Harry Reid

As Payroll Fight Wraps Up, Dems Prepare For Next Battle

Brian Beutler | February 14, 2012, 3:47PM

House Democrats will support a GOP bill to extend the expiring payroll tax cut through the end of the year, when Republicans bring it to a vote later this week. That basically puts to rest any remaining doubts that the provision will expire at the end of the month.

Now the fight is on between the parties over whether and how to renew two other expiring provisions -- extended unemployment benefits, and Medicare physician reimbursement rates (the "doc fix") -- before March. And the balance of power in this battle is much less clear.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

Medicare

Female Democratic Senators Attack GOP Budget's Harsh Toll On Women

Brian Beutler | May 25, 2011, 9:20AM

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)

Female Democratic senators are returning to a tactic that served them well when Republicans threatened a government shutdown over federal funding of abortion. They're making the case that the House GOP budget, and the male Republican legislators who are advocating its policies in debt limit talks with Democrats, are using the deficit as an excuse to pursue an anti-woman agenda.

"[T]hey have put one thing above anything else: cutting health care for women," said Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA). "Last month they almost shut down the entire federal government in an attempt to cut off funding for health care programs for women and girls

Joining Murray were five of her female colleagues, and two male Democratic senators, Dick Blumenthal (D-CT), and Benjamin Cardin (D-MD). Together, they ran through a long list of ways the GOP budget undermines women.

Read more »

Gas Prices

Democrats Call Oil Execs On The Carpet For Tax Breaks

Susan Crabtree | May 12, 2011, 6:34AM

The stark differences between Democrats and Republicans on the oil industry and rising gas prices are on vivid display in Congress this week, as Democrats continue to demand an end to tax subsidies for the big-five oil giants while House Republicans pushed through a bill to expand offshore oil drilling.

A group of Senate Democrats gathered at an ExxonMobil station a stone's throw from the Capitol to call on the top five oil producers to voluntarily swear off $25 billion in industry incentives and tax breaks over the next decade.

Against the backdrop of a sign displaying $4.29 for regular unleaded, Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY), Bob Menendez (NJ) and Debbie Stabenow (MI), said oil companies have made a record $125 billion profit, and in tough budgetary times, don't need the tax breaks in order to create incentives for more oil and gas exploration.

"It's time for the big oil companies to give up the subsidies and pay their fair share of the deficit reduction," Menendez said.

Read more »

Senate '12

Poll: As Michigan's GOP Gov. Loses Support, Dem Senator Rises

Jon Terbush | March 23, 2011, 4:38PM

Governor Rick Snyder (R-MI) and Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)

In December, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) looked shaky heading into her 2012 reelection bid. One poll found her barely leading a slate of potential Republican challengers. But now, Stabenow's poll numbers have rebounded: a new PPP poll shows her leading her potential rivals by double-digits.

That turnaround comes at the same time that Michigan's new Republican Governor, Rick Snyder, has seen his approval rating slide, after his push for a controversial proposal that would give him the authority to appoint emergency managers in struggling cities, a proposal one supporter likened to "financial martial law."

Read more »

Budget

Senior Democratic Senators To Obama: Please Engage On Budget Talks

Susan Crabtree | March 9, 2011, 8:18AM

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Senior Democratic senators are practically begging and pleading for President Obama to roll up his sleeves and engage with Republicans on budget negotiations.

Distracted by world events and crisscrossing the country talking about job creation, President Obama these Democrats say is shrinking from the heavy lifting required to leverage the full weight of the White House to sell smaller spending cuts to the American people and gain an edge in the negotiations with Republicans in Congress.

Read more »

Harry Reid

Reid Tasks Schumer With Top Dem Messaging Job

Brian Beutler | November 15, 2010, 4:43PM

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

In a sign that Democrats hope to do a better job claiming credit for their accomplishments, and emphasizing the differences between themselves and the GOP, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has merged the Senate Dems' policy and communications shops, and tasked Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) with chairing the new office as a member of party leadership.

Schumer has developed a reputation among his colleagues, and across Washington, as a shrewd political strategist and a master of message control.

In a letter to colleagues today, Reid cited those skills as the reason he's giving Schumer the job.

Read more »

James Carville

Blame Games: Dems Give Up On Economy After Weeks Of GOP Obstruction

Brian Beutler | July 14, 2010, 3:46PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

It was a Democrat -- James Carville -- who coined the phrase "it's the economy, stupid." And to this day, leading Democrats understand that Carville was correct. They get it all the way down to their trembling bones. They'd love to take dramatic steps to improve the economy, but Republicans are using every tool at their disposal to prevent that. It's led Democrats to blame Republicans explicitly for causing Americans economic pain for short-term political gain, but it also means we're not going to see much in the way of economy-improving legislation in the months ahead.

"They think the worse the economy is come November, the better they're going to do election wise," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at a press conference this morning.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) echoed that analysis last month on a conference call with reporters.

"If [the GOP] can stop the recovery from occurring, if they can create as much pain as possible, people will be angry and will not vote at all or will vote against those in the majority," she implored.

With Republicans pushing for tax cuts for the rich and blocking unemployment benefits, you can see where they're coming from. And yet, with unemployment hovering near 10 percent, and a midterm election threatening to sweep them out of power on Capitol Hill, Democrats are trapped and running out of time.

Read more »

Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Congressional Dems to Jindal: Oh, Now You Want Federal Help?

Christina Bellantoni | May 6, 2010, 10:59AM

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R)

The financial costs of the massive Gulf Coast oil spill are just beginning to become a political issue, with Democrats in Washington reluctant to divvy out any more taxpayer funds in an election year, especially for states whose governors have been among the most vocal over the past year in blasting federal spending.

In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) has been a vocal critic of federal spending under President Obama, but as the state closest to the undersea leak, he already has requested various forms of federal disaster assistance. He's also anticipating the possibility that British Petroleum either won't, or won't have to under the law, foot the the full cost of all the damages associated with the spill.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) took a swipe at Jindal when I asked during a brief interview this week if Congress was considering any funding to add to what BP will do. "Well you know, here we go. You know, the governor of Louisiana says the federal government should stay out of the state's business," Menendez told me Tuesday night. Jindal's office said they would respond but haven't yet gotten back to me. We'll update if they do.

Read more »

Health Care

Dems: It Will Improve! Party Promises To Build On Watered-Down Health Care Reform

Christina Bellantoni | March 11, 2010, 1:23PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Senate Democrats are trying to reassure progressives and House members that voting for the more conservative Senate health care bill doesn't mean things can't be improved later. They point to major historic policy changes such as Social Security and Medicare when the bills were passed with their most watered-down provisions and later bolstered, drawing parallels between those battles and the health care fight.

The public option is the most frequently cited regret for many senators, some who continue to press for it to be included in a final package. But Democrats acknowledge that while they might not get it this go-around, they aren't giving up. Several progressives in recent days have cited the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, who said the battle for health care reform "never ends."

"We're not done," Sen. Sherrod Brown told reporters, pundits and bloggers at the Progressive Media Summit yesterday.

Read more »

2010 elections

Progressives: Punish Lincoln! Sen. Sherrod Brown: Stay Tuned!

Christina Bellantoni | March 10, 2010, 4:22PM

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

Senate Democrats attempted to reassure riled up progressive pundits today that conservaDems might indeed pay a price next January when the caucus decides who will - and won't - keep their leadership positions.

TPMDC and other news outlets are in attendance at the Progressive Media Summit on Capitol Hill, hosted by the Senate Democrats. Some here, including John Aravosis and MSNBC's Ed Schultz, are treating it as a forum to tell the Senators what they are doing wrong.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) told the group he understands frustration that some Democrats "don't have the backbone we wish they had." After the Democrats were asked why the leadership doesn't strip Sen. Blanche Lincoln of her Agriculture Committee chairmanship, Brown chimed in and said that might be coming next year.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

Health Care

Is It Game Over If The Senate Passes Health Care Reform? No.

Brian Beutler | December 17, 2009, 11:25AM

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

The Senate is still on track--barely--to pass a health care bill by Christmas. To pull that off, Democrats will need to speed through the next week without hitting any unexpected bumps in the road. And Republicans love to throw bumps into the road.

But this health care fight has made it abundantly clear: there's never any rest for the weary. Even if Harry Reid does everything right, he'll likely wake up the following Monday at the helm of a new project, and a new, short timeline. He'll have to reach agreement with the House of Representatives on a final health care bill that doesn't lose him a single vote.

Two key questions will determine whether that happens: 1). Will the final bill that emerges have moved too far to the left for the likes of conservative Democrats in the Senate? And 2). Will the lag time between passage of the Senate bill, and a vote on that final bill shake loose any Democrats, nervous about the ramifications of voting for a controversial, and increasingly unpopular package of reforms.

Though they can't be amended, conference reports can be filibustered. And the conservative Democrats in the Senate are so entrenched in their positions that Reid can't take their continued support for granted. Some of them are even demanding that certain provisions--most notably the public option--don't come back to life when Reid and other Senate health care principals sit down with their counterparts in the House.

Read more »

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."

Read more »

Debbie Stabenow

Stabenow: If We Can Scrap The Public Option And Gain Support, 'That Works For Me'

Brian Beutler | December 7, 2009, 12:27PM

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)

After a press event supporting a patient's bill of rights, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)--a staunch public option supporter, told reporters she'd be happy with a health care bill without a public option, so long as it accomplishes the public option's imperatives of lowering costs and providing competition.

"If we can do the same thing [as a public option] through another mechanism, and get broader support, I'm willing to look at that," Stabenow said.

"For those of us who want a public option, we have to look at why did we want it: Not the name I didn't support the public option because of its name. I supported a public option because of what it did. So if we can accomplish it without calling it that, that works for me."

Stabenow said the CBO will play a big part in determining whether any of the compromise proposals actually succeed on that score. "That's why these things, we can't immediately say yes or no to, because we have to look at it in the context of the whole bill, making sure we're keeping our commitment to lower the deficit," she said.

Whether liberal and conservative Democrats can reach accord on the public option--and what accord they actually reach--are perhaps the most crucial unresolved questions hanging over the Senate health care debate. We'll be keeping an eye on all of it.

Abortion

Stabenow Says Nelson Abortion Amendment Unlikely To Pass

Brian Beutler | December 7, 2009, 12:09PM

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)

Pro-choice Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) says she's confident an abortion amendment to the Senate health care bill--written by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) and modeled on the restrictive abortion provision in the House legislation--does not have the votes to pass

"I don't believe it's going to pass, whether it's today or tomorrow," Stabenow said at a press event this morning. "I truly believe that the votes are there in order to stop it."

"I believe it goes too far," Stabenow went on. "I believe that we made a commitment entering this debate that this was a debate about expanding coverage--expanding coverage--for women."

Stabenow hasn't seen the actual language. "It's my understanding from talking to Sen. Nelson yesterday that it would parallel the Stupak language," she said. That means it would likely prevent millions of people receiving government assistance to buy health insurance from purchasing policies that pay for abortions. Nelson has said that he'll filibuster the bill if his amendment--or something like it--don't win the day. We'll be looking at this, and all major health care developments, very closely.

Sexism

Dem Women: Kyl, McDonnell, Christie Are 'Backward'

Rachel Slajda | October 7, 2009, 5:02PM

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL)

In a DNC conference call this afternoon, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) and State Del. Margaret Vanderhye (D-VA) accused members of the Republican party of being "backward" and "out of touch" on women's issues.

The call targeted Republican gubernatorial candidates Chris Christie in New Jersey and Bob McDonnell in Viriginia, as well as Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Republicans in general.

"I think we have an outdated view, an extreme view, a lack of understanding of what women's lives are like today and the role of women in America," Stabenow said. She wouldn't, however, use the word "sexist."

The lawmakers cited Republicans' opposition to health care reform as evidence, since women are usually in charge of their families' health care, and are disproportionately hurt by current health insurance policy.

But they also called out the NRCC's statement yesterday about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, specifically that Gen. Stanley McChrystal "should put her in her place." That, said Wasserman-Schultz, is evidence of "a total lack of respect for women."

Read more »

Health Care

Key Senators Say Dem Leadership Entertaining Idea Of Weak Public Option

Brian Beutler | October 7, 2009, 12:46PM

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)

In recent days, Senate Democratic leadership, and even the White House have been sounding a bit more bullish on the public option than they had in recent weeks. Majority Leader Harry Reid even went so far as to say that 'some kind' of public option will be in the Senate bill at the end of the day. But just how great a range of ideas is under discussion at this point?

In a press conference this morning with other Democratic senators, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) -- member of the Senate Finance Committee and a supporter of a robust public option -- says it's a "broad definition."

Read more »