Balanced Budget Amendment

Senate Dems Align Against GOP Balanced Budget Amendment

Brian Beutler | December 14, 2011, 1:12PM

From right: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Sen. John Thune, (R-SD).

A provision in this summer's debt limit bill required both the House and Senate to vote on a version -- any version -- of a constitutional amendment requiring the federal government to maintain a balanced budget.

Today was the day in the Senate, and as it turns out two balanced budget amendments went down in flames. One, crafted by Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO), was designed to give Dems who wanted to vote for some kind of BBA a vehicle to support. It would have explicitly protected Social Security from being raided to balance the budget, and a ban on cutting taxes for millionaires unless there's a budget surplus. It failed 21-79 -- far short of the two-thirds supermajority required to pass a constitutional amendment.

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State Of The Union

Who's Got A Date To The State Of The Union?

Eric Kleefeld | January 24, 2011, 8:41AM

Sens. John Thune (R-SD) & Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY)

The biggest question headed into tomorrow's State of the Union address doesn't seem to be what President Obama will say -- it seems clear he will in some way acknowledge the recent Republican gains, talk about the need for spending cuts, defend health care reform against efforts to repeal it, etc. No, the big question is -- which Democrat is sitting with which Republican?

As you know, there has been a push in the last couple weeks for Democratic and Republican members to sit with each other, as opposed to the usual separated seating. There is no assigned seating, of course, but we've always been treated to the sight of separate aisles that stand to applaud the president, or sit stony-faced.

The idea this year was promoted by the think tank Third Way, which is associated with moderate Democrats, and taken up by Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO). It has also been promoted as a pro-civility measure to suggest a sense of Congressional unity, in the wake of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ).

Let's take a look at some of the key pairings that are coming up. I asked Udall's office about who he would be sitting with. Their response: "Stay tuned Eric!"

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State Of The Union

Schumer And Coburn To Sit Together At State Of The Union (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | January 17, 2011, 9:37AM

Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Tom Coburn (R-OK)

Two big names are now on board with the push to have Democrats and Republicans sit together at the State of the Union, with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) -- who previously endorsed the idea last week -- announcing that his date for the presidential prom will be none other than the very conservative Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK).

The idea was proposed by the think-tank Third Way, which is identified with moderate Democrats, and taken up by Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO).

"My colleague Senator Mark Udall called for Democrats and Republicans to sit together at the State of the Union," Schumer said on Meet The Press. "I called up Tom after he did that, and he graciously agreed, we're going to sit together Wednesday night [ed. note: The address is in face next Tuesday.] at the State of the Union , and we hope that many others will follow us. Now, that's symbolic, but maybe it just sets a tone and everything gets a little bit more civil."

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State Of The Union

House GOP Whip McCarthy Likes Mixed Seating At SOTU

Eric Kleefeld | January 14, 2011, 1:17PM

House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)

The proposal by Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) that Democrats and Republicans sit together at the upcoming State of the Union address, rather than the separate seating normally practiced by the two parties, has now picked up at least some support from a high-ranking member of the Republican leadership: House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

"I like the idea," McCarthy told reporters. He did not say that GOP leaders were instructing Republicans to sit with Dems, only pointing out that in fact there is no assigned seating: "people can always sit by one another."

CNN reports:

But when asked by CNN if he planned to sit next to a Democrat for the speech in the House chamber, McCarthy said he has a good rapport with the House Democratic Whip, telling reporters, "Steny Hoyer and I try to talk quite often. I would enjoy sitting next to him."

Hoyer previously endorsed the mixed seating idea yesterday.

Steny Hoyer

Hoyer Endorses GOPers And Dems Sitting Together At State Of The Union

Eric Kleefeld | January 13, 2011, 6:11PM

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD)

In what appears to be the first official reaction from a member of the Democratic leadership, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has now endorsed the call by Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) that members of both parties sit together at the upcoming State of the Union address, rather than separate into the Democratic and Republican aisles as they normally do.

"A gesture like this won't make partisanship disappear, nor should it -- democracy is built on strong disagreements between the parties," Hoyer said in a statement. "But this gesture, which was first suggested by the independent group Third Way and supported by Senator Mark Udall, should help end the political theater of repeatedly seeing one side of the aisle rise in applause, as the other sits still."

Late Update: As Greg Sargent reported today, Chuck Schumer has also endorsed the idea over on the Senate side.

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Don't Ask, Don't Tell

The Long Shot, Last Ditch Effort To Repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Brian Beutler | December 9, 2010, 5:25PM

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)

A long shot, last ditch effort to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell could still succeed.

At a press conference today, after the Defense Authorization bill -- and with it the DADT repeal -- went down to defeat in a cloture vote, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) explained. "Senator Collins and I, Senator Udall and others will be, perhaps by the end of this day, introducing a free-standing bill -- a separate piece of legislation -- to repeal the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy," he said.

Senators introduce legislation all the time, so this wouldn't mean much -- except for the exchange Lieberman had on the floor with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"I informed Senator Reid during the vote... that we're going to do that, and he said, 'Same language as in Defense Authorization bill?' I said, 'yes.' He said, 'put me down as a co-sponsor.' I said, "Harry, we're going to ask you to bring this to a vote before the end of the lame duck session.' He said, 'I will bring it to the active calendar under Rule 14.'"

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Public Option

Mark Udall Joins Call For Public Option

Rachel Slajda | March 2, 2010, 3:00PM

Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO)

Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) today announced his support for passing a public option via reconciliation.

"As part of reform, [Udall] continues to feel that inclusion of a public option to go head-to-head with private insurers could play a significant role in bringing down costs and offering more affordable options to Coloradans," his office said in a statement. "He thinks it's important that such a plan -- like the one approved in the House bill -- negotiate reimbursement rates while competing on a level playing field with the private sector, and if such a plan comes up for a vote under the reconciliation process, he would vote for it."

Udall joins 31 other senators in supporting passing the measure by a simple majority. Of those, 24 have signed a letter written by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) urging the leadership to pass a public option using reconciliation.