This Morning Bell is the third in a five-part week-long series on how Obamacare will affect you. The scariest part about yesterday’s Senate Finance Committee vote passing its version of Obamacare, is not what is in their bill (to the extent that it even exists), but that the Finance Committee bill promises to be the high water mark for “bipartisanship” in health care reform. Now all of the other bills will be merged together behind the closed doors. All the bills are fundamentally flawed and will only get worse as …
At the United Nations, President Obama tried desperately to convince the international community we have entered a “new era,” one in which the United States was serious about tackling global warming. His allies in the U.S. Senate do not appear eager to address the issue, as they used parliamentary procedures to dodge tough climate-related votes on the Interior-Environment Appropriations bill. Dodge Number One Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) attempted to offer several climate-related amendments, including one that would have forced the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct an investigation into alleged …
Why Reconciliation Exists What Is Reconciliation? Reconciliation is an optional step of the annual budget process that allows legislation to be approved by 51 votes in the U.S. Senate rather than the traditional 60 votes necessary to withstand a filibuster. This could also be achieved with 50 votes plus Vice President Biden as the 51st.This process is a shortcut that limits debate, including floor debate, to only 20 hours. The Purpose? Reconciliation was created to streamline Senate rules to make it easier for lawmakers to achieve the spending and tax …
Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), Senate majority leader, wants to rush the Senate health care legislation through the process by July 27, 2009. It’s not hard to see why. After 13 days of intense debate, the Senate HELP Committee just finished work on the Senate bill (The Affordable Health Choices Act) and reported it to the full Senate for consideration. During the Committee consideration of the bill, there were hundreds of amendments, dealing with topics ranging from abortions to funding jungle gyms. Much of the internal Committee debate received little attention …
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has abandoned her plans to draft and mark-up a comprehensive national energy tax modeled after the House-passed Waxman-Markey bill before Congress’s August recess. According to Reuters, Boxer promised, “we’ll do it as soon as we get back” from our month-long vacation. This should not come as surprise, as problems with the bill were beginning to mount. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have engaged in a very public debate over “carbon tariffs” with Senator John Kerry (D-MA) and …
Major Senate Floor Action – The Senate will be considering the conference report for the Iraq and Afghanistan War Supplemental bill. The Senate is set to except language that would allow the release of prisoner abuse photos, but only after the Obama administration promised to use executive authority to block them. There is also a $100 billion IMF bailout in the bill. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will bring a tourism bill to the floor that will create a government marketing firm to promote tourism to the United States.
Senate Floor · FDA Tobacco Regulation – S982 · Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan – HR2346 · Creation of a non-profit to increase tourism in the United States – S1023 Major Senate Committee Action · Foreign Relations Committee – Arms Control Nomination hearing · Energy and Natural Resources Committee – Comprehensive Energy Policy markup House Floor · Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan – HR2346 · Foreign Relations Authorization Act – HR2410 · Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement Act – HR1886 · Cash for Clunkers – HR2640 Major …
A a look at what happened last week, and what is coming up this week, on Capitol Hill Senate: Last week – began debate on the credit card bill This week – will finish the credit card bill and pass the Iraq and Afghanistan war supplemental House: Last week – passed the Iraq and Afghanistan war supplemental and Speaker Pelosi got embroiled over the waterboarding debate This week – Energy and Commerce Committee mark-up of the cap-and-tax bill and relatively no floor activity
Doesn’t Harry Reid know that Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest? A day for NFL playoffs. Apparently not, since he’s calling for a special Sunday vote on an omnibus lands bill that removes public land that would be available for recreational, commercial, and private ownership use by designating such land as wilderness areas, heritage areas, conservation areas and wild and scenic rivers. Furthermore, the bill places restrictions on existing federal property. It gets worse; the bill restricts energy exploration and is loaded with wasteful earmarks. Over 3 …
