John Boehner

Dems Twist Knife In Battle Over Forsaking Citizenship To Dodge Taxes

Sahil Kapur | May 22, 2012, 6:00AM

Sensing a political opportunity, Democrats are working to back Republicans into a corner on legislation designed to punish Americans who renounce their citizenship to avoid paying taxes, as Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin did.

The legislation, unveiled last Thursday by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Bob Casey (D-PA), provoked over-the-top conservative pushback, with Grover Norquist and the Wall Street Journal editorial board comparing it to the actions of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), conscious of not being portrayed as defending jet-setting elites who seek to avoid their legal obligations, said Sunday that Saverin's actions were "outrageous." He told ABC's "This Week" he may support the Schumer-Casey bill, but hedged that he wasn't sure it's necessary.

Now, with an apparent rift emerging, Democrats are twisting the knife.

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Ex-PATRIOT Act

Dems Unveil Bill To Crack Down On Tax Dodgers Like Facebook's Saverin

Sahil Kapur | May 17, 2012, 12:25PM

A large thumbs up sign marks the entrance to the Facebook campus on Willow Road in Menlo Park, California.

New legislation announced Thursday aims to crack down on Americans who renounce their citizenship in order to avoid paying taxes. It would force them to pay a 30 percent tax on all future U.S. investments and prohibit them from ever setting foot in the country again.

The "Ex-PATRIOT Act" was unveiled in the Capitol by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Bob Casey (D-PA), who made no secret that bill was inspired by Eduardo Saverin, the Facebook co-founder who is in the news after renouncing his U.S. citizenship just in time to avoid paying taxes on a large windfall, and relocating to Singapore, which does not levy capital gains taxes.

"Eduardo Saverin wants to de-friend the United States of America just to avoid paying taxes and we aren't going to let him get away with it," Schumer said. "This is a great American success story gone horribly wrong."

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Gas Prices

Dems: Ending Tax Breaks For Big Oil Will Have No Impact On Gas Prices

Susan Crabtree | May 13, 2011, 12:33PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Senate Democrats have spent the week dismissing GOP claims that ending tax breaks for the oil industry would result in higher prices at the pump. Republicans argue that the big five would simply pass along those added costs to consumers.

"It's Economics 101," a spokesman for Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) told TPM earlier this week when asked for an explanation for the assumption.

Democrats brushed aside the claim as baseless, lame excuse for keeping the subsidies intact.

On Friday, the Democrats called in some economic expertise as backup to prove their point. Alan Krueger, an economic and public affairs professor at Princeton University joined Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on a conference call with reporters. According to Krueger's analysis, ending tax breaks for big oil will do nothing to increase prices, or produce such infinitesimally small increases as to have no palpable impact whatsoever.

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Senate '12

Poll: Pennsylvania Voters Cold To Potential Santorum Senate Run

Jon Terbush | February 25, 2011, 11:32AM

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

If Rick Santorum wants to get back into national politics, he'd better run for president, as a new survey conducted by Municipoll finds that a majority of Pennsylvania voters don't like the idea of sending the former Republican Senator back to Congress.

In the poll of likely voters, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) trounced Santorum in a hypothetical 2012 Senate race, 50% to 38%. Casey captured Santorum's Senate seat in 2006 in a election year that saw Democrats reclaim control of the upper chamber of Congress.

Casey's lead over Santorum is slightly larger than the 48% to 41% lead PPP showed him boasting in a January poll.

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Jobs

Unions Take Aim At Dems Protecting Money Managers Over The Unemployed

Brian Beutler | May 21, 2010, 2:05PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

Some of the Democrats who fought hardest to strengthen the Wall Street reform bill are at the same time seeking to preserve a tax loophole for money managers, which, if closed, could be used to pay for extending benefits, health care subsidies, and job creation for the unemployed. And now the biggest players in Democratic politics are taking aim at them.

"I don't know how you explain to the nurse struggling to pay her mortgage or the security guard whose son can't afford college that they should pay higher taxes than Wall Street hedge fund managers and venture capitalists," SEIU spokesperson Lori Lodes tells me. "They see what's happening in their communities - states cutting back vital services, more of their neighbors losing their jobs. What they will never be able to understand is Senators holding up a needed jobs package because they want to look out for money managers."

The senators she's talking about are almost all Democrats--including John Kerry (D-MA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), who actually voted against Wall Street reform for not doing enough to rein in financial industry excess.

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PA-SEN

Bob Casey Records Radio Ad For Specter (AUDIO)

Eric Kleefeld | May 14, 2010, 3:50PM

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA)

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) has recorded a radio for ad Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), targeting voters in the western Pennsylvania area of Cambria County (Johnstown) in Specter's tough primary fight against Rep. Joe Sestak.

Casey touts his and Specter's frequent visits to the county, and the federal funding they have brought home for the area: "I'm Sen. Bob Casey, and I"m proud to endorse Arlen Specter, because he doesn't just work for Cambria County -- he delivers."

The TPM Poll Average for this primary gives Sestak an edge of 44.3%-43.0%, after Sestak picked up undecided voters over the last two and a half months.

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Public Option

Casey And Wyden Support Public Option Through Reconciliation

Rachel Slajda | March 2, 2010, 1:43PM

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA)

Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) both announced their support today for a public option to be passed via reconciliation.

Wyden, in a statement, said, "I've long believed we need a more competitive insurance market. If the House version of the public option came up for a vote in reconciliation I would vote yes."

His office did not immediately say whether he plans to sign the public option letter written by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) to send to Senate leadership. That letter now has 24 signatories.

Last week, Wyden sent out a press release saying he was holding off on signing the letter until after the White House summit.

"He intends to first join the President in a good faith effort to see if a bipartisan solution is possible," the release said.

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Bob Casey

Senate Leadership To House: Health Care's On You

Brian Beutler | January 20, 2010, 10:39AM

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

After an early morning meeting today, members of the Senate Democratic leadership said outright what many suspected after last night's election: The fate of health care rests with the House.

I asked Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chair of the Democratic Steering Committee, whether there was any chance Senate Democrats would embark on another round of health care votes if the House sent a modified bill back their way.

"I think at this point, given the new senator from Massachusetts' position, I think that that would be tough to do," she said.

Asked whether the fate of reform rested with the House, Democratic Conference Secretary Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), said, "I think so."

So what's next for the Senate? Leaders and rank and file members say: Jobs, jobs, jobs.

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Dick Durbin

Senate Dem's New Year's Resolution: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

Brian Beutler | January 5, 2010, 9:34AM

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

Though health care dominated the headlines in 2009, Senate Democrats were quietly working behind the scenes on a jobs bill for much of the second half of last year. And they hope to unveil a package soon after the winter recess comes to an end.

In a squeaker of a vote last month, the House passed its own $154 billion jobs bill. The margin was 217-212, with all Republicans and a number of conservative Democrats voting no. But, as always, the Senate is a slower, more recalcitrant beast, and passing a bill that can have a real impact before November will be a tough haul.

That's why, monthas ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tasked his number two, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) with authoring legislation. And they've come a long way, fielding input from across the party in the hopes of avoiding the time-consuming snafus that plagued the year-long fight over health care.

"Initially [discussions involved] a smaller group of senators--Durbin, Brown, Casey, and Dorgan," said a keyed in Democratic source, "and they extended it beyond that...it became many, many senators involved, in the late summer or fall."

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Health Care

Casey Plays Abortion Cards Close To The Vest

Evan McMorris-Santoro | December 17, 2009, 2:58PM

Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA)

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) refused to disclose any details of his abortion compromise plans to reporters a few minutes ago. The anti-abortion Democrat said that he was worried that anything more than cryptic answers to questions about how he plans to bridge the abortion divide in the Senate health care reform debate could derail the process by stirring up controversy.

"I'm not going into the nitty gritty," Casey said. He added that some of the current reporting on his plans has been "off," and that he feared that if he gave any insights into his thinking, groups on both sides of the abortion issue could begin attacking his plans before they're finalized.

As for Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), the man whose pro-reform bill vote may hinge on the abortion amendment Casey offers, Casey said the pair are in continued direct talks about making a compromise amenable to Nelson and the pro-choice Democratic majority.

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Abortion

Nelson: Health Care Bill Is Improved, But I Still Can't Support It Yet

Brian Beutler | December 17, 2009, 1:17PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) spoke with Nebraska radio station KLIN earlier today, and said a new abortion compromise, authored by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), doesn't quite satisfy him, and, if it doesn't change more, he will filibuster health care reform.

"As it is right now, I can't and don't" support the bill, Nelson said.

"We've been talking to a number of people to get their input," Nelson added. "I'll make the decision. I'm not asking other people to make the decision for me, but I do seek input."

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Abortion

Nelson Weighing New Abortion Language, Offered By Casey

Brian Beutler | December 16, 2009, 5:22PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) presented Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) with new legislative language to address how abortion services will be funded in Senate health care legislation.

Details are scarce right now on how the amendment actually works. Casey was unavailable for comment, and, according to Nelson spokesman Jake Thompson, Nelson hasn't had a chance to read or digest the language yet. But it's coming down to the wire. Nelson's support will likely be necessary to pass the entire bill, so, politically, his reaction to this new potential abortion compromise will be crucial. We'll keep an eye out for both the substance of the amendment, and Nelson's reaction

Health Care

Even With The Public Option Gone, Passing Health Care Reform Won't Be Easy

Brian Beutler | December 16, 2009, 9:32AM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

The public option is dead. Its successors are dead. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) as much yesterday afternoon. And yet still, there's lingering uncertainty about whether a). the votes are there to pass a health care bill, or, relatedly, b). the bill can pass by Christmas. Here's what would have to happen in the next 9 days to get that done.

Align the liberals and centrists

Reid's first order of business is to make sure that there are 60 votes committed to pulling this bill past a filibuster (actually, several filibusters, but we'll get to that). On the left flank of his party are three particularly disappointed Democrats: Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Roland Burris (D-IL), and Russ Feingold (D-WI).

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Barack Obama

Obama To Dems: Don't Screw Up This Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity

Brian Beutler | December 15, 2009, 4:10PM

President Barack Obama

With the public option dead, and likely not coming back to life, President Obama huddled with Senate Democrats at the White House today bringing a familiar message: "get this done."

According to Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), about a dozen senators, including Joe Lieberman (I-CT) spoke up at the gathering, many offering their displeasure with the fact that the public option, and its potential alternatives have been scrapped.

"Today was a very frank articulation of what's at stake for the country, and what's at stake for us, that we're not going to get a chance like this for a long, long time," Casey told reporters, "maybe not in our lifetimes."

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Ben Nelson

Casey, Unlike Nelson, Not Inclined To Filibuster Health Care Bill Over Abortion

Brian Beutler | December 4, 2009, 11:31AM

Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA)

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) said yesterday that he'd filibuster Senate health care legislation if it does not ultimately contain restrictive, Stupak-like abortion language. That's touched of fairly frantic negotiations, and Nelson has postponed filing his amendment. But for another pro-life Democrat, the issue isn't so black and white.

"I already voted back in July, where we had a number of amendments in [the Senate HELP] committee on abortion, where I voted as a pro-life Democrat but also supported the bill coming out of committee, and that's what I'll do here," Casey told reporters this morning.

Aside from the public option, perhaps the biggest hurdle Democrats face if they want to make it through this period of debate and amendments, and pass a health care bill, is abortion.

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Health Care

Reid Outlines Bill For Caucus, Warns Conservative Dems That Reconciliation Is Still An Option

Brian Beutler | November 18, 2009, 6:45PM

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

At a special evening meeting of the Democratic caucus tonight, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid outlined, in broad strokes, the details of his health care bill, which the CBO has found, in a preliminary analysis, will expand coverage to 94 percent of Americans while reducing the deficit. And earlier in the day, during a separate meeting about floor procedure, Reid let three of his party's key skeptics know that if they join Republicans at any stage of the process to block the bill, he still retains the option of passing major parts of it through the filibuster proof budget reconciliation process.

In response to a question from TPMDC Nelson told reporters that, at a meeting this afternoon with Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Reid "talked about process, procedure, discussion about reconciliation and a whole host of issues of that sort."

"Nobody's really jumping up and down to push for reconciliation," Nelson said, "he's not threatening that, but anybody can conclude that if you don't move something on to the floor, that is one of the possibilities."

Nelson said he has still not committed to vote for even the first procedural vote, but in a sign that he's leaning toward bringing a bill to the floor, he emphasized his view that the floor debate is a chance to improve the legislation. "I wanted to make it clear that that is, unlike some are suggesting, is not the vote...it's a motion to enter into the debate and possible amendments and improvements of the legislation" Nelson said. "The vote is the second cloture vote, and that is the cloture on a motion to cease debate, and I wanted that clear, because I've already begun to see people out there say, 'oh no, no, if you vote [to take it up] you've voted for health care."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has explicitly stated that the Republican party will treat Democrats who vote for any procedural motion as if they've voted for the entire health care bill.

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Bill Clinton

Clinton To Senate Democrats: Whatever You Do, Don't Lose

Brian Beutler | November 10, 2009, 2:40PM

Fmr. President Bill Clinton

After an hour-long lunch with the Senate Democratic caucus, former President Bill Clinton found himself surrounded by dozens of reporters, and summarized his message as one of the urgency of action. "The worst thing to do is nothing," Clinton said of the party's health care reform push. "We can do so much better."

As they emerged from the lunch one by one, a number of senators echoed this rendering.

"His message was very simply it is so important that this be done, that there are so many people, I think 30 percent of the population he said at one point or another, don't have any health care coverage," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) told TPMDC, "and so the ability to fix the problem is really upon us."

"He made clear that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity," she added, noting that Clinton did not directly address the politically divisive policy aspects of reform--abortion, the public option--in his presentation.

To members who are facing tough re-election races next year (such as fellow Arkansas native Blanche Lincoln) Clinton's message was equally simple: "You're going to do it, and then people are going to begin to see that none of the bad things that people are talking about will come to pass, essentially," Feinstein said.

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