FEMA

How Congress Could End Up In Another Fight Over Cutting Programs For Disaster Aid

Brian Beutler | September 28, 2011, 6:00AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

The government won't shut down this week over a dispute between Republicans and Democrats over whether emergency supplemental funds to support disaster relief should be offset with budget cuts.

And when the new fiscal year starts October 1, disaster relief funds will not need to be offset pursuant to an agreement the parties struck as part of the August debt ceiling deal. That's why the $2.65 billion for FEMA's disaster relief fund the Senate just passed didn't have to be offset, and the House is expected to pass the same bill without putting up another fight.

But what happens if things get really bad: if assessments of damage from Hurricane Irene and the fires in Texas turn out to be much worse than expected, or if another unforeseen disaster strikes a major city. Does the debt ceiling deal provide an unlimited guarantee that House Republicans won't try once again to pair disaster funding with partisan budget cuts?

The answer is no.

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Andrew Breitbart

[CORRECTED] Rep. Schakowsky to Andrew Breitbart: Leave Weiner Alone!

Igor Bobic | June 1, 2011, 1:39PM

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)

Correction: The comments of Rep. Schakowsky were incorrectly attributed to Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) in the original version of this post. We regret the error.
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Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) fiercely defended Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) Wednesday as he continues to be bombarded by the press over a lewd picture of an unidentified man's crotch that appeared on his Twitter account, accusing conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart of unfairly targeting Weiner and distorting his image.

"I am well aware of Andrew Breitbart, his chasing around with microphones in my face, his distortions [of] ACORN and Shirley Sherrod ... he has in my view no credibility whatsoever," Schakowsky said. "I have no belief that there's anything going on with Anthony Weiner, who also happens to be a happy, pretty lucky newlywed."

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Demon Pass

GOP Plans To Implement The 'Demon Pass' They Once Decried

Brian Beutler | January 4, 2011, 10:11AM

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and John Boehner (R-OH).

This week, House Republicans will resurrect an arcane tool that will give its Budget Chairman temporary, but unilateral authority to set federal spending levels for part of this year.

Welcome back to the so-called "Demon Pass", which is scheduled to make its return to the Capitol Hill on January 5.

Because Democrats didn't pass a budget, and because spending authority expires in early March, there's a strong chance that the government will run out of money before the House and Senate agree to new spending levels. When that happens, under the new House rules, spending will continue -- but at levels no higher than those chosen by the House Budget Committee chairman, Paul Ryan.

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Chaka Fattah

Kabuki Tax Revolt: Dems Put The Brakes On The Obama Tax Plan

Brian Beutler | December 16, 2010, 3:34PM

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and President Barack Obama

House progressives are still prepared for President Obama's tax cut compromise to pass unamended. But they temporarily derailed that train this afternoon to be heard publicly on just how bad they think the package is.

"If we're going to lose, let's lose with a strong message," Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) -- chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus -- told me and another reporter in the Speaker's Lobby this afternoon.

Earlier today, he and other progressives interrupted the tax plan's glide path by blocking a key procedural measure -- a stalling tactic they hope to leverage into being given a chance to vote on substantial changes to the bill. All efforts to amend the legislation are expected to fail. But rank and file Dems are angry that during the brief floor debate over the cuts they were given only one shot at a relatively narrow, symbolic amendment to raise the estate tax.

As long as they're being set up to fail, progressives want that measure to include a whole range of changes to the bill.

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DCCC

House Dems Send Steve Israel To DCCC

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 29, 2010, 8:03PM

Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)

House Democrats have formally appointed Rep. Steve Israel (NY) to head their campaign efforts next year. The move has been expected for weeks and puts Israel -- a one-time Blue Dog -- in charge of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as well as at the head of rebuilding their shellacked majority in the face of a resurgent GOP.

"Congressman Israel has demonstrated extraordinary capabilities in recruiting candidates, in attracting resources, and in communicating core Democratic values for middle class and working families," Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who will head the House Democrats as Minority Leader in the next Congress, said in a statement. "In his new role as DCCC Chairman, his practical experience in running and winning in difficult districts will provide critical leadership for Democrats to regain the majority in 2012."

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Bush Tax Cuts

How Nancy Pelosi Could Win The Fight Over Bush Tax Cuts

Brian Beutler | September 17, 2010, 4:46PM

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Rep. Chris Van Hollen, (D-MD) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. George Miller (D-CA), and Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)

The number of House Democrats who agree with Republicans that Bush tax cuts for the rich should be extended is growing. In fact, if you add the Democrats who support extending all the cuts to the full Republican caucus, you likely get a majority of the House who want the rich to keep more of their money.

Republicans ought to be giddy about this. So why is Minority Leader John Boehner sounding the alarms that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi might play hardball on tax cuts?

Because she has an ace up her sleeve. More precisely, she has procedural tools at her disposal that could allow her to pass just the middle-income cuts alone. In fact, she could even allow a separate vote on tax cuts for the wealthy, and set it up in such a way that it would surely fail. And Boehner knows it.

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Supreme Court vacancy

Here Comes Kagan! Dems Mount PR Offensive With Hearings Starting Next Month

Christina Bellantoni | May 19, 2010, 4:12PM

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan meets with (clockwise, from top left) Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

With the big Super Tuesday primary elections out of the way, the White House and the Democratic National Committee have mounted a public relations offensive to sell Supreme Court nominee Solicitor General Elena Kagan to voters and the senators tasked with her confirmation. Meanwhile, key Democrats are asking for more information on her record on abortion rights.

Judiciary Committee hearings will begin June 28, the panel announced today. It's an earlier start than ranking member Sen. Jeff Session (R-AL) had sought, and Leahy said he wants to wrap the hearings by July 4. Staffers from both parties are poring over Kagan's 202-page questionnaire detailing her record. Kagan herself has done a charm offensive while doing the standard in-person meetings with senators on Capitol Hill.

Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter, a co-chair of the House Pro-Choice Caucus, sent Leahy a letter asking for more information on the nominee's pro-choice stance. Slaughter (D-NY) argued that Kagan's position is relatively unknown given her lack of a judicial record.

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Health Care

Final Health Care Weekend? What To Expect From Saturday's Showdown

Christina Bellantoni | March 20, 2010, 11:18AM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and President Barack Obama

The major vote on health care reform legislation is expected Sunday afternoon, but there is plenty of action on Capitol Hill today that will tell us a lot about whether tomorrow will yield the historic passage of a sweeping overhaul of the health care system, or be a bust without enough votes.

TPMDC is tracking all of the developments. Brian is keeping a close eye on the crucial negotiations over abortion provisions, including why Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) indefinitely postponed a planned 11 a.m. press conference. Evan will be tracking conservatives who say an afternoon tea party rally near the Capitol is their last chance to stop the bill. I'm monitoring the Rules Committee hearing (live on C-SPAN2) which will set the framework for debate. We'll have it all for you on our Countdown to Reform Wire.

Another key event to watch today is a caucus meeting with two rare special guests - President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Obama is expected to listen to any final concerns and rally House Democrats toward passage of the measure Sunday. But more important is Reid's presence, since wary rank-and-file members want firm assurances that the Senate will indeed pass a package of fixes to its health care legislation the House is expected to approve tomorrow.

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Health Care

Road To Reform: The Top Five Things That Could Go Wrong

Christina Bellantoni | March 17, 2010, 6:22PM

Clockwise: Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), President Barack Obama, Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) and Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), and Rep. George Miller (D-CA)

Signs point to a done deal, and the White House says health care reform will soon be the law of the land. But the Democrats are, well, Democrats. The long slog toward passing a final health care bill has been met with potholes and partisan shenanigans. Deadlines came and went.

Confident Democratic leaders say they are nearing the end, and Republicans are resigned to the idea that the bill will pass and that their focus will soon turn toward campaigning against it. But that's not to say it's over yet. From gambling on a favorable ruling from the Senate parliamentarian to last-ditch messaging successes on the Republican side that gums up the expected House vote, there are plenty of potential pitfalls. We've given it some thought, and while these things are unlikely, here are the top five things that could go wrong between now and President Obama penning his signature on a health care bill.

I posed the question to several members today on Capitol Hill, and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) summed it up. I asked, "Could something go wrong in the next week?" Blumenauer lauged: "This is Congress. You answered your own question."

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Health Care

Slaughter House Rules: The Truth About The Democrats' Plan To Pass Health Care

Brian Beutler | March 16, 2010, 5:20PM

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH); inset: Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)

In their latest attempt to derail health care reform, conservatives are attacking the Democrats' preferred procedural strategy for passing the legislation. The GOP is trying to put Democratic leaders on the defensive about using what's known as a self-executing rule to push health reform through, with House Minority Leader John Boehner dubbing it, "the ultimate in Washington power grabs."

The issue, as I alluded to in this post, is Democrats' tentative decision to use a rule that would allow them to pass both the Senate health care bill and the reconciliation fix with a single vote. Republicans have dubbed this the "Slaughter Solution," and described it as an unprecedented maneuver that will allow Democrats to enact reform without casting a vote on it. The reality is that this maneuver (known more technically as a "self executing rule") has a long history, and has been used more frequently by Republicans than by Democrats.

That doesn't mean every Democrat is on board. Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA)--a crucial swing vote on health care reform, told me and a handful of other reporters this afternoon that he disapproves of the "Byzantine" maneuver.

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Democrats

Fancy Footwork: The Many Steps Between The Democrats And Health Care Reform

Brian Beutler | March 16, 2010, 9:30AM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

We're less than a week away from the House vote that could seal the deal on health care reform, but a number of key procedural hurdles still stand in the way, as does the related, but more fundamental task of actually rounding up the 216 votes Speaker Nancy Pelosi will likely need to succeed.

So let's walk through all the (complicated) steps: The ultimate goal remains for the House to pass the Senate health care bill along with a series of amendments, which will be fast-tracked using the budget reconciliation process. Yesterday, the House Budget Committee approved a shell bill and sent it along to the Rules Committee, where its language will be stripped and replaced with the language of the reconciliation fix. That fix is still being tweaked behind the scenes as leadership goes back and forth with the Congressional Budget Office in search of a score that does not drastically alter the cost-estimate of the Senate health care bill.

Still with me?

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Health Care

GOP Says Dems Turning 'Democracy On Its Head'

Christina Bellantoni | March 15, 2010, 3:21PM

Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) and Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)

Rep. David Dreier and Republican leaders are accusing House Democrats of trying to "seriously bend the rules" to pass health care reform this week. The GOP is charging that the Democrats will try to pass a "fix" to a health care bill that they haven't voted on.

It's a bit complicated, but Republicans are using the scary label "The Slaughter Solution" keying off of Rules Committee Chairman Rep. Louise Slaughter's name. They say the Democrats can use a procedural tactic to send the Senate-passed health care bill straight to the president for a signature. Or they could "deem" the Senate bill as passed only after the House passes the fix measure through budget reconciliation. Finally they could write a rule putting a condition that the Senate bill would only pass if the reconciliation bill passes.

Those options are indeed within the rules, and just might ease the heartburn House Democrats are feeling, since many of them don't like the Senate bill without the fixes carefully negotiated by leadership from both chambers and the White House. Republicans say any of those options are fundamentally unfair, and would skip important steps in the process. But Democrats say Dreier and the rest of the Republicans are full of it, and leadership is telling rank-and-file members to ignore complaints about procedure and avoid debates about legislative process.

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Budget Reconciliation

Dems Inch Closer To A Deal On Reconcilliation

Brian Beutler | March 11, 2010, 8:27AM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

It's been almost two months since Sen. Scott Brown's victory in the Massachusetts special election nearly derailed health care reform, but soon, Democrats will know if they have what it takes to fully rebound: This morning, House Dems will meet to review and assess the final health care reform package--a combination of the Senate's bill and a separate reconciliation bill (the details of which remain undisclosed) tweaking several of its key provision.

This step is key. It will largely determine if, how, and when Speaker Nancy Pelosi can muster the votes for the paired package, bringing the year-long fight over health care to a close. The vote will be extremely tight, and though leadership confidently predicts passage, at least one major issue--abortion--will have to be resolved before Pelosi can bring it to the floor.

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House of Representatives

House Leaders Dig In Against Disappointing Health Care Concessions

Brian Beutler | January 6, 2010, 1:36PM

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)

House Democrats know they're going to have to sacrifice many of their priorities when they amend and adopt the Senate health care bill in the coming weeks. And in the last couple days they've started taking off the gloves.

"In my view, the House bill is so far superior to the Senate bill, that I would appreciate hearing [President Obama] say that," said House Rules Committee Chair Louise Slaughter (D-NY) this morning.

Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ribbed Obama for backtracking on campaign pledges as the health care debate has dragged on.

As much as the concessions sting, though, House leaders and health care principals continue to hash out just which issues they plan to press hardest for in negotiations with the Senate and the White House.

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Health Care

House Leadership To Meet With President Obama Tonight

Brian Beutler | January 6, 2010, 9:10AM

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), President Barack Obama

Following on a meeting between House and Senate leaders and President Obama last night, a number of senior House Democrats will return to the White House to continue negotiating toward a final health care bill.

Joining House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be Henry Waxman (D-CA), George Miller (D-CA), Charlie Rangel (D-NY)--the chairmen of the three committees that drafted the House bill--and Louise Slaughter (D-NY), chair of the House Rules Committee.

These members, and other House leaders will also huddle this morning, as they continue to discuss what issues should be at stake when the House and Senate health care bills are merged, and how to prevail on those issues.

Check back in at TPMDC for continuing updates.

Health Care

House Rules Committee Chair: Kill The Bill And Start Over

Rachel Slajda | December 23, 2009, 2:27PM

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), chairman of the powerful Rules Committee, wrote in a CNN op-ed today that the health care bill should be scrapped entirely.

"The Senate health care bill is not worthy of the historic vote that the House took a month ago," Slaughter wrote.

She listed her problems with the Senate bill: an individual mandate, no public option, no antitrust exemption and the Nelson abortion language, among other things.

"Supporters of the weak Senate bill say "just pass it -- any bill is better than no bill. I strongly disagree," she wrote. "It's time that we draw the line on this weak bill and ask the Senate to go back to the drawing board. The American people deserve at least that."

(H/T The Hill)

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