Life is good when you’re in the majority—and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) seems to believe he’ll be there forever. Reid has already effectively shut down the opportunity for minority Senators to offer amendments to bills. Now he is angling to change the Senate’s rules so that minority members …
It seems odd to note this in an election year, but it’s important nonetheless: The Founding Fathers feared unbridled, direct democracy. The Senate is supposed to slow down the legislative process by allowing vigorous debate. But Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV) is weakening its purpose by blocking other Senators from …
Critics of state and local government action on immigration fail to keep in mind one simple but critical point: The states have these rights. It is preposterous to take the position that, short of federal action or the commission of a crime, governors and mayors are constitutionally powerless to deal …
The Senate plays a vital role in the treaty-making process. The Senate is required to provide due diligence in the considerations of treaties. The Founding Fathers set a high procedural bar for ratification and entry into force of treaties, expecting that the Senate would serve as a quality control mechanism. …
Following passage of a one-thousand-page omnibus spending bill, the Senate reconvened to continue consideration of HR 3590, the Senate health bill. Middle Class Taxes. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) offered an amendment to recommit the Senate health bill back to the Senate Finance Committee with instructions to protect Americans who make …
Debate continues on the Senate floor on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 (H.R.3590), and the focus continues to be on Medicare and Medicare Advantage. While proposing spending cuts in one program to create another, the Senate leadership is claiming that all of these Medicare cuts are …
Earlier this morning the Senate Finance Committee, during its markup of the “Chairman’s Mark” of the America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009, voted down an amendment that would have helped ensure that Americans can keep their current coverage. The amendment offered by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) stated the following: “The …
