Jobs

Senate Republicans Block Dem Jobs Bill For Teachers, Firefighters

Brian Beutler | October 20, 2011, 10:34PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Senate Republicans, joined by three conservative members of the Democratic caucus, blocked a floor debate on a key portion of President Obama's jobs bill, which would have provided states $35 billion to hire or retain teachers and emergency responders.

The final tally on the late Thursday vote was 50-50, with Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AR), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and Ben Nelson (D-NE) voting with the entire Republican caucus to support the filibuster. The GOP continues to oppose all economic stimulus proposals that involve spending money on jobs, and take even greater exception to Obama's jobs bills, which pays for that spending with a small surtax on millionaires.

Democrats expected the legislation to fail, but plan to use routine GOP obstruction to strengthen the narrative that the Republican party is unwilling to help improve the economy, or to raise taxes on wealthy people to pay for any of the country's needs.

To wit, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) issued an official statement after the vote denouncing Republicans for "unanimously block[iing] a bill that would have kept 400,000 teachers in the classroom and first responders on the job because they refuse to ask millionaires to pay their fair share."

"By asking millionaires to pay an extra half a penny on the dollar, this bill would have created jobs by keeping our communities safe and ensuring that our children continue to have access to a high-quality education," Reid said. "Unfortunately, protecting millionaires and defeating President Obama are more important to my Republican colleagues than creating jobs and getting our economy back on track."

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Jobs

Reid Tees Up Key Test Vote On Teacher, Firefighter Jobs Bill

Brian Beutler | October 19, 2011, 3:49PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will tee up a Friday test vote on a piece of President Obama's jobs bill that would provide states money to retain or rehire teachers and emergency first responders.

"We are going to make sure there is a vote on our bill this week," Reid told a crowd of fire fighters and teachers at a rally on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

The $35 billion legislation would be paid for with a 0.5 percent surtax on income over $1 million a year -- a tiny new marginal bump that Republicans unanimously oppose. Some analyses suggest the legislation would save or create 400,000 jobs.

"The Republicans who work in the Senate suit up every day and come down and play their game in the Senate by following the lead of their leader -- and that is, whatever they do, to make sure they do everything they can to make Barack Obama [lose]," Reid said.

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White House

Two Dems Vote With GOP To Kill Obama Jobs Package In Senate

Susan Crabtree | October 11, 2011, 7:50PM

Update: 8:56 p.m. Eastern -- At the last moment, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid switched his vote to "no" after Sen. Shaheen cast a yes vote. Reid altered his position in order to be able to bring the measure to a vote again. The final tally came to 50-49.

Senate Democrats lost a procedural hurdle on President Obama's jobs bill Thursday night, scuttling any progress on passage of the entire package.

As of early evening, Senate Democrats were still holding the vote open for Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), who had a scheduling conflict and was still in flight when the vote began. With Shaheen's yes vote, Senate Democrats could show a majority of support, 51 votes, for the President's $447m plan to spur economic growth.

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Jobs

Reid Casts Doubt On Unanimous Dem Support For Obama Jobs Bill

Brian Beutler | October 5, 2011, 1:27PM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)

At a Wednesday Capitol press conference, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) again couldn't confidently predict that President Obama's jobs bill has the support of the entire Democratic caucus -- even after leadership tweaked some of its controversial measures to broaden party support for the plan.

"I don't know what 'unanimity' means," Reid told reporters. "We'll get most all the Democrats."

Unanimity, of course, means all Democrats -- which will be important. If one or two Democrats defect from the bill, Republicans can (and will) say that the opposition to the plan is bipartisan.

There's a chance that he could unite the party, particularly after replacing Obama's proposed tax measures with a simpler five percent surtax on millionaires to pay for the jobs programs.

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Barack Obama

Centrists Continue To Parse The President's Tax Plan

Susan Crabtree | September 21, 2011, 2:42PM

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)

Several centrist Democratic Senators have spent the last week wringing their hands a bit over President Obama's deficit reduction plan and its dependence on increasing taxes on the wealthy and closing corporate loopholes.

Some approve of shutting down the corporate subsidies, while others support hiking taxes for the rich, but none reached by TPM embraced the entire package.

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Jon Bruning

Nebraska AG Jon Bruning's Land Deal With Student Loan Execs Under Scrutiny

Benjy Sarlin | August 29, 2011, 3:03PM

As he gears up his Senate run, Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning (R) is drawing heavy attention in the local press for his business dealings.

Last week the Omaha World-Herald dug into Bruning's finances, noting that he owns stakes in various businesses ranging from $12 million to $61 million in total value, while also owing high debt between $10 and $35 million to fund his investments, all accrued during a career as a public servant. Now, Democrats are pouncing on a follow-up story about a real estate deal he cut with the help of executives from a student loan company that he crossed paths with as attorney general.

In 2008, Bruning joined two executives from the company, Nelnet, to purchase a $675,000 lake house. But only a year earlier, he was embroiled in a controversy surrounding the same company when he waived a $1 million settlement with Nelnet over improper business practices. After critics pointed out that Nelnet execs had showered him with $16,000 in donations, he backed off the move.

"To me, it's incredibly tone deaf," Paul Johnson, campaign manager for Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), whose seat Bruning is running for, told the World-Herald.

Bruning told the paper he has been friends with the executives in question for years and there is no conflict of interest since the company is not under investigation.

Jon Bruning

Nebraska AG Jon Bruning Compares Welfare Recipients To Scavenging Raccoons

Benjy Sarlin | August 9, 2011, 11:28AM

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, a frontrunner to win the GOP nomination against Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), compared poor people to scavenging racoons in a speech this week.

In a video captured by the liberal group, American Bridge 21st Century, Bruning makes the comparison as part of an elaborate metaphor originally focused on environmental regulations. He describes a requirement that workers at a construction project gather up endangered beetles by luring them into a bucket with a dead rat in order to release them elsewhere. But the plan is thwarted when hungry raccoons then eat them straight out of the rat-infested bucket. Which, according to Bruning, is a perfect image to illustrate how welfare recipients receive their benefits.

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Balanced Budget Amendment

It's A Trap! The Hidden Pitfalls Of GOP's 'Cut, Cap, And Balance' Plan

Brian Beutler | July 18, 2011, 1:24PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Tuesday, the House of Representatives will vote on, and likely pass, a conservative Republican plan called "Cut, Cap, and Balance." The package will include some immediate, as-yet unspecified spending cuts, a statutory cap to keep spending below 18 percent of GDP, and a promised separate vote on a Constitutional amendment that requires Congress to maintain a balanced budget, but essentially forbids any future tax increases.

It would also raise the debt ceiling through 2012 -- an ancillary benefit for Republicans who are looking for any way to pin the consequences of a debt default, should one happen, on Democrats. Indeed, the GOP feigned shock and anger Monday when the White House, as expected, issued an official veto threat -- turns out President Obama's the one threatening to wreak havoc on the country.

Of course, later in the week, the Senate will follow suit, and there Cut, Cap, and Balance is expected to fail.

For Republicans, it's the perfect alignment of popular sounding policies -- "spending cuts" a "balanced budget" and, finally, an end to this debt limit brinksmanship -- minus the a scintilla of accountability or transparency. And for Republicans trying to make nice with conservative activists, it will give them cover to later vote for a much more modest plan to cut some spending, raise the debt limit, avoid default. But the details have been intentionally obscured by most conservatives, and they reveal the plan to be the most radical fiscal policy the GOP has aligned behind in years -- one that makes the Republican's current budget proposal to phase out Medicare appear moderate by comparison.

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Oil Subsidies

Republicans Filibuster Bill To Repeal Oil Subsidies

Brian Beutler | May 17, 2011, 7:16PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) with Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Charles Schumer (D-NY)

As expected, a Democratic bill that would have stripped big oil companies of multi-billion annual tax subsidies failed to overcome a Republican filibuster Tuesday evening. The heavily partisan 52-48 vote fell well short of the 60 required to achieve cloture. Three Democrats -- Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Mark Begich (D-AK), and Ben Nelson (D-NE) -- voted with Republicans to maintain the subsidies. Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) voted with the Democrats.

Democrats have turned oil subsidies into a major issue as Congress looks at ways to tame high deficits and the national debt. They've been fueled in their efforts by soaring gas prices and extraordinary industry profits. And party leaders have vowed to include the tax breaks in any grand fiscal bargain tied to raising the debt limit.

But this effort was all about politics. Democrats want to highlight the GOP alignment with oil companies this election season and Tuesday's vote will help them do that. But if it had passed it would have run smack into a pretty big problem -- because, er, it was unconstitutional.

112th Congress

Senate Passes Two-Week Funding Bill, Avoids Shutdown

Benjy Sarlin | March 2, 2011, 12:35PM

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y.

With a looming March 4 deadline before the government runs out of funding, the Senate voted 91-9 to approve a House measure providing funding for two weeks while making $4 billion in cuts with bipartisan backing.

The move averts a shutdown, but the gulf between the two parties remains wide as Republicans are calling for $61 billion in cuts that Democratic leaders and the White House claim would costs hundreds of thousands of jobs. Democrats say they support scaling back spending, but only if the reductions don't damage the fledgling recovery or essential services.

"At some point we're going to have to come to some finality and not just kick the can down the road two weeks at a time," Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) told reporters after the vote.

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John McCain

McCain Fears Sadr's Influence In Iraq Ahead of U.S. Withdrawal

Susan Crabtree | February 3, 2011, 1:18PM

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is expressing concern about the movements of radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr in and out of Iran and Iraq ahead of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq later this year.

"I'm very concerned about Sadr's activity -- and his followers...I'll be pretty blunt," McCain said Thursday at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

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Ben Nelson

Nelson Rejects Backdoor GOP Plan To Kill Health Law

Brian Beutler | February 3, 2011, 9:10AM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).

Democrats are holding together to close backdoor efforts to kill the health care law better than the GOP would like.

They would prefer that vulnerable Democrats to join them in support of a new measure that would allow states to opt out of key provisions of the law -- a plan designed to weaken and kill it.

But at least one of those Democrats isn't biting.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) says he likes pieces of that measure -- in particular allowing states to opt out of the law's call for a Medicaid expansion. But he can't support it overall.

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State Of The Union

Ben Nelson: 'Get Rid Of This Aisle!'

Eric Kleefeld | January 26, 2011, 2:46PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

At least one senator doesn't want last night's newly-minted State of the Union ritual of mixed-party seating to be a one-time thing -- or even a once-yearly thing, either. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), perhaps the most conservative Democrat in the caucus, has put out a press release saying that the whole party aisle system should be ditched entirely -- and he's invoking some serious language in his cause.

From Nelson's press release:

"So, to paraphrase former President Reagan, whose declaration about the need for unity rings true today in a different context, I hope colleagues will join me and say, 'Get Rid of This Aisle!'

"Let's close the Partisan Divide and let the Democrats, Republicans and Independents all sit together. I'm going to advocate--if there truly is an interest in working together--that we get rid of the aisle on the Senate floor. We could sit not by party but by state, or by alphabet, or some other way that erases the partisan divide. Others will probably join in. We've already gone through the exercise of last night so it should not be difficult to get others to sign onto the idea. The idea would be to send a joint letter to the leaders suggesting mixed seating.

And after the aisle comes down, Republicans will be able to buy those forbidden Western rock albums.

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Health Care

Nelson: GOP Should Offer Alternatives To Health Care Repeal

Brian Beutler | January 25, 2011, 1:59PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

If Republicans pursue their health care repeal strategy, the Senate is set to become a political battlefield, with each side tossing grenades across the line at the other. Democrats say they'll force votes on the popular parts of the health care law, pressing the GOP to oppose them individually. In return, Republicans vow to also break the law down and force votes on the taxes and mandates that make it unpopular.

Will anybody blink? Generally Republicans are better than Democrats at sticking together on politically uncomfortable messaging votes. But this afternoon, on his way into a weekly caucus policy lunch, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), who often votes with Republicans, dismissed the GOP's push to simply repeal the unpopular stuff.

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Ben Nelson

Ben Nelson's Office Reposts CQ Rating As Most Independent Dem

Eric Kleefeld | January 4, 2011, 2:54PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

You might have seen that Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) has been rated by CQ as the Democratic Senator most likely to cross party lines. And if you haven't heard about it, it turns out that his office is also stepping in to publicize it.

The ratings found that Nelson voted with the Democrats on just under 54% of "party unity" votes -- Senate motions where a majority of the Democratic caucus votes opposite to a majority of Republicans. The runner-up was Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), who has retired, and who sided with the Dems on 68% of party unity votes.

Today, Nelson's Senate office reproduced on their "Nelson In The News" section an article from the Omaha World-Herald, the state's largest newspaper, which picked up on the story.

I asked Nelson's communications director Jake Thompson, was the office trying to send a particular message by reposting that article on their site? "No, not really," said Thompson. "If you look, it's really just case by case, I thought it was an interesting article. CQ is something you have to subscribe to, so people might not have access to the numbers. I thought it was a way to let people know about it."

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2012 elections

DeMint Targets Red-State Dem Senators In Fundraising Email

Eric Kleefeld | December 2, 2010, 9:42AM

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)

Sen. Jim DeMint is already hitting the virtual campaign trail for the 2012 Senate races, National Journal reports, with his Senate Conservatives Fund leadership PAC sending out a fundraising email targeting four red-state Democrats who voted against the earmark moratorium.

The targeted Senators are Jon Tester (D-MT), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Kent Conrad (D-ND) and the newly-elected Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who just won a special election and is up for a vote again in 2012. All four of them hail from states that were carried by John McCain in 2008.

"These senators are nice folks but they have ignored the will of the American people and they must be replaced with principled conservatives in 2012," DeMint says in the email. "That's where the Senate Conservatives Fund comes in and it's where you can help."

DeMint then adds that his PAC will need "at least $4 million" for these four targeted races.

Pay Freeze

Dems Split On Obama Plan To Freeze Federal Pay

Brian Beutler | November 29, 2010, 8:40PM

President Obama, House Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats

Congressional Democrats are divided once again over an olive branch President Obama extended to the GOP. Progressive members are openly questioning his proposal to freeze federal pay through at least 2012, while their conservative counterparts support the plan, aligning themselves with Republican members who are already pressing Obama to move further to the right.

"[I]t would have been far preferable for the White House to have included this as part of a comprehensive proposal, instead of singling out the hard working men and women of the federal workforce," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in a statement to reporters this evening. "By focusing exclusively on federal employees, the Administration runs the risk of reinforcing the myth, pushed by some for politically convenient but cynical reasons, that America suffers from a federal government comprised of unproductive and overpaid civil servants. Nothing could be further from the truth."

Van Hollen's the incoming ranking member of the Budget Committee, but also represents a large number of federal employees. That said, he's not alone.

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NE-SEN

Nebraska's GOP Atty. Gen. To Run Against Ben Nelson

Eric Kleefeld | November 5, 2010, 4:29PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) already has a challenger for his 2012 re-election, the Lincoln Journal Star reports, with Republican state Attorney General Jon Bruning forming an exploratory committee:

Bruning has started raising money for a Senate campaign, formed a four-person campaign staff, and is ready to go.

"I can't imagine any conditions under which I would not run," Bruning acknowledged at a news conference in the Capitol Rotunda.

"I want to run. I'm ready to run."

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Bush Tax Cuts

Nelson: Pay For High-Income Tax Cuts With Stimulus Money

Brian Beutler | September 21, 2010, 4:17PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) now tells TPM he's "not inclined" to filibuster an extension of the Bush middle-income tax cuts, even if they're not paired with a tax cut for the wealthy. He does, however, want a temporary extension of the high-income tax cuts at a minimum -- and he wants it to be paid for with unspent stimulus funds.

"My sense is I don't think permanent can pass, so as a practical matter I think we ought to offset as much of these extended tax cuts as possible and extend them for some period of time," Nelson told reporters outside the weekly Democratic policy lunch.

When asked about his favorite offsets by TPM, Nelson replied, "Well, you still have unspent stimulus funds."

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Bush Tax Cuts

Nelson: 'It Would Be Very Hard For Me To Support' Allowing Tax Cuts For The Rich To Expire

Brian Beutler | September 13, 2010, 7:01PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Ben Nelson (D-NE), the most conservative of the Senate's 59 Democrats, became the first in his party to say he might side with Republicans on the Bush tax cuts, suggesting he might filibuster a tax bill that allowed tax cuts for the rich to expire.

"It would be very hard for me to support that," Nelson told reporters outside the Senate chamber before a vote this evening.

Afterward, TPM asked him what tools he would use to ensure that the tax cuts for the rich are extended. "My vote," he said.

Nelson's not alone.

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Ben Nelson

Ben Nelson Bucks Obama On Bush Tax Cuts -- But Obama Won't Commit To A Veto Either

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2010, 12:52PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Less than a day after President Obama took Republicans to the mat over their push to extend Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, the Senate's most conservative Democrat has reiterated his opposition to letting those cuts expire. But Obama isn't forcing his hand. In fact, he won't threaten to veto any attempt to extend the tax cuts for the wealthy.

"I support extending all of the expiring tax cuts until Nebraska's and the nation's economy is in better shape, and perhaps longer, because raising taxes in a weak economy could impair recovery," reads a statement from Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).

The majority of Democrats support renewing most of the Bush tax cuts. But all the cuts are set to expire at the end of the year, so Congress will soon choose which to extend. Obama wants Congress to send him a bill making the tax cuts on the middle class permanent and letting the cuts for the wealthy expire. But Republicans are holding out for at least a two year extension of all the cuts, and if they, along with Nelson and other Democrats, are willing to filibuster, they could force Obama's hand.

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Ben Nelson

Nelson Blasts Nebraska Governor For Threatening Teachers Over Health Care Reform

Brian Beutler | August 31, 2010, 8:39AM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) is openly defending health care reform from Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman (R), who this week pressured the state's educational professionals to choose between the new law and, potentially, their jobs.

"It's...troubling that he's using that misinformation to intimidate groups involved in all aspects of our children's health, safety and education, pitting one against the other," Nelson said of Heineman in a statement issued last night.

Nelson voted for the health care bill earlier this Congress, despite hailing from a Republican state and being one of the most conservative Democrats in the Senate. Though he's not up for re-election this year, he has since that vote distanced himself from his Democratic colleagues on several issues.

But on this issue he's parting with Republicans.

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Supreme Court

Nelson: Kagan Less Popular In Nebraska Than Sotomayor

Brian Beutler | August 3, 2010, 9:22AM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

After having supported the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) has decided not to support President Obama's second SCOTUS pick, Solicitor General Elena Kagan. Last night, in response to questions from TPMDC, he explained his differing decisions.

"[She's] just not been able to give people comfort," Nelson said. "The calls have been running -- there's a constituency not to vote for her. There's not a strong constituency to vote for her."

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Financial Reform

Signs Point To Tough Haul For A Potential Elizabeth Warren Nomination

Brian Beutler | July 21, 2010, 8:56AM

Elizabeth Warren, Chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel for TARP

Progressive pressure on President Obama to appoint Elizabeth Warren to head a soon-to-be-created consumer financial protection bureau has reached a fever pitch. But in a troubling sign for her supporters, the White House is remaining mum, and key senators aren't rallying to her defense. In some cases quite the opposite.

"Elizabeth can be a terrific nominee but the question is, is she confirmable? And there is a serious question about that," said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd during an interview on NPR Monday.

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Ben Nelson

Ben Nelson Agrees To Vote For Wall Street Reform; Reid Schedules Votes

Megan Carpentier | July 13, 2010, 11:16AM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).

According to Ryan Grim, and aide to Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson, who had been holding out on the Wall Street reform bill, confirmed this morning that he would indeed vote for the legislation when it is brought to the floor, possibly on Thursday. Just before that, Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that he planned to file for cloture as early as this afternoon.

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Wall Street

Ben Nelson Leaves Dems One Vote Shy Of Wall Street Reform

Brian Beutler | July 12, 2010, 6:58PM

Democrats in Washington might want to nudge West Virginia governor Joe Manchin to name a replacement for Sen. Robert Byrd already.

The good news for Dems is that tonight, in a statement to reporters, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) hopped aboard the Wall Street reform train. "I intend to support passage of the legislation when its brought before the Senate," she said. That would make 60 votes -- enough to overcome a filibuster -- but now a Democrat is hanging out in the undecided camp, preventing the package from coming to the cloor

The bad news: Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) explicitly told reporters this evening he's not committed to voting for the legislation, citing a handful of measures, and concern about potential future directors of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

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Ben Nelson

With Millions Losing Benefits, Ben Nelson Blocks Extension Of Unemployment Insurance

Brian Beutler | July 1, 2010, 9:18AM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) last night prevented his fellow Democrats from finally passing legislation to extend needed unemployment insurance benefits to out of work Americans. It was the third time the legislation, which has been repeatedly pared down and reshaped in the hunt for votes, has failed to overcome a filibuster. But it was the first time that success or failure rested on a single deciding vote. And because Nelson, the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, joined Republicans and blocked the bill, it will likely not pass until mid-July, after the Senate returns from Independence Day recess. By then Robert Byrd's replacement will be seated, and Dems will have the votes they need to pass their jobs bill.

Here's what happened.

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Blanche Lincoln

Lincoln: I Was Not The Deciding Vote On Health Care Reform

Brian Beutler | June 11, 2010, 1:15PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) may have hoped she'd put the primary behind her, but it will continue to haunt her for weeks to come. Now that she's running full-time in the general election against Rep. John Boozman, Lincoln is once again shoring up her right flank, tiptoeing away from the rhetoric she used to defeat Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. The results are...awkward.

For instance, in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Lincoln tried to dispel the notion that she cast the deciding vote for health care reform, which remains unpopular in Arkansas.

"I wasn't the deciding vote," Lincoln said. "I was among a handful of five Democrats that worked on getting consensus."

There's some truth to that. But where did the Democrat-Gazette get the notion that Lincoln tipped health care into the Democrats' win column? From Blanche Lincoln, who in the below ad said, " I grew up in an Arkansas family where we were taught to solve problems, not through hate and anger, but by coming together and getting something done. That's why I cast the deciding vote to pass health care reform."

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Ben Nelson

Nelson: I've Never Used An ATM -- But I Can Learn! I Know About Holograms

Ben Frumin | May 20, 2010, 10:27AM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) has never used an ATM. But that doesn't mean he can't learn how!

"I could learn how to do it just like I've . . . I swipe to get my own gas, buy groceries," Nelson said, according to the Omaha World-Herald. "I know about the holograms."

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Financial Reform

Nelson Defends Blocks: 'I Did Not Vote No Because Of Berkshire'

Rachel Slajda | April 29, 2010, 12:10PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).

When Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) voted with Republicans three times to block financial reform legislation from coming to the Senate floor for debate, many -- including TPM -- pointed out that Berkshire Hathaway, the company of Omaha investor Warren Buffett, had pushed hard for a provision that would have protected existing derivatives from certain regulations. Nelson, who owns millions in Berkshire stock, had supported the provision, a provision that had been stripped from the bill in negotiations.

Yesterday, Nelson lashed out at what he called the "cesspool of gotcha politics" and defended his votes.

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Health Care

Obama Tells Congress He Likes Four GOP Ideas For Health Care

Christina Bellantoni | March 2, 2010, 12:56PM

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), President Obama, and Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

President Obama this afternoon wrote a letter to Congressional leadership detailing four areas where he thinks Republican ideas can be included in a final health care compromise and pledging to drop the Medicaid deals for Nebraska and Florida from what he proposes tomorrow.

The White House released the letter which Obama wrote to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader John Boehner summing up his take from the health care summit last week. Obama said he came away from the meeting feeling the group agreed the cost of health care is a massive problem that must be solved.

"I also left convinced that the Republican and Democratic approaches to health care have
more in common than most people think," Obama wrote.

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Ben Nelson

My Plan All Along! Nelson Renames Controversial Deal "The Cornhusker Kickoff"

Brian Beutler | February 26, 2010, 2:03PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) has taken a lot of heat for negotiating the "Cornhusker Kickback"--a deal he struck during the Senate health care debate under which the federal government would cover the entire cost of expanding Medicaid coverage in his state of Nebraska. But now that Democrats are proposing that the federal government cover the cost of a Medicaid expansion in every state, Nelson wants a little bit of credit. And he has a cute little name for it, too!

"Now I want them to start calling this the Cornhusker Kickoff," Nelson joked on KLIN Radio's Jack & John in the Morning" show. "It kicks off for everybody, which is what I sought in the first place. And now, if there is anything passed of this sort, it will apply in all the states."

"My theme has always been: Nebraska first, Nebraska always, not Nebraska only," Nelson said. So, you see, this was his plan all along. Asked by the host if he feels vindicated for negotiating the original deal, Nelson answered simply: "I do. In a word, I do." (That's two words.)

Health Care

Pro-Life Group Unhappy With New Health Reform Proposal

Christina Bellantoni | February 22, 2010, 1:18PM

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

The new White House health care bill doesn't change the more lenient Senate-passed abortion provisions, and now the pro-life group known as Susan B. Anthony's List is saying that it will pressure pro-life lawmakers to oppose the compromise.

More than 30 pro-life organizations have called for the final plan to include language written by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), and signed a letter to President Obama and Republican Congressional leadership asking that "protection of life" be the top priority at the health care summit.

The Stupak plan would prevent people getting federal assistance to purchase plans on the newly created insurance exchanges if they cover abortions. The Nelson plan allows people to buy whatever policies they want, but if a policy covers abortions, the person purchasing it would need to write a separate check for the portion of the plan that provides for abortion.

Obama has said more than once the health care legislation is not an abortion bill, and Democrats insist it does not include direct federal funding for abortions.

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Ben Nelson

Ben Nelson Helps GOP Block Obama NLRB Nominee

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 9, 2010, 8:55AM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) will join with Republicans to block cloture on a nominee for the National Labor Relations Board that President Obama has sent to the Senate. In a statement yesterday, Nelson lashed out at the nominee, Craig Becker, saying he'll "pursue an aggressive personal agenda" on the board.

Becker's nomination has been controversial among conservatives and Republicans since it was announced. The right views Becker's past as an SEIU lawyer as a harbinger that he'll take pro-labor stances that Republicans and business leaders have long viewed with trepidation.

In his statement yesterday, Nelson lent his voice to those concerns, citing Becker's past statements that Republicans have used in their campaign against the nominee.

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Ben Nelson

Dems Say Sen. Ben Nelson's Deal Was Setback For Health Care

Christina Bellantoni | February 1, 2010, 11:58AM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Democrats are privately admitting the deal they made with Sen. Ben Nelson on Medicaid funding for Nebraska was a major factor in souring the America people on the health care reform bill.

Senate leadership inked a deal in December to win over Nelson (D-NE), allowing him to insert pro-life language in the measure and to secure federal funding for the cost of any Medicaid expansion in what has now been dubbed the "Cornhusker kickback."

It's been the target of lawsuits and scorn from both the right and the left, and leaders in both chambers believe it ultimately will be stripped from the final measure, whenever one surfaces.

Instead of considering more dealmaking to get a final health care bill passed, Democratic sources privately acknowledge that Nelson's compromise did more harm than good. Several sources said it tops a list of problems that have hurt the health care process.

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Abortion

Driving A Hard Bargain: Nelson Says He Would've Opposed His Own Abortion Language

Brian Beutler | January 27, 2010, 1:52PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).

For any legislator who wants to learn how to drive a bargain, check out this stunning interview Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) conducted with Life Site News.

Now that the Democrats have only 59 votes--insufficient to overcome a filibuster--Nelson is providing an inside look at his legislative strategy. And it's...remarkable. Nelson famously insisted that, to get his vote, Senate health care legislation would have to include restrictions on abortion financing. Now, however, he says his plan all along was to pull a bait and switch: Wait until the House and Senate met to merge their two bills and then push for yet tougher language.

"[O]nce it went to conference, as part of the conference, there was still another 60 vote threshold, and that is when I would have insisted... for my last 60th vote, it has to have [Stupak-like language]," Nelson said.

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Health Care

Lincoln, Bayh Won't Support Passing Health Care Fixes Via Reconciliation

Rachel Slajda | January 26, 2010, 2:32PM

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

Two Democratic senators, Evan Bayh of Indiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, have declared that they won't support a plan to have the House pass the Senate health care bill whole, then pass fixes to the bill through the reconciliation process.

A third, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, suggested lawmakers give up on the comprehensive health care bill entirely and pass reforms one by one.

"We need to focus on things where we have a consensus," Bayh said."Just ramming through a bill on a purely party-line vote on a strictly partisan basis will not do much to generate the kind of progress around here on other issues that we need."

Bayh also said he doesn't understand why the Senate dropped the version of the bill passed by the Finance Committee with one Republican vote. "Maybe we should take another look at that," he said. "If Sen. Snowe was willing to vote for it, perhaps there were other Republicans who were willing to."

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Harry Reid

Dems Brainstorm For A Way Around Health Care Impasse

Brian Beutler | January 25, 2010, 5:30PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are looking for a solution to the health care conundrum and are facing some tough realities. They know the House won't pass the Senate health care bill unless it can be sure the Senate will act on separate piece of legislation amending a number of its key provisions. And they know that many of these changes--particularly to the tax structure of the Senate bill--would likely only pass by circumventing a filibuster using the so-called budget reconciliation process.

The duo are working through a number of possibilities, including a new idea, floated by several House members, to expedite the reconciliation strategy. But, as always, nothing's as easy as it seems.

"There are obviously a handful of ideas that people are looking at," said a House Democratic aide. "We passed a student loan bill in the House. That's sitting over in the Senate. One idea that has been discussed is to, on that bill, amend it to address the concerns about the Senate [health care] bill, primarily the Cadillac tax, and the Nebraska [Medicaid] deal; have the Senate pass that under reconciliation, have that come back to us, we pass it, and we also vote on the Senate bill."

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