, especially about the immediate benefits in the bill. Starting this year, insurance companies cannot deny coverage to children with preexisting conditions. The Medicare donut hole will begin to be closed. And deadbeats like myself and others my age can stay on their parent's insurance until they are 26.
Surrounded by the lawmakers that made this victory happen, like Speaker Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Reid, House Majority Leader Hoyer and the relevant committee chairs. The President signed the bill 20 different times, so he could give memento pens to those who will relish this victory for a lifetime. I'll leave it to The Big Picture to explain exactly why the bill is such a huge victory not only substantively, but politically. I'm still on cloud nine.
THE SENATE: The effort is not completely over, however. The Senate began consideration of the House-passed reconciliation bill, which contains important revisions to the health care law (it feels good to say that). By a vote of 56-40. All Republicans and Democrat Ben Nelson (NE) voted no, while every other Democrat who was present voted yes.
Debate on reconciliation bills is limited to 20 hours, so in theory, the Senate should finish consideration relatively soon. The problem is that the GOP can propose an unlimited amount of amendments. After the 20 hours expire, Senators will engage in a "vote-or-ama" of all the GOP amendments. Democrats want to defeat all of the amendments, because if the bill changes even slightly, the House would have to vote on it again. The Republicans, who love acting like 3rd graders, are taking great advantage of this opportunity by proposing difficult to oppose amendments. For example, Senator Coburn (R-OK) wants to prevent sexual predators from getting Viagra. Democrats might have to let some of their more vulnerable members vote for poison pill amendments, but they cannot afford to lose more than 9 of their members on any single amendment.
Republicans will also try to poke holes in the bill by making points of order that provisions are illegal under the reconciliation process. They might be successful in having the parliamentarian agree with them on a couple of points, but not enough to significantly alter the bill. The worst that could happen is that the House stays in this weekend to vote on Senate revisions.
And it all feels less tense now that we know we have health care reform!
THE HOUSE: The House voted today on a series of suspension bills, before turning to a bill full of tax breaks for small businesses and infrastructure spending. The bill, which cleared the Ways and Means Committee last week, is part of the Democrats' jobs agenda. We'll have more on the bill tomorrow.
That's it for now. Read The Big Picture's piece and leave comments.
Monday, March 15, 2010
The Daily Strike-3/15/10-The Waiting Game
Good evening and welcome to the Daily Strike. Health care judgment week continues. Let's get right to it.
HEALTH CARE: Today, House Democrats took the first procedural step necessary to ensure health reform's passage by the end of the week. The House Budget Committee, led by Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) held a hearing to vote on a reconciliation bill to send to the House Rules Committee. The bill they were voting on is not the actual reconciliation bill that will come before the House (we explained this morning). Nonetheless, the vote on the committee today gave us some indication that Democrats are ready to move forward. The committee voted 21-16 to move the bill forward. Of course, all Republicans voted no. Two Democrats, Reps. Boyd (FL) and Edwards (TX) voted no as well. Every other Democrat on the committee supported it, which is a good sign. Among the supporters were Reps. Berry (AR) and Kaptur (OH), two pro-life members who were wavering about whether to support a bill without the Stupak anti-abortion language. If this vote is an indication, it looks like they are willing to move forward. No amendments are allowed to reconciliation bills in committee, but Republicans are currently wasting time by proposing "motions to instruct" the Rules Committee. These are non-binding motions instructing the Rules Committee to do things like "stop the government takeover of health care" and "allow people to not lose the coverage they currently have." In other words, Republicans are using this hearing to make political statements.
The reconciliation bill full of fixes to the Senate bill should finally be released tomorrow. The Congressional Budget Office has been dithering a bit on a cost estimate, much to the frustration of House Democrats, who want to see the bill before indicating how they will vote. Once that language is released, the bill will go the Rules Committee. It looks like the Rules Committee is leaning towards considering the bill under a self-executing rule. In other words, the rule will stipulate that if the House passes the reconciliation bill, the Senate bill will be deemed passed as well.
Once the Rules Committee finishes its work, the bill will come to the floor. I'm still thinking that should be Saturday. There aren't any significant updates on where the swing voters stand. I expect we'll get a better indication in the next couple of days. I hope members aren't swayed by the throng of tea-party protesters that are supposed to arrive tomorrow. That might be a real pain in the neck, because they know how to get a lot of media attention.
Meanwhile, the President continued his very strong effort to sway public opinion. At an appearance in Strongsville, OH, the President implored Congress to show courage and get the job done. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who is inexplicably opposing the bill because he doesn't think it is liberal enough, was present at the rally. When the President pointed out Kucinich, someone in the crowd yelled out "vote yes!" President Obama told the person to repeat that message directly to the Congressman. I wonder if Rep. Kucinich can be persuaded that killing the most sweeping progressive bill in a generation is actually not good for progressivism.
THE SENATE: The Senate voted 61-30 tonight to end debate on that $15 billion jobs measure. As we said this morning, this is the measure mostly made up of tax credits for businesses that hire new workers. It also contains increased highway funding and grants to states for infrastructure projects. The Senate approved the bill few weeks ago, but the House has since amended the measure. According to an agreement between the party leaders, a vote on final passage of the bill will occur on Wednesday morning. President Obama will likely sign the bill into law by the end of the week. It will hopefully be a legislative appetizer for health reform.
Every Democrat besides Ben Nelson (NE) voted to cut off debate on the bill, as did Republicans Brown (MA) (ha!), Burr (NC), Collins (ME), Inhofe (OK) and Snowe (ME).
The Senate will continue work on an FAA authorization bill tomorrow.
That's it for tonight. See you tomorrow! It's an exciting week, isn't it?
HEALTH CARE: Today, House Democrats took the first procedural step necessary to ensure health reform's passage by the end of the week. The House Budget Committee, led by Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) held a hearing to vote on a reconciliation bill to send to the House Rules Committee. The bill they were voting on is not the actual reconciliation bill that will come before the House (we explained this morning). Nonetheless, the vote on the committee today gave us some indication that Democrats are ready to move forward. The committee voted 21-16 to move the bill forward. Of course, all Republicans voted no. Two Democrats, Reps. Boyd (FL) and Edwards (TX) voted no as well. Every other Democrat on the committee supported it, which is a good sign. Among the supporters were Reps. Berry (AR) and Kaptur (OH), two pro-life members who were wavering about whether to support a bill without the Stupak anti-abortion language. If this vote is an indication, it looks like they are willing to move forward. No amendments are allowed to reconciliation bills in committee, but Republicans are currently wasting time by proposing "motions to instruct" the Rules Committee. These are non-binding motions instructing the Rules Committee to do things like "stop the government takeover of health care" and "allow people to not lose the coverage they currently have." In other words, Republicans are using this hearing to make political statements.
The reconciliation bill full of fixes to the Senate bill should finally be released tomorrow. The Congressional Budget Office has been dithering a bit on a cost estimate, much to the frustration of House Democrats, who want to see the bill before indicating how they will vote. Once that language is released, the bill will go the Rules Committee. It looks like the Rules Committee is leaning towards considering the bill under a self-executing rule. In other words, the rule will stipulate that if the House passes the reconciliation bill, the Senate bill will be deemed passed as well.
Once the Rules Committee finishes its work, the bill will come to the floor. I'm still thinking that should be Saturday. There aren't any significant updates on where the swing voters stand. I expect we'll get a better indication in the next couple of days. I hope members aren't swayed by the throng of tea-party protesters that are supposed to arrive tomorrow. That might be a real pain in the neck, because they know how to get a lot of media attention.
Meanwhile, the President continued his very strong effort to sway public opinion. At an appearance in Strongsville, OH, the President implored Congress to show courage and get the job done. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who is inexplicably opposing the bill because he doesn't think it is liberal enough, was present at the rally. When the President pointed out Kucinich, someone in the crowd yelled out "vote yes!" President Obama told the person to repeat that message directly to the Congressman. I wonder if Rep. Kucinich can be persuaded that killing the most sweeping progressive bill in a generation is actually not good for progressivism.
THE SENATE: The Senate voted 61-30 tonight to end debate on that $15 billion jobs measure. As we said this morning, this is the measure mostly made up of tax credits for businesses that hire new workers. It also contains increased highway funding and grants to states for infrastructure projects. The Senate approved the bill few weeks ago, but the House has since amended the measure. According to an agreement between the party leaders, a vote on final passage of the bill will occur on Wednesday morning. President Obama will likely sign the bill into law by the end of the week. It will hopefully be a legislative appetizer for health reform.
Every Democrat besides Ben Nelson (NE) voted to cut off debate on the bill, as did Republicans Brown (MA) (ha!), Burr (NC), Collins (ME), Inhofe (OK) and Snowe (ME).
The Senate will continue work on an FAA authorization bill tomorrow.
That's it for tonight. See you tomorrow! It's an exciting week, isn't it?
The Weekly Strike-3/15-3/21
Good morning and welcome to the Weekly Strike. Woo boy, it's going to be a heck of a week. We might, just might, have health care reform by the end of your week. Hold on to your hats, but don't hold your breath.
HEALTH CARE: This it it. Maybe. House Democrats are going to try and pass the Senate health care bill with a separate package of fixes by the end of the week. On Sunday, it's possible that we will have achieved a historic victory, and it's also possible that we'll be wanting to punch ourselves in the face. Have I raised the stakes enough?
The procedural dance about to be performed is interesting to me, so I'll go through it. But the bottom line is that Democrats need to line up 216 votes this week. Right now, I would guess they are a bit short, with many members still undecided. None of the 37 Democrats who voted no on the original health care bill are willing to admit that they'll vote yes this time around, but I do expect some of them to switch over at the last minute.At this point, I have absolutely zero tolerance for any Democratic member, from the left or right, who doesn't support this bill. It's not perfect, but it would be a monumental achievement. 31 million more Americans would be covered, we would create a system of near-universal coverage, we would reduce the deficit and we would bring down costs in the long run. Any member who votes against this bill not only bears the responsibility of killing the biggest Democratic priority of the past half century, they also will bear the burden of the lives lost as a result of this bill not passing.
So here's how it will go down this week. When referring to the reconciliation bill, I'm talking about the package of "fixes" to the Senate bill.
Today, the House Budget Committee will meet to "mark up" the reconciliation bill. This is basically a purely procedural step. All reconciliation bills must go through the budget committees. The bill they're marking up won't even be the actual bill, strangely enough. All reconciliation bills must be reported by October 15th. Obviously, this package has only been drafted in the past week or so. Therefore, they are using a former discarded House health care bill as a "shell" that they will amend with the new package. Got it?
After the bill goes through the budget committee, it will head to its most crucial destination: the vaunted House Rules Committee. Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) will decide the terms of debate for the bill. The leadership is considering many options. The most obvious option would be to hold separate votes on the Senate bill and the reconciliation bill. Some members, however, don't want to vote directly on the Senate bill, because they don't want to be on record supporting some of its most popular elements. Democrats are considering a rule that would deem the Senate bill passed if the reconciliation bill passed. I'm not sure what the difference is, really. You think the average voter really pays attention to this stuff? They want to know: did my Rep. vote for health care or not? Everything else doesn't matter. The Rules Committee will also be the last chance to make changes to the bill. Democrats are expected to insert an unrelated student loan measure into the reconciliation package.
By Friday or Saturday, the bill will come to the House floor in some form. I'm pretty certain that once the bill is on the floor, members will not have a chance to amend it. A final vote would occur sometime Saturday most likely. The Senate bill would go directly to the President for his signature. The reconciliation package will go to the Senate, where they will begin an arduous debate as soon as possible. Debate on reconciliation is limited in the Senate, meaning that the bill does not need 60 votes to cut off debate. Republicans are expected to slow down the process by offering a myriad of amendments. Yet another reason why their talk about Democrats abusing the legislative process is extremely misguided.
So here we are. This will be a monumental week for Speaker Pelosi and President Obama. Are their arm twisting skills, their combination of threats and incentives, and their powers of political persuasion strong enough? I sure hope so. The President will be taking a very active role in the health care debate in the coming week. Today, he will hold a rally for reform in Strongsville, OH. He has also pushed back a trip to Asia to make sure health reform passes. He's putting a lot on the line for this, with good reason.
THE SENATE: As if this week wasn't busy enough, the Senate will have its hands full with all different sorts of things. This morning, Senator Dodd (D-CT) is expected to release his version of a financial regulation bill. Bipartisan talks with Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) broke down last week, so Dodd is determined to move on his own. The bill does not contain an independent consumer protection agency like the House bill does. Instead, if gives the Federal Reserve a broader role in consumer protection. This is a disappointment for liberals, but probably not enough of a disappointment for them to oppose the bill. Dodd will begin hearings on his bill in the next couple of weeks. Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) wants to get the bill done by Memorial Day.
The Senate this afternoon will vote to cut off debate on the final version of that $15 billion jobs bill, made up mostly of tax cuts for companies that hire new workers. The bill passed the Senate a few weeks back, but has since been amended by the House. I think the bill should be in the President's hand shortly. It will be a minor legislative accomplishment that probably won't lead to many jobs, but at least it's something. The Senate will then move to back to a bill authorizing programs for the Federal Aviation Administration.
THE HOUSE: Prior to the big health care showdown at the end of the week, the House will mostly be dealing with suspension bills. It is also possible that the House considers the Senate-passed bill of various tax-extenders and an extension of unemployment and COBRA benefits.
That's it for now, we'll be back tonight. It's going to be a long week.
HEALTH CARE: This it it. Maybe. House Democrats are going to try and pass the Senate health care bill with a separate package of fixes by the end of the week. On Sunday, it's possible that we will have achieved a historic victory, and it's also possible that we'll be wanting to punch ourselves in the face. Have I raised the stakes enough?
The procedural dance about to be performed is interesting to me, so I'll go through it. But the bottom line is that Democrats need to line up 216 votes this week. Right now, I would guess they are a bit short, with many members still undecided. None of the 37 Democrats who voted no on the original health care bill are willing to admit that they'll vote yes this time around, but I do expect some of them to switch over at the last minute.At this point, I have absolutely zero tolerance for any Democratic member, from the left or right, who doesn't support this bill. It's not perfect, but it would be a monumental achievement. 31 million more Americans would be covered, we would create a system of near-universal coverage, we would reduce the deficit and we would bring down costs in the long run. Any member who votes against this bill not only bears the responsibility of killing the biggest Democratic priority of the past half century, they also will bear the burden of the lives lost as a result of this bill not passing.
So here's how it will go down this week. When referring to the reconciliation bill, I'm talking about the package of "fixes" to the Senate bill.
Today, the House Budget Committee will meet to "mark up" the reconciliation bill. This is basically a purely procedural step. All reconciliation bills must go through the budget committees. The bill they're marking up won't even be the actual bill, strangely enough. All reconciliation bills must be reported by October 15th. Obviously, this package has only been drafted in the past week or so. Therefore, they are using a former discarded House health care bill as a "shell" that they will amend with the new package. Got it?
After the bill goes through the budget committee, it will head to its most crucial destination: the vaunted House Rules Committee. Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) will decide the terms of debate for the bill. The leadership is considering many options. The most obvious option would be to hold separate votes on the Senate bill and the reconciliation bill. Some members, however, don't want to vote directly on the Senate bill, because they don't want to be on record supporting some of its most popular elements. Democrats are considering a rule that would deem the Senate bill passed if the reconciliation bill passed. I'm not sure what the difference is, really. You think the average voter really pays attention to this stuff? They want to know: did my Rep. vote for health care or not? Everything else doesn't matter. The Rules Committee will also be the last chance to make changes to the bill. Democrats are expected to insert an unrelated student loan measure into the reconciliation package.
By Friday or Saturday, the bill will come to the House floor in some form. I'm pretty certain that once the bill is on the floor, members will not have a chance to amend it. A final vote would occur sometime Saturday most likely. The Senate bill would go directly to the President for his signature. The reconciliation package will go to the Senate, where they will begin an arduous debate as soon as possible. Debate on reconciliation is limited in the Senate, meaning that the bill does not need 60 votes to cut off debate. Republicans are expected to slow down the process by offering a myriad of amendments. Yet another reason why their talk about Democrats abusing the legislative process is extremely misguided.
So here we are. This will be a monumental week for Speaker Pelosi and President Obama. Are their arm twisting skills, their combination of threats and incentives, and their powers of political persuasion strong enough? I sure hope so. The President will be taking a very active role in the health care debate in the coming week. Today, he will hold a rally for reform in Strongsville, OH. He has also pushed back a trip to Asia to make sure health reform passes. He's putting a lot on the line for this, with good reason.
THE SENATE: As if this week wasn't busy enough, the Senate will have its hands full with all different sorts of things. This morning, Senator Dodd (D-CT) is expected to release his version of a financial regulation bill. Bipartisan talks with Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) broke down last week, so Dodd is determined to move on his own. The bill does not contain an independent consumer protection agency like the House bill does. Instead, if gives the Federal Reserve a broader role in consumer protection. This is a disappointment for liberals, but probably not enough of a disappointment for them to oppose the bill. Dodd will begin hearings on his bill in the next couple of weeks. Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) wants to get the bill done by Memorial Day.
The Senate this afternoon will vote to cut off debate on the final version of that $15 billion jobs bill, made up mostly of tax cuts for companies that hire new workers. The bill passed the Senate a few weeks back, but has since been amended by the House. I think the bill should be in the President's hand shortly. It will be a minor legislative accomplishment that probably won't lead to many jobs, but at least it's something. The Senate will then move to back to a bill authorizing programs for the Federal Aviation Administration.
THE HOUSE: Prior to the big health care showdown at the end of the week, the House will mostly be dealing with suspension bills. It is also possible that the House considers the Senate-passed bill of various tax-extenders and an extension of unemployment and COBRA benefits.
That's it for now, we'll be back tonight. It's going to be a long week.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Daily Strike-8/20/09-The Two Bill Solution?
Good evening and welcome to the Daily Strike. I hope you've enjoyed some of our August musings. Back to a more traditional Daily Strike tonight:
HEALTH CARE: President Obama did something he really needed to do today: rally the army that elected him. Obama spoke today at an event at the DNC to discuss health care reform strategy with core supporters. The President told supporters that getting elected was the easy part; achieving change is more difficult. I think all of his supporters have had that reality set in this summer. He talked a lot about how difficult it is to sell reform with all that misinformation out there, and said that to get that information, one simply has to "pick up a remote and turn to a certain channel." A Fox News reference is always good way to fire up a liberal crowd. On substance, it seems that he still hasn't quite learned his lesson. He said that the public option will be a good way to "keep insurance companies honest." But he again insisted that it is only one small part of reform. He may be right substantively, but he needs to know what fires up his base. Liberals care about the public option because it helps fulfill a longtime progressive dream of the government recognizing health care as a right and not a privilege. Sure, opposing gay marriage was just a "sliver" of Bush's compassionate conservative agenda, but he talked about it a lot, because he knew it would fire up his base. Plus, a new poll out today shows that if you present the public option as a plan you can "choose" under health reform, it gets extremely high approval. How about going around the country explaining that every single day? Support goes way down when people are asked directly whether they support a "public option."
Meanwhile, there is a very interesting procedural idea coming out of Democrats in Congress. As you know, Democrats have the power to pass (at least parts) of health care reform via reconciliation, an arcane rule that only requires 50 votes in the Senate instead of the 60 needed to break a filibuster. Because of the so-called Byrd rule, only measures directly dealing with the budget can be part of a reconciliation bill. Coincidentally, the budget-related measures in health care, like raising revenue, subsidies, and the public option, also are the most politically contentious. So Democrats have floated the idea of doing health care in two parts. One bill will contain the more popular parts of reform, like new rules on insurance company practices, and the creation of the health insurance exchange. This bill would pass through regular order and would be subject to a 60 vote threshold. The controversial parts of the bill would be passed under reconciliation.
On its face, this seems like a pretty good idea. Nervous centrist Democrats could still support the popular parts of the bill, while not having to walk the plank on the less popular parts. The Big Picture wisely notes that this is an optimum solution for nervous Democrats, because they almost certainly want something to pass, they just don't want to be responsible for it because they might take a short-term political hit. Republicans would be forced to vote against the popular portion of the bill, and won't have the excuse that they were actually voting against "government-run health care." Numbers guru Nate Silver estimates that there are 43 solid votes for the public option in the Senate, with about 15 or so Senators undecided. It would be a lot more difficult to whip 17 votes than it would to whip 7. There are a couple of reasons why I think this scheme may not work. First, its success depends on the procedural prowess and fighting spirit of Majority Leader Reid, both of which are severely lacking. Secondly, you might get a couple of Democrats who are so upset at this procedural maneuver that they vote against the 60 vote bill. One of them almost certainly will be the increasingly intolerable Kent Conrad of North Dakota. We would need the support of every Democrat to get this done, assuming Senator Kennedy could show up to vote. If Democrats don't agree to this, we would have to make them filibuster the popular bill. I would love to see Ben Nelson on the floor, dehydrated and about to collapse, holding up a health care bill because of procedural objections. Does Harry Reid have the guts to do this to his own members? Probably not, but it's worth a try. This would increase the chance that we'd get a bill that actually works instead of one that's been watered down to appease the wafflers. I'm sure we'll get some "you can't do that's!" from Republicans and the good-government-firsters at elite media institutions like the Washington Post. But if it helps to deliver better health reform, you have to do what you have to do.
CHARLIE COOK: I came home today feeling pretty good, getting ready to cook a nice dinner, when I read this terrifying prediction from political prognosticator Charlie Cook. He seems to think the Democrats have lost control this summer, and that they're destined to lose a lot of seats in the next Congressional election. He seems pretty exuberant about this possibility. The Democrats have had a tough few weeks, for sure, and their approval ratings have gone down, as have the President's, but I think Cook's prediction is pretty excessive at this stage of the game. Democrats still lead Republicans on most generic congressional ballot polls I've seen, and Republicans remain deeply unpopular, despite the sinking popularity of the Democrats. And while Obama's approval rating, which stands at a new low of 51% according to Gallup, is not superb, it's not that bad either. Bush had approval ratings at this level in 2004, and Republicans made gains in both Houses of Congress.
Democrats should be concerned about declining popularity numbers, but they need to react to these concerns in the right way, which is to DELIVER for people. I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, if we continue infighting and we can't come through for the American people, we will get clocked in 2010. If we come together and pass strong legislation, we may take a short term hit, but our long term prospects will be vastly improved.
That's it for tonight, see you tomorrow!
HEALTH CARE: President Obama did something he really needed to do today: rally the army that elected him. Obama spoke today at an event at the DNC to discuss health care reform strategy with core supporters. The President told supporters that getting elected was the easy part; achieving change is more difficult. I think all of his supporters have had that reality set in this summer. He talked a lot about how difficult it is to sell reform with all that misinformation out there, and said that to get that information, one simply has to "pick up a remote and turn to a certain channel." A Fox News reference is always good way to fire up a liberal crowd. On substance, it seems that he still hasn't quite learned his lesson. He said that the public option will be a good way to "keep insurance companies honest." But he again insisted that it is only one small part of reform. He may be right substantively, but he needs to know what fires up his base. Liberals care about the public option because it helps fulfill a longtime progressive dream of the government recognizing health care as a right and not a privilege. Sure, opposing gay marriage was just a "sliver" of Bush's compassionate conservative agenda, but he talked about it a lot, because he knew it would fire up his base. Plus, a new poll out today shows that if you present the public option as a plan you can "choose" under health reform, it gets extremely high approval. How about going around the country explaining that every single day? Support goes way down when people are asked directly whether they support a "public option."
Meanwhile, there is a very interesting procedural idea coming out of Democrats in Congress. As you know, Democrats have the power to pass (at least parts) of health care reform via reconciliation, an arcane rule that only requires 50 votes in the Senate instead of the 60 needed to break a filibuster. Because of the so-called Byrd rule, only measures directly dealing with the budget can be part of a reconciliation bill. Coincidentally, the budget-related measures in health care, like raising revenue, subsidies, and the public option, also are the most politically contentious. So Democrats have floated the idea of doing health care in two parts. One bill will contain the more popular parts of reform, like new rules on insurance company practices, and the creation of the health insurance exchange. This bill would pass through regular order and would be subject to a 60 vote threshold. The controversial parts of the bill would be passed under reconciliation.
On its face, this seems like a pretty good idea. Nervous centrist Democrats could still support the popular parts of the bill, while not having to walk the plank on the less popular parts. The Big Picture wisely notes that this is an optimum solution for nervous Democrats, because they almost certainly want something to pass, they just don't want to be responsible for it because they might take a short-term political hit. Republicans would be forced to vote against the popular portion of the bill, and won't have the excuse that they were actually voting against "government-run health care." Numbers guru Nate Silver estimates that there are 43 solid votes for the public option in the Senate, with about 15 or so Senators undecided. It would be a lot more difficult to whip 17 votes than it would to whip 7. There are a couple of reasons why I think this scheme may not work. First, its success depends on the procedural prowess and fighting spirit of Majority Leader Reid, both of which are severely lacking. Secondly, you might get a couple of Democrats who are so upset at this procedural maneuver that they vote against the 60 vote bill. One of them almost certainly will be the increasingly intolerable Kent Conrad of North Dakota. We would need the support of every Democrat to get this done, assuming Senator Kennedy could show up to vote. If Democrats don't agree to this, we would have to make them filibuster the popular bill. I would love to see Ben Nelson on the floor, dehydrated and about to collapse, holding up a health care bill because of procedural objections. Does Harry Reid have the guts to do this to his own members? Probably not, but it's worth a try. This would increase the chance that we'd get a bill that actually works instead of one that's been watered down to appease the wafflers. I'm sure we'll get some "you can't do that's!" from Republicans and the good-government-firsters at elite media institutions like the Washington Post. But if it helps to deliver better health reform, you have to do what you have to do.
CHARLIE COOK: I came home today feeling pretty good, getting ready to cook a nice dinner, when I read this terrifying prediction from political prognosticator Charlie Cook. He seems to think the Democrats have lost control this summer, and that they're destined to lose a lot of seats in the next Congressional election. He seems pretty exuberant about this possibility. The Democrats have had a tough few weeks, for sure, and their approval ratings have gone down, as have the President's, but I think Cook's prediction is pretty excessive at this stage of the game. Democrats still lead Republicans on most generic congressional ballot polls I've seen, and Republicans remain deeply unpopular, despite the sinking popularity of the Democrats. And while Obama's approval rating, which stands at a new low of 51% according to Gallup, is not superb, it's not that bad either. Bush had approval ratings at this level in 2004, and Republicans made gains in both Houses of Congress.
Democrats should be concerned about declining popularity numbers, but they need to react to these concerns in the right way, which is to DELIVER for people. I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, if we continue infighting and we can't come through for the American people, we will get clocked in 2010. If we come together and pass strong legislation, we may take a short term hit, but our long term prospects will be vastly improved.
That's it for tonight, see you tomorrow!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
The Daily Strike-4/29/09-Your Congress at Work
Good evening and welcome to the Daily Strike on this very busy Wednesday. The President is scheduled to give a press conference at 8pm EDT to talk about his first 100 days in office, as well as the administration's efforts to combat the spread of the swine flu. We will bring you full coverage of that speech in a Late Night Strike. If you want our analysis of the President's first 100 days, see the entry below. AND PLEASE LEAVE SOME COMMENTS!
THE BUDGET RESOLUTION: Congress today approved the annual budget resolution today, giving President Obama a very important victory. The $3.4 trillion budget blueprint largely mirrors the President's February request. It also includes reconciliation instructions which will allow for Obama's ambitious health care plan to pass the Senate with only 51 votes. The budget is typically a new President's earliest chance to significantly change federal policy and national priorities. Obama already did that with the stimulus package, but today passage of the budget was the next key step in enacting Obama's agenda.
The House voted on the conference report accompanying the resolution this morning. The final vote was 233-193. 17 Democrats joined all Republicans in opposition. The delinquent Democrats were Barrow (GA), Boren (OK), Bright (AL), Childers (MS), Foster (IL), Griffith (AL), Kratovil (MD), Kucinich (OH), Markey (CO), Marshall (GA), Matheson (UT), McIntyre (NC), Minnick (ID), Mitchell (AZ), Nye (VA), Taylor (MS) and Teague (NM). This is your usual Blue Dog cast, with the exception of Kucinich, who will never vote for money that could possibly be used to fund wars.
The Senate agreed to the conference report by a vote of 53-43 this afternoon. The most interesting part of the Senate vote was that Arlen Specter (PA), a Democrat as of yesterday, voted against his new party's signature budget proposal. Not exactly the best way to acclimate yourself to your newfound political co-patriots. Specter joined Bayh (IN), Byrd (WV), and Nelson (NE) as Democrats in opposition. Nelson and Bayh voted against it because of their "fiscal conservatism." Byrd almost certainly voted against it because he is a Senate institutionalist who doesn't like using reconciliation procedures. It almost goes without saying that every Republican voted no.
The resolution does not have to be signed by the President. The next step is for House and Senate committees to draft 13 separate appropriations bills that reflect the parameters of the budget outline.
The House also passed a bill today changing the definition of Hate Crimes to include those involving gender or sexual orientation (note the difference here between "sex" and "gender"). The bill has been pending since the death of Matthew Shepard (a gay student murdered because of his sexual orientation) in Wyoming almost ten years ago. In fact, Shepard's mother was on hand for the debate and vote. I'm just sorry she had to listen to this drivel from Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC).
This wasn't even the most absurd commentary today from House Republicans. The infamous Steve King (R-IA) sarcastically suggested that the bill should protect pedophiles, as if they are morally equivalent to homosexuals. Other Republicans repeatedly claimed that the bill is punishing "thought" and would prevent religious groups from exercising free speech. Of course, it does no such thing. In fact, the bill specifically says that it does not apply to any one's first amendment right to free speech. Meghan McCain would be cringing watching old, Southern House Republicans defending bigotry for three hours.
The House first had to vote on a Republican motion to recommit, which would have applied a death penalty punishment for hate crimes, and expanded the definition of hate crimes to include members of the armed forces and police officers. Of course, this motion was a cynical ploy to try and kill the bill. Now they can say that Democrats don't want to protect the military. The motion to recommit failed 185-241. 25 Democrats voted yes, while 16 Republicans voted no.
The bill itself passed 249-175. Interestingly, the vote wasn't completely along party lines. There are still a bunch of southern Democrats who aren't quite there yet on the whole gay rights thing. 17 Democrats voted no. Conversely, there are 18 reasonable Republicans who don't think homosexuality is tearing down this country.
The most interesting no vote on the Democratic side came from Artur Davis of Alabama, an African American running for governor of conservative Alabama. Talking about selling your soul to get elected.
THE WHITE HOUSE: The President's biggest event today (before the press conference) was a town hall meeting in Missouri, in which he discussed his first 100 days in office. The best part of the meeting was when he criticized those conservative tea parties on Tax Day, saying they were organized by a "cable channel that doesn't like me very much." He said that if they want to have a serious conversation about fiscal responsibility, fine, but don't disingenuously say that this reckless spending started with the President's stimulus package. I certainly enjoyed seeing the President take a slap at the anti-tax tea parties, but I tend to think he shouldn't stoop to their level. Obama also said that he is not a miracle worker. The coming months will require hard choices and sacrifice. Of course, the President also used the event to highlight his accomplishments.
That's it for us today. Join us later tonight (or tomorrow morning) to talk about the President's press conference.
THE BUDGET RESOLUTION: Congress today approved the annual budget resolution today, giving President Obama a very important victory. The $3.4 trillion budget blueprint largely mirrors the President's February request. It also includes reconciliation instructions which will allow for Obama's ambitious health care plan to pass the Senate with only 51 votes. The budget is typically a new President's earliest chance to significantly change federal policy and national priorities. Obama already did that with the stimulus package, but today passage of the budget was the next key step in enacting Obama's agenda.
The House voted on the conference report accompanying the resolution this morning. The final vote was 233-193. 17 Democrats joined all Republicans in opposition. The delinquent Democrats were Barrow (GA), Boren (OK), Bright (AL), Childers (MS), Foster (IL), Griffith (AL), Kratovil (MD), Kucinich (OH), Markey (CO), Marshall (GA), Matheson (UT), McIntyre (NC), Minnick (ID), Mitchell (AZ), Nye (VA), Taylor (MS) and Teague (NM). This is your usual Blue Dog cast, with the exception of Kucinich, who will never vote for money that could possibly be used to fund wars.
The Senate agreed to the conference report by a vote of 53-43 this afternoon. The most interesting part of the Senate vote was that Arlen Specter (PA), a Democrat as of yesterday, voted against his new party's signature budget proposal. Not exactly the best way to acclimate yourself to your newfound political co-patriots. Specter joined Bayh (IN), Byrd (WV), and Nelson (NE) as Democrats in opposition. Nelson and Bayh voted against it because of their "fiscal conservatism." Byrd almost certainly voted against it because he is a Senate institutionalist who doesn't like using reconciliation procedures. It almost goes without saying that every Republican voted no.
The resolution does not have to be signed by the President. The next step is for House and Senate committees to draft 13 separate appropriations bills that reflect the parameters of the budget outline.
The House also passed a bill today changing the definition of Hate Crimes to include those involving gender or sexual orientation (note the difference here between "sex" and "gender"). The bill has been pending since the death of Matthew Shepard (a gay student murdered because of his sexual orientation) in Wyoming almost ten years ago. In fact, Shepard's mother was on hand for the debate and vote. I'm just sorry she had to listen to this drivel from Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC).
This wasn't even the most absurd commentary today from House Republicans. The infamous Steve King (R-IA) sarcastically suggested that the bill should protect pedophiles, as if they are morally equivalent to homosexuals. Other Republicans repeatedly claimed that the bill is punishing "thought" and would prevent religious groups from exercising free speech. Of course, it does no such thing. In fact, the bill specifically says that it does not apply to any one's first amendment right to free speech. Meghan McCain would be cringing watching old, Southern House Republicans defending bigotry for three hours.
The House first had to vote on a Republican motion to recommit, which would have applied a death penalty punishment for hate crimes, and expanded the definition of hate crimes to include members of the armed forces and police officers. Of course, this motion was a cynical ploy to try and kill the bill. Now they can say that Democrats don't want to protect the military. The motion to recommit failed 185-241. 25 Democrats voted yes, while 16 Republicans voted no.
The bill itself passed 249-175. Interestingly, the vote wasn't completely along party lines. There are still a bunch of southern Democrats who aren't quite there yet on the whole gay rights thing. 17 Democrats voted no. Conversely, there are 18 reasonable Republicans who don't think homosexuality is tearing down this country.
The most interesting no vote on the Democratic side came from Artur Davis of Alabama, an African American running for governor of conservative Alabama. Talking about selling your soul to get elected.
THE WHITE HOUSE: The President's biggest event today (before the press conference) was a town hall meeting in Missouri, in which he discussed his first 100 days in office. The best part of the meeting was when he criticized those conservative tea parties on Tax Day, saying they were organized by a "cable channel that doesn't like me very much." He said that if they want to have a serious conversation about fiscal responsibility, fine, but don't disingenuously say that this reckless spending started with the President's stimulus package. I certainly enjoyed seeing the President take a slap at the anti-tax tea parties, but I tend to think he shouldn't stoop to their level. Obama also said that he is not a miracle worker. The coming months will require hard choices and sacrifice. Of course, the President also used the event to highlight his accomplishments.
That's it for us today. Join us later tonight (or tomorrow morning) to talk about the President's press conference.
Monday, April 27, 2009
The Weekly Strike-4/27-5/3
Good Monday morning and welcome to the Weekly Strike, where we preview the upcoming week in Washington. A very busy week on Capitol Hill especially, so let's get to it.
THE HOUSE: The House of Representatives has one of its busiest weeks of the year. Today and tomorrow, the House will vote on some suspension bills. Starting Tuesday, and continuing through Thursday, the House will consider three important measures.
First, the House will take up the "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act." This bill passed the House last Congress, but died under Republican filibuster in the Senate. The bill most notably expands the definition of hate crimes to those motivated by the victim's sexual orientation. The measure also expands enforcement mechanisms and funding to prevent hate crimes. The bill explicitly states that nothing in this measure will be used to prohibit constitutionally-protected free speech. I expect House Republicans to have a gay-bashing field day. Their usual objections to measures like this is that they pose restrictions on the free exercise of religious institutions to discriminate as they choose. I don't really see how that has to relate to hate crimes, but oh well. This could be a good chance for the right wing to score some culture war points with their base. More importantly, the House will pass a long-overdue measure acknowledging that crime committed against LGBT Americans constitutes hate and should be prosecuted as such. I expect the bill to pass with over 300 votes. Republican moderates like Rep. Castle (DE) and Ros-Lehtinen (FL) are co-sponsoring the bill.
Next, the House considers an Obama-backed Credit Card Bill of Rights. This important bill will increase consumer protection against aggressive credit card companies. Among other things, the bill amends the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit increases in annual interest rates on a current balance unless specific conditions are met. It also requires a 45 day notice of credit card rate increases. A good summary of this comprehensive bill can be found here. This bill will almost certainly pass, but not without major objection from free-market enthusiasts. I haven't yet found the talking points against this bill yet, but I expect it to be a Rick Santelli-like diatribe against "protecting the losers" and "expanding the size and scope of government." No Republicans have signed on to sponsor the bill, and I would be surprised if more than a few of them vote for it.
Finally, the House will vote on the conference report accompanying the annual budget resolution. The final version of the bill was apparently agreed upon by House-Senate negotiators on Friday, but the final meeting to hash out the details will be held today or tomorrow. The resolution sets spending targets for each area of discretionary spending, largely reflecting President Obama's budget proposal. The resolution also contains reconciliation instructions that will allow health care reform and education legislation to pass the Senate with 51 votes, instead of the usual 60 needed to cut off debate. Especially because of the reconciliation instructions, this is one of the most important votes of the year. If the budget resolution passes, it's a good bet that we'll have a comprehensive health care bill by the end of the year. I expect the final version to pass with the same margin as the original version. No Republican will vote for it (almost certainly), and 20 or so Democrats will vote against it.
THE SENATE: Not to be outdone, the deliberative chamber also has a busy week. Tonight, the Senate votes to invoke cloture on a bill to protect consumers against mortgage fraud. The bill was debated last week, and a number of amendments were adopted. I expect cloture to be invoked with about 65 votes or so. The ranking Republican on the Finance Committee, Chuck Grassley, is a cosponsor of the bill. If cloture is invoked, a final passage vote will occur at noon tomorrow. Also tomorrow, the Senate considers the nomination of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Her appointment carries more urgency due to the outbreak of the swine flu. The agency needs leadership to oversee this public health emergency. Sebelius' nomination has been held up by Republicans mostly due to her association with a Kansas abortion doctor. Per an agreement between the two leaders, her nomination will require 60 votes. I expect her to be confirmed with 65-70 votes, and take office later this week. If she is confirmed, Obama's cabinet will finally be filled.
The Senate will most likely take up the conference report on the budget resolution Wednesday or Thursday.
THE WHITE HOUSE: The President has a busy week, and he'll have to keep a close eye on what's happening with the swine flu outbreak. The President starts his week with a speech at the National Science Academy in Washington DC. He has an otherwise quiet day today, with a series of meetings and a White House event with the NCAA Women's Basketball Champion UCONN Huskies. Tomorrow, the President presents the "Teacher of the Year" award. How cool would it be to be that teacher right now?
Obama's busiest day is Wednesday, when he marks the 100th day of his Presidency. He will hold a town hall meeting in Missouri that morning to discuss the economy. He has thrived in the town hall setting both on the campaign trail and during his Presidency. He then will hold his 3rd prime time press conference at the White House on Wednesday night. I expect most of the questions will center around the President's first 100 days, but I expect a few on the torture memos controversy, the economy, health care etc. Let's hope the press corps can do a better job of asking relevant questions than they've done in the past.
That's pretty much it for this week. We will give you comprehensive coverage of events as they happen. Please leave us your comments! Our best one will be featured in Friday's Daily Strike.
THE HOUSE: The House of Representatives has one of its busiest weeks of the year. Today and tomorrow, the House will vote on some suspension bills. Starting Tuesday, and continuing through Thursday, the House will consider three important measures.
First, the House will take up the "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act." This bill passed the House last Congress, but died under Republican filibuster in the Senate. The bill most notably expands the definition of hate crimes to those motivated by the victim's sexual orientation. The measure also expands enforcement mechanisms and funding to prevent hate crimes. The bill explicitly states that nothing in this measure will be used to prohibit constitutionally-protected free speech. I expect House Republicans to have a gay-bashing field day. Their usual objections to measures like this is that they pose restrictions on the free exercise of religious institutions to discriminate as they choose. I don't really see how that has to relate to hate crimes, but oh well. This could be a good chance for the right wing to score some culture war points with their base. More importantly, the House will pass a long-overdue measure acknowledging that crime committed against LGBT Americans constitutes hate and should be prosecuted as such. I expect the bill to pass with over 300 votes. Republican moderates like Rep. Castle (DE) and Ros-Lehtinen (FL) are co-sponsoring the bill.
Next, the House considers an Obama-backed Credit Card Bill of Rights. This important bill will increase consumer protection against aggressive credit card companies. Among other things, the bill amends the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit increases in annual interest rates on a current balance unless specific conditions are met. It also requires a 45 day notice of credit card rate increases. A good summary of this comprehensive bill can be found here. This bill will almost certainly pass, but not without major objection from free-market enthusiasts. I haven't yet found the talking points against this bill yet, but I expect it to be a Rick Santelli-like diatribe against "protecting the losers" and "expanding the size and scope of government." No Republicans have signed on to sponsor the bill, and I would be surprised if more than a few of them vote for it.
Finally, the House will vote on the conference report accompanying the annual budget resolution. The final version of the bill was apparently agreed upon by House-Senate negotiators on Friday, but the final meeting to hash out the details will be held today or tomorrow. The resolution sets spending targets for each area of discretionary spending, largely reflecting President Obama's budget proposal. The resolution also contains reconciliation instructions that will allow health care reform and education legislation to pass the Senate with 51 votes, instead of the usual 60 needed to cut off debate. Especially because of the reconciliation instructions, this is one of the most important votes of the year. If the budget resolution passes, it's a good bet that we'll have a comprehensive health care bill by the end of the year. I expect the final version to pass with the same margin as the original version. No Republican will vote for it (almost certainly), and 20 or so Democrats will vote against it.
THE SENATE: Not to be outdone, the deliberative chamber also has a busy week. Tonight, the Senate votes to invoke cloture on a bill to protect consumers against mortgage fraud. The bill was debated last week, and a number of amendments were adopted. I expect cloture to be invoked with about 65 votes or so. The ranking Republican on the Finance Committee, Chuck Grassley, is a cosponsor of the bill. If cloture is invoked, a final passage vote will occur at noon tomorrow. Also tomorrow, the Senate considers the nomination of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Her appointment carries more urgency due to the outbreak of the swine flu. The agency needs leadership to oversee this public health emergency. Sebelius' nomination has been held up by Republicans mostly due to her association with a Kansas abortion doctor. Per an agreement between the two leaders, her nomination will require 60 votes. I expect her to be confirmed with 65-70 votes, and take office later this week. If she is confirmed, Obama's cabinet will finally be filled.
The Senate will most likely take up the conference report on the budget resolution Wednesday or Thursday.
THE WHITE HOUSE: The President has a busy week, and he'll have to keep a close eye on what's happening with the swine flu outbreak. The President starts his week with a speech at the National Science Academy in Washington DC. He has an otherwise quiet day today, with a series of meetings and a White House event with the NCAA Women's Basketball Champion UCONN Huskies. Tomorrow, the President presents the "Teacher of the Year" award. How cool would it be to be that teacher right now?
Obama's busiest day is Wednesday, when he marks the 100th day of his Presidency. He will hold a town hall meeting in Missouri that morning to discuss the economy. He has thrived in the town hall setting both on the campaign trail and during his Presidency. He then will hold his 3rd prime time press conference at the White House on Wednesday night. I expect most of the questions will center around the President's first 100 days, but I expect a few on the torture memos controversy, the economy, health care etc. Let's hope the press corps can do a better job of asking relevant questions than they've done in the past.
That's pretty much it for this week. We will give you comprehensive coverage of events as they happen. Please leave us your comments! Our best one will be featured in Friday's Daily Strike.
Friday, April 24, 2009
The Daily Strike-4/24/09-Finishing Yesterday's Business
Good evening and welcome to the Daily Strike. Friday was mostly a quiet day in politics. President Obama made a speech on education reform in which he reiterated his support for ending government subsidies to student loan companies.
A lot happened in the United States Senate after press time yesterday, so we will mostly cover that today. Enjoy.
Posting will be light this weekend. None other than the Big Picture himself is visiting, and we will be doing some major sight-seeing.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT: House-Senate staffers stayed up mighty late last night, but they were able to reach an agreement on a final version of the budget resolution. Notably, the conferees have agreed to include reconciliation language in the bill, making it easier for President Obama's health care and education proposals to get through Congress. For you newbies, U=under expedited reconciliation procedures, only 51 votes are required for passage in the Senate (not the usual 60). The total budget blueprint contains about $3.5 trillion worth of spending. This is a huge victory for the Obama administration. The reconciliation language means that even if we lose 7 Senate Democrats, we will still have health care reform passed by the end of this year. Liberals around the country should rejoice! The formal House-Senate conference will come next week, with a final vote in each chamber happening either Tuesday or Wednesday. More on the final agreement when we get more details this weekend.
THE SENATE: Contrary to what I believed, the Senate did NOT vote on the remaining amendments to the mortgage fraud bill last night. Instead, they voted on various "motions to instruct conferees," non-binding "instructions" to Senators who will sit on the budget resolution conference committee. Because such motions are non-binding, they are a good opportunity for political grandstanding. We saw a great deal of the last night. In total, 7 such motions were voted on, and another 3 were approved by voice votes.
1. The first was offered by Senator Conrad (D-ND) on behalf of Senator Stabenow (D-MI). It would instruct conferees to include a deficit neutral reserve fund for clean energy programs in the final version of the bill. This is more noteworthy for what it does NOT say. In other words, it does not instruct the conferees to use reconciliation language. The motion passed 57-37, mostly along party lines, with Democrats in strong support. Crossovers: Republicans Collins (ME), Lugar (IN) and Snowe/Democrats Landrieu (LA/Oil rigs).
2. Next was an motion offered by Senator Johanns (R-NE). This one said that if conferees include the deficit neutral fund for energy programs, there must be a clause in there making it harder to raise energy taxes. It passed 66-28. All no votes were from smart Democrats who realize that preventing tax increases on energy could be a slippery slope to preventing tax increases on carbon emissions.
3. Third, we have a motion from Senator Ensign (R-NV) that instructs conferees to insist that the final legislation contain a point of order against any measure that raises taxes for couples making under $250,00o. In other words, if you WERE going to raise their taxes, you'd need 60 votes. Senators didn't want to touch this with a ten foot poll. The amendment passed by voice vote.
4. Next, we have a motion dealing with Senator Gregg's (R-NH) clever little language that the public debt level in 2019 must be lower than the total public debt accumulated between 1789 and 2009. We talked previously about the stupidity of this idea, mostly because it completely ignores that whole "inflation" thing. Luckily, his motion was defeated 40-54. The only Democrat stupid enough to join Mr. Gregg was Ben Nelson (NE). Zero Republicans voted against it.
5. Then came a motion from Senator Sessions (R-AL) that instructs conferees to include a freeze on non-defense discretionary spending. I've talked about the lunacy of this idea numerous times. Thankfully the motion was defeated 38-56. Self-appointed centrist Bayh (IN) joined Republicans in voting for it. ZERO Republicans were smart enough to realize that freezing discretionary spending when we have a huge lull in consumer demand is a horrible idea.
6. Next was a motion by Senator Cornyn (R-TX) that instructs conferees to include language that creates a point of order against tax increases for small businesses. It passed 84-9. To me, this would have to depend on their definition of "small business," which is not specified in the motion. All no votes were from Democrats, the most surprising perhaps was pro-business freshman Mark Warner (D-VA).
7. Next was a motion offered by Senator Alexander (R-TN) that instructs conferees to include language encouraging a "competitive student loan choice" for college students. This somehow passed unanimously. Doesn't it seem like it's geared towards President Obama's plan to do away with wasteful private student loan companies?
8. Senator Coburn (R-OK) instructed conferees to insist that the final legislation include a reserve fund to go through the budget "line by line" to find and eliminate wasteful, duplicative or inefficient spending. It passed by voice vote.
9. The next one totally baffles me. Offered by Senator DeMint (R-SC), it instructs conferees to include in the final legislation "include a point of order against legislation that eliminates the ability of Americans to keep their health plan and eliminates the ability of Americans to choose their doctor, as contained in section 316 of the concurrent resolution, as passed by the Senate, and insist further that an additional condition be added providing such legislation shall not decrease the number of Americans enrolled in private health insurance, while increasing the number of Americans enrolled in government-managed, rationed health care." Obviously this is a political statement disguised as a parliamentary instruction. This makes it all the more worrisome that the motion passed 79-14. All dissenting votes were from Democrats. It is DEEPLY disturbing to me that Democrats fell for this political trick and put themselves on record against decreasing the number of people enrolled in private health insurance. If Obama's plan includes a public option, it's inevitable that some people will opt for the cheaper, more effective government plan.
10. The final motion was offered by Senator Clown (R-LA) (some people pronounce it VITT-er). This motion would instruct conferees to include language that prohibits bills being considered that raise energy prices on American consumers, or raises the cost of drilling for oil and gas. It passed 63-30. The spineless, oil-loving Democrats were Baucus (MT), Bayh (IN), Begich (AK), Bennet (CO), Byrd (WV), Carper (DE), Conrad (ND), Dorgan (ND), Feingold (WI), Hagan (NC), Johnson (SD), Klobuchar (MN), Kohl (WI), Landrieu (LA), Lincoln (AR), McCaskill (MO), Nelson (FL), Nelson (NE), Pryor (AR), Reid (NV), Stabenow (MI), Udall (CO) and Webb (VA).
The Senate will be voting on cloture of the mortgage fraud bill on Monday. I expect that they can muster 60 votes to shut off debate. If so, all of the pending amendments will be disposed with. Democratic leaders probably got tired of dealing with endless Republican amendments. Vote on final passage of the bill, as amended, will come on Tuesday. Also Tuesday, the Senate will vote on the nomination of Kathleen Sebelius to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Republicans have agreed to hold a vote if it is subject to a 60 vote threshold. I expect Sebelius to be confirmed with about 65 votes or so. Republicans have raised a ruckus on her nomination because of her association with an abortion doctor in Kansas.
NY20: It looks like Democrat Scott Murphy has won that House seat in upstate New York. He now leads the race by over 400 votes, with about 1,000 ballots in question. A majority of those ballots come from registered Democrats, making a victory by Republican Jim Tedisco virtually impossible. Word is he might concede in the next few days.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK: Tonight, as promised, a comment of the week. This one comes from our good friend Small Town Roots, who also wrote a GREAT post on the torture debate. Please read it below.
A lot happened in the United States Senate after press time yesterday, so we will mostly cover that today. Enjoy.
Posting will be light this weekend. None other than the Big Picture himself is visiting, and we will be doing some major sight-seeing.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT: House-Senate staffers stayed up mighty late last night, but they were able to reach an agreement on a final version of the budget resolution. Notably, the conferees have agreed to include reconciliation language in the bill, making it easier for President Obama's health care and education proposals to get through Congress. For you newbies, U=under expedited reconciliation procedures, only 51 votes are required for passage in the Senate (not the usual 60). The total budget blueprint contains about $3.5 trillion worth of spending. This is a huge victory for the Obama administration. The reconciliation language means that even if we lose 7 Senate Democrats, we will still have health care reform passed by the end of this year. Liberals around the country should rejoice! The formal House-Senate conference will come next week, with a final vote in each chamber happening either Tuesday or Wednesday. More on the final agreement when we get more details this weekend.
THE SENATE: Contrary to what I believed, the Senate did NOT vote on the remaining amendments to the mortgage fraud bill last night. Instead, they voted on various "motions to instruct conferees," non-binding "instructions" to Senators who will sit on the budget resolution conference committee. Because such motions are non-binding, they are a good opportunity for political grandstanding. We saw a great deal of the last night. In total, 7 such motions were voted on, and another 3 were approved by voice votes.
1. The first was offered by Senator Conrad (D-ND) on behalf of Senator Stabenow (D-MI). It would instruct conferees to include a deficit neutral reserve fund for clean energy programs in the final version of the bill. This is more noteworthy for what it does NOT say. In other words, it does not instruct the conferees to use reconciliation language. The motion passed 57-37, mostly along party lines, with Democrats in strong support. Crossovers: Republicans Collins (ME), Lugar (IN) and Snowe/Democrats Landrieu (LA/Oil rigs).
2. Next was an motion offered by Senator Johanns (R-NE). This one said that if conferees include the deficit neutral fund for energy programs, there must be a clause in there making it harder to raise energy taxes. It passed 66-28. All no votes were from smart Democrats who realize that preventing tax increases on energy could be a slippery slope to preventing tax increases on carbon emissions.
3. Third, we have a motion from Senator Ensign (R-NV) that instructs conferees to insist that the final legislation contain a point of order against any measure that raises taxes for couples making under $250,00o. In other words, if you WERE going to raise their taxes, you'd need 60 votes. Senators didn't want to touch this with a ten foot poll. The amendment passed by voice vote.
4. Next, we have a motion dealing with Senator Gregg's (R-NH) clever little language that the public debt level in 2019 must be lower than the total public debt accumulated between 1789 and 2009. We talked previously about the stupidity of this idea, mostly because it completely ignores that whole "inflation" thing. Luckily, his motion was defeated 40-54. The only Democrat stupid enough to join Mr. Gregg was Ben Nelson (NE). Zero Republicans voted against it.
5. Then came a motion from Senator Sessions (R-AL) that instructs conferees to include a freeze on non-defense discretionary spending. I've talked about the lunacy of this idea numerous times. Thankfully the motion was defeated 38-56. Self-appointed centrist Bayh (IN) joined Republicans in voting for it. ZERO Republicans were smart enough to realize that freezing discretionary spending when we have a huge lull in consumer demand is a horrible idea.
6. Next was a motion by Senator Cornyn (R-TX) that instructs conferees to include language that creates a point of order against tax increases for small businesses. It passed 84-9. To me, this would have to depend on their definition of "small business," which is not specified in the motion. All no votes were from Democrats, the most surprising perhaps was pro-business freshman Mark Warner (D-VA).
7. Next was a motion offered by Senator Alexander (R-TN) that instructs conferees to include language encouraging a "competitive student loan choice" for college students. This somehow passed unanimously. Doesn't it seem like it's geared towards President Obama's plan to do away with wasteful private student loan companies?
8. Senator Coburn (R-OK) instructed conferees to insist that the final legislation include a reserve fund to go through the budget "line by line" to find and eliminate wasteful, duplicative or inefficient spending. It passed by voice vote.
9. The next one totally baffles me. Offered by Senator DeMint (R-SC), it instructs conferees to include in the final legislation "include a point of order against legislation that eliminates the ability of Americans to keep their health plan and eliminates the ability of Americans to choose their doctor, as contained in section 316 of the concurrent resolution, as passed by the Senate, and insist further that an additional condition be added providing such legislation shall not decrease the number of Americans enrolled in private health insurance, while increasing the number of Americans enrolled in government-managed, rationed health care." Obviously this is a political statement disguised as a parliamentary instruction. This makes it all the more worrisome that the motion passed 79-14. All dissenting votes were from Democrats. It is DEEPLY disturbing to me that Democrats fell for this political trick and put themselves on record against decreasing the number of people enrolled in private health insurance. If Obama's plan includes a public option, it's inevitable that some people will opt for the cheaper, more effective government plan.
10. The final motion was offered by Senator Clown (R-LA) (some people pronounce it VITT-er). This motion would instruct conferees to include language that prohibits bills being considered that raise energy prices on American consumers, or raises the cost of drilling for oil and gas. It passed 63-30. The spineless, oil-loving Democrats were Baucus (MT), Bayh (IN), Begich (AK), Bennet (CO), Byrd (WV), Carper (DE), Conrad (ND), Dorgan (ND), Feingold (WI), Hagan (NC), Johnson (SD), Klobuchar (MN), Kohl (WI), Landrieu (LA), Lincoln (AR), McCaskill (MO), Nelson (FL), Nelson (NE), Pryor (AR), Reid (NV), Stabenow (MI), Udall (CO) and Webb (VA).
The Senate will be voting on cloture of the mortgage fraud bill on Monday. I expect that they can muster 60 votes to shut off debate. If so, all of the pending amendments will be disposed with. Democratic leaders probably got tired of dealing with endless Republican amendments. Vote on final passage of the bill, as amended, will come on Tuesday. Also Tuesday, the Senate will vote on the nomination of Kathleen Sebelius to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Republicans have agreed to hold a vote if it is subject to a 60 vote threshold. I expect Sebelius to be confirmed with about 65 votes or so. Republicans have raised a ruckus on her nomination because of her association with an abortion doctor in Kansas.
NY20: It looks like Democrat Scott Murphy has won that House seat in upstate New York. He now leads the race by over 400 votes, with about 1,000 ballots in question. A majority of those ballots come from registered Democrats, making a victory by Republican Jim Tedisco virtually impossible. Word is he might concede in the next few days.
COMMENT OF THE WEEK: Tonight, as promised, a comment of the week. This one comes from our good friend Small Town Roots, who also wrote a GREAT post on the torture debate. Please read it below.
Small Town Roots said...
Over under on days until the
Chavez/Obama photo is used in a Republican Ad: 8.5
April
18, 2009 11:34 PM
Small
Town Roots said...
Secondly, thank you to the strike for realistically
criticizing our great president. Just because Obama represents a historic step
forward for the progressive movement can we forget to be critical and skeptical
of our leaders at times. Obama is after all a politician, whose driving motive
still comes down to re-election in many situations. Remaining optimistic about
our times while still holding Obama accountable is the advisable way
forward...
Monday, April 20, 2009
The Daily Strike-4/20/09-Faux Spending Cuts/CIA Visits/Senate Returns
Good Monday evening and welcome to the Daily Strike. A busy day in Washington, let's get to it. Make sure you're fully informed on the upcoming week in politics by reading The Weekly Strike below. Also, don't forget to post your comments! The best comment will be featured in Friday's Daily Strike!!
THE WHITE HOUSE: President Obama had his first full cabinet meeting this morning at the White House. The only missing member, as we noted earlier, was HHS nominee Kathleen Sebelius who is expected to be confirmed some time in the next week. Obama touted the $100 million in spending cuts he's instructed agencies to take in the coming weeks. Republicans mocked the President (and rightly so) for touting cuts that amount to a minuscule percentage of the federal budget. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs defended the President by saying he "sending a message." Gibbs scoffed at the notion that $100 million wasn't a lot of money by telling CBS' Chip Reid that "only in Washington is that not a lot of money." That is just totally dishonest. In fact, I heard George W. Bush use the same line. It ISN'T a lot of money, and we shouldn't mislead the American people into thinking that it is. Furthermore, we should be focusing on reviving the economy and creating jobs rather than capitulating to the "reasonable centrists" in Congress with tiny agency budget cuts.
The President ventured this afternoon to the CIA headquarters this afternoon to address the rank and file. He thanked them for their service in helping to protect the American people. He also said that he understood that they sometimes act with one hand tied behind their backs. The United States operates under the rule of law, unlike our enemies, and thus we don't do certain things that may make intelligence gathering easier. Over the long term, Obama said, we will defeat our enemies because we're on the better side of history. The President is still is facing harsh criticism for releasing CIA torture memos last week. Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss said that Obama "overstepped his bounds." The vice-chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Kit Bond (R-MO), said Obama's decision undermines the CIA intelligence-gathering process. In this case, I'm fully on the President's side. As I said yesterday, most of this information was already known, and the American people have the right to know about it.
This wasn't the only criticism leveled at the President today. Two of the least popular and most maligned politicians in the country, Newt Gingrich and Dick Cheney, said that Obama is emboldening our enemies by shaking Hugo Chavez's hand. If I had a nickel for every time these two hacks have said similarly ludicrous things, I would be...um....very wealthy.
CONGRESS: Hooray! Congress is officially back in session. At least one branch, that is. The Senate returned this afternoon to vote on three assistant attorney general nominees, and to cut off debate on ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill. All three justice department nominees were confirmed:
-Tony West by a vote of 82-4. Dissenting Republicans were Bunning (KY), Chambliss (GA), Isakson (GA) and Shelby (AL). What did he do to the state of Georgia?
-Lanny Breuer by a vote of 88-0.
-Christine Varney by a vote of 87-1. Bunning (KY) was the lone dissenter.
Hill's nomination was just advanced moments ago by a vote of 73-17. All opposition was from Republicans, who stalled his nomination because of his past work as ambassador to North Korea.
The House is back in session tomorrow. Two important developments happened today off the floor. First, budget committee staffers in both chambers say that conferees could be named this week to reconcile that House and Senate versions of the budget resolutions. Once the conferees are appointed, the conference will take place. The major sticking point will be on whether to include fast-track "reconciliation" procedure to make it easier to pass health care reform. Reconciliation, for those of you new to the blog, is a special procedure that calls for committees to adjust mandatory spending to pre-set levels. A reconciliation bill is not subject to a filibuster, meaning it would only require 51 votes to pass the Senate. The House had reconciliation in its version of the non-binding budget resolution, but the Senate did not. If I had to guess, they will include reconciliation language in the final version.
On that same subject, the chairmen of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, Ted Kennedy, and Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, outlined a timeline to pass health care reform legislation. The two committees hope to mark up a comprehensive bill by mid-June. This most important part of this announcement is the willingness of Baucus and Kennedy to work together to create one bill. This was not the case during Clinton's health care reform effort in 1993.
That's it for tonight. Before we go, I bring you our second edition of the Big Picture's Corner. He was reacting to Obama's call for minuscule spending cuts. Very good insight here. See you tomorrow!
THE WHITE HOUSE: President Obama had his first full cabinet meeting this morning at the White House. The only missing member, as we noted earlier, was HHS nominee Kathleen Sebelius who is expected to be confirmed some time in the next week. Obama touted the $100 million in spending cuts he's instructed agencies to take in the coming weeks. Republicans mocked the President (and rightly so) for touting cuts that amount to a minuscule percentage of the federal budget. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs defended the President by saying he "sending a message." Gibbs scoffed at the notion that $100 million wasn't a lot of money by telling CBS' Chip Reid that "only in Washington is that not a lot of money." That is just totally dishonest. In fact, I heard George W. Bush use the same line. It ISN'T a lot of money, and we shouldn't mislead the American people into thinking that it is. Furthermore, we should be focusing on reviving the economy and creating jobs rather than capitulating to the "reasonable centrists" in Congress with tiny agency budget cuts.
The President ventured this afternoon to the CIA headquarters this afternoon to address the rank and file. He thanked them for their service in helping to protect the American people. He also said that he understood that they sometimes act with one hand tied behind their backs. The United States operates under the rule of law, unlike our enemies, and thus we don't do certain things that may make intelligence gathering easier. Over the long term, Obama said, we will defeat our enemies because we're on the better side of history. The President is still is facing harsh criticism for releasing CIA torture memos last week. Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss said that Obama "overstepped his bounds." The vice-chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Kit Bond (R-MO), said Obama's decision undermines the CIA intelligence-gathering process. In this case, I'm fully on the President's side. As I said yesterday, most of this information was already known, and the American people have the right to know about it.
This wasn't the only criticism leveled at the President today. Two of the least popular and most maligned politicians in the country, Newt Gingrich and Dick Cheney, said that Obama is emboldening our enemies by shaking Hugo Chavez's hand. If I had a nickel for every time these two hacks have said similarly ludicrous things, I would be...um....very wealthy.
CONGRESS: Hooray! Congress is officially back in session. At least one branch, that is. The Senate returned this afternoon to vote on three assistant attorney general nominees, and to cut off debate on ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill. All three justice department nominees were confirmed:
-Tony West by a vote of 82-4. Dissenting Republicans were Bunning (KY), Chambliss (GA), Isakson (GA) and Shelby (AL). What did he do to the state of Georgia?
-Lanny Breuer by a vote of 88-0.
-Christine Varney by a vote of 87-1. Bunning (KY) was the lone dissenter.
Hill's nomination was just advanced moments ago by a vote of 73-17. All opposition was from Republicans, who stalled his nomination because of his past work as ambassador to North Korea.
The House is back in session tomorrow. Two important developments happened today off the floor. First, budget committee staffers in both chambers say that conferees could be named this week to reconcile that House and Senate versions of the budget resolutions. Once the conferees are appointed, the conference will take place. The major sticking point will be on whether to include fast-track "reconciliation" procedure to make it easier to pass health care reform. Reconciliation, for those of you new to the blog, is a special procedure that calls for committees to adjust mandatory spending to pre-set levels. A reconciliation bill is not subject to a filibuster, meaning it would only require 51 votes to pass the Senate. The House had reconciliation in its version of the non-binding budget resolution, but the Senate did not. If I had to guess, they will include reconciliation language in the final version.
On that same subject, the chairmen of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, Ted Kennedy, and Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, outlined a timeline to pass health care reform legislation. The two committees hope to mark up a comprehensive bill by mid-June. This most important part of this announcement is the willingness of Baucus and Kennedy to work together to create one bill. This was not the case during Clinton's health care reform effort in 1993.
That's it for tonight. Before we go, I bring you our second edition of the Big Picture's Corner. He was reacting to Obama's call for minuscule spending cuts. Very good insight here. See you tomorrow!
What's particularly poor is that cutting $100 million means cutting jobs. That's a huge thing that just isn't understood enough, which is that all of this spending isn't just flushed down the toilet, it actually pays people. Now, perhaps the money could be better spent, more equitably distributed, on better priorities, but it's completely insane just to oppose "spending" in a time when the economy is so under-capacity.That could be part of a series of "Things the Mainstream Media Refuses to Understand":1. What spending actually MEANS2. That Tax Cuts are by far the most fiscally irresponsible thing you can do, the biggest cause of deficits3. That deficit spending is neither bad nor good - it completely depends on WHAT the money is being spent on, and especially when the economy is drastically under capacity, it's most likely good unless it's tax cuts.4. The only way to close the budget deficit short and long term is to eliminate unnecessary tax breaks and useless subsidies, and use that money to invest in the American people, in good jobs, and sustainable job producers.5. (and most important) The majority of Americans care far far more about their job, their pay, their benefits, their bills, and their long-term prospects than they do about tax cuts, "spending" or other stupid obsessions.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The Daily Strike-3/21/09-The Budget Springs Eternal
Good Saturday night and welcome to the first entry in the Spring. Tonight's entry will be quick.
RECONCILIATION INSTRUCTIONS: George Stephanopolous of ABC News had a very interesting tidbit yesterday on how the administration and Congress plan to move their signature health and energy reforms through Congress. Because each of these issues are particularly controversial, it will be very difficult to find 60 votes in the Senate to break a Republican filibuster, unless the bills become watered down. The Democrats have been exploring the idea of using the reconciliation procedures. We talked about this before, but reconciliation is an expedited procedural tool for considering bills that change overall revenue levels. The way it works is that the majority party will include "reconciliation instructions" in the annual non-binding budget resolution (which should be coming up for a vote in the next couple of weeks) that instructs specific committees to bring mandatory spending levels in line with pre-set limits. Once the committees make the required cuts, the bill is considered and voted on in each house of Congress. The reconciliation process was created to make it easier for Congress to do necessary, but politically unpopular things (like raise taxes or cut spending). Fortunately, it's also possible to use reconciliation instructions to raise revenue or lower taxes. Bush used the reconciliation process to get his tax cuts through Congress in 2001.
The question for the Obama administration is whether to use the reconciliation procedure to pass health care reform or energy legislation. The "Byrd Rule" (named after Senator Robert Byrd) forbid the reconciliation process for being used on bills that don't change overall revenue levels, and it also forbids the reconciliation process if the bill produces "a change in outlays or revenues which is merely incidental to the non-budgetary components of the provision."
I'm not sure whether these two measures would satisfy that second requirement, but let's say it does. On the one hand, it would seem like Democrats would be stupid not to use the reconciliation process. They only have 58 votes in the Senate, so if they used reconciliation, they could even lose a few moderates and get universal health care and cap and trade. A couple of problems have arisen that complicate this problem. First, there are some Democratic Senators who are "morally" against using reconciliation (especially for cap and trade) because they don't want to shut Republicans out of the legislative process. Additionally, Republicans would not be in the mood to compromise on other important legislation if they get steamrolled by the reconciliation process. In my view, these concerns are very "inside baseball." These problems are too important for us to be worrying about hurting the Republicans' feelings. If reconciliation is the best way to get the bills done, use it. If it's not, don't use it.
Anyways, the report yesterday indicated that Democrats will not use reconciliation for cap and trade, but might use for health care. Nate Silver had a very good analysis of this. During an economic downturn, people have much less desire to protect the environment. Any threat of a temporary increase in energy prices is scary for people who are living paycheck to paycheck. On the other hand, an economic downturn makes me people much more interested in comprehensive health reform. A free public option sounds a lot better when you're forking over thousands of dollars a month on health care bills and prescription drugs. According to the ABC News report, Democrats will try and come up with a comprehensive health care proposal that appeals to some Republicans. In this environment, when even big business seems interested in reform, it's not entirely out of the question. However, Democrats should reserve the option of using the reconciliation process. At the very least, the threat of the reconciliation procedure might make it more likely for Republicans to compromise.
Anyways, we'll find out exactly what Democrats decide to do when they release their budget proposal next week.
That's it for tonight. Stay tuned tomorrow when we'll talk about the Treasury's new plan to buy out toxic assets.
RECONCILIATION INSTRUCTIONS: George Stephanopolous of ABC News had a very interesting tidbit yesterday on how the administration and Congress plan to move their signature health and energy reforms through Congress. Because each of these issues are particularly controversial, it will be very difficult to find 60 votes in the Senate to break a Republican filibuster, unless the bills become watered down. The Democrats have been exploring the idea of using the reconciliation procedures. We talked about this before, but reconciliation is an expedited procedural tool for considering bills that change overall revenue levels. The way it works is that the majority party will include "reconciliation instructions" in the annual non-binding budget resolution (which should be coming up for a vote in the next couple of weeks) that instructs specific committees to bring mandatory spending levels in line with pre-set limits. Once the committees make the required cuts, the bill is considered and voted on in each house of Congress. The reconciliation process was created to make it easier for Congress to do necessary, but politically unpopular things (like raise taxes or cut spending). Fortunately, it's also possible to use reconciliation instructions to raise revenue or lower taxes. Bush used the reconciliation process to get his tax cuts through Congress in 2001.
The question for the Obama administration is whether to use the reconciliation procedure to pass health care reform or energy legislation. The "Byrd Rule" (named after Senator Robert Byrd) forbid the reconciliation process for being used on bills that don't change overall revenue levels, and it also forbids the reconciliation process if the bill produces "a change in outlays or revenues which is merely incidental to the non-budgetary components of the provision."
I'm not sure whether these two measures would satisfy that second requirement, but let's say it does. On the one hand, it would seem like Democrats would be stupid not to use the reconciliation process. They only have 58 votes in the Senate, so if they used reconciliation, they could even lose a few moderates and get universal health care and cap and trade. A couple of problems have arisen that complicate this problem. First, there are some Democratic Senators who are "morally" against using reconciliation (especially for cap and trade) because they don't want to shut Republicans out of the legislative process. Additionally, Republicans would not be in the mood to compromise on other important legislation if they get steamrolled by the reconciliation process. In my view, these concerns are very "inside baseball." These problems are too important for us to be worrying about hurting the Republicans' feelings. If reconciliation is the best way to get the bills done, use it. If it's not, don't use it.
Anyways, the report yesterday indicated that Democrats will not use reconciliation for cap and trade, but might use for health care. Nate Silver had a very good analysis of this. During an economic downturn, people have much less desire to protect the environment. Any threat of a temporary increase in energy prices is scary for people who are living paycheck to paycheck. On the other hand, an economic downturn makes me people much more interested in comprehensive health reform. A free public option sounds a lot better when you're forking over thousands of dollars a month on health care bills and prescription drugs. According to the ABC News report, Democrats will try and come up with a comprehensive health care proposal that appeals to some Republicans. In this environment, when even big business seems interested in reform, it's not entirely out of the question. However, Democrats should reserve the option of using the reconciliation process. At the very least, the threat of the reconciliation procedure might make it more likely for Republicans to compromise.
Anyways, we'll find out exactly what Democrats decide to do when they release their budget proposal next week.
That's it for tonight. Stay tuned tomorrow when we'll talk about the Treasury's new plan to buy out toxic assets.
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