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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Government Shutdown

Senate Dems Eye 10 Republicans Who May Flip-Flop On Disaster Aid

Brian Beutler | September 21, 2011, 9:28AM

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Senate Democrats want all eyes on the 10 Republicans, from disaster-affected states, who voted last week for a nearly $7 billion emergency bill to re-up FEMA's relief account. They hold the key to whether or how not just FEMA, but the entire United States government will be funded after its current appropriations lapse at the end of the month.

As noted extensively Tuesday, the questions of how and by what amount to provide disaster relief are the only obstacles to passing legislation to keep the federal lights on into the fall. Senate Democrats (and presumably these 10 Republicans) want to significantly bolster FEMA's account, and do so without arguing over budget cuts to offset the cost.

House Republicans are offering up about half as much, and only on the condition that the funds be matched by nixing a $1.5 billion hybrid vehicle manufacturing incentive. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) says he's not backing down. When the House sends the Senate its government funding bill Reid's going to force a vote on an amendment to swap out the House's FEMA provision with his own.

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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.

Bernie Sanders

Sanders Ends Daylong Filibuster Of Tax Cut Compromise

Brian Beutler | December 10, 2010, 1:47PM

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

Updated 7:22 p.m. ET

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) finally yielded the Senate floor Friday evening after nearly nine hours of speaking against the Obama tax cut plan. He was spelled briefly by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) but otherwise had the floor to himself for the bulk of a day when there was no other Senate business pending.

Original Story:

About three hours ago, just as he took the Senate floor, Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) staff, tweeted: "You can call what i am doing today whatever you want, you it [sic] call it a filibuster, you can call it a very long speech..."

And he's been speaking, almost uninterrupted, ever since.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Block That Bill! A History Of The Filibuster]

It's a filibuster as filibusters were originally intended -- and, as such, makes a mockery of what the filibuster's become: a gimmick that allows a minority of senators to quietly impose supermajority requirements on any piece of legislation.

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Mary Landrieu

Landrieu Blasts 'Obama-McConnell' Plan For Selling Out Black Voters

Brian Beutler | December 8, 2010, 10:28AM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) blasted President Obama's tax cut compromise yesterday. She decried the "moral corruptness" of the idea of giving wealthy Americans a tax cut extension on the backs of poor and middle class workers.

To many, it came out of nowhere. After all, she voted for these tax cuts back in 2001, and, by her own admission, isn't really known for taking on progressive causes against the center and the right. But check out this portion of her criticisms of the plan, which went unreported.

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Barack Obama

Senate Democrats Slam Obama-GOP Tax Cut Framework

Brian Beutler | December 7, 2010, 4:05PM

President Barack Obama

It's been less than 24 hours since President Obama announced he'd reached agreement with Senate Republicans to temporarily extend all the Bush tax cuts, but already it's clear that it faces an uncertain future on Capitol Hill within the President's own party. Some Democrats criticized the plan in withering terms, and most Democrats refused to take an unequivocal position in favor of the plan.

Butt there were many other signs of uncertainty: Senate aides suggested that Republican members will have to provide the bulk of the votes for the plan; and one top Democratic aide worried that the President's hastily-announced press conference indicated that the plan "may be taking on too much water," and might sink.

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Jack Lew

No Recess Appointments For Obama During Election Season

Brian Beutler | September 30, 2010, 2:48PM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

With Louisiana Sens. Mary Landrieu (D) and David Vitter (R) blocking a vote on the confirmation of Jack Lew, President Obama's pick to lead the White House budget team, speculation ran rampant this week that Obama might offer Lew a recess appointment.

Well, that won't be happening.

Last night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid decided he'd hold multiple weekly pro-forma Senate sessions during the election-season recess, which will prevent Obama from legally recess appointing his stalled nominees. The reason, according to top Democratic and Republican aides has nothing to do with recess appointments per se, but rather with protecting the rest of Obama's executive and judicial nominees.

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Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Administration Officials Plead With Landrieu To Drop Hold On OMB Nominee Jack Lew

Christina Bellantoni | September 29, 2010, 8:47AM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)

Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu is holding up President Obama's key economic appointee in critical fiscal times over a local issue his economic team has no control over, giving Republicans campaign ammunition and throwing a wrench into budget planning just as the Senate is set to go home for the elections.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and other top administration officials have been pleading with Landrieu (D-LA) to release her hold on the nomination of Jack Lew to be President Obama's new Office of Management and Budget director. But Landrieu says she won't budge until the moratorium on Gulf Coast drilling is lifted.

OMB doesn't have jurisdiction over drilling, and Democrats are privately outraged someone from their own party would block such a critical nomination -- with several suggesting the state of gridlock in the Senate has reached an untenable level. What's more, the delay to install Lew creates big budgetary problems just as the administration is prepping for several major initiatives, including the 2012 spending blueprint.

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Sunday Shows

The Sunday Show Line-Ups

Eric Kleefeld | August 27, 2010, 4:41PM

Republican candidate for US Senate in Alaska Joe Miller

Here are the line-ups for the Sunday talk shows this weekend:

• ABC, This Week: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee.

• CBS, Face The Nation: Senate candidate Joe Miller (R-AK), Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL), Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL).

• CNN, State Of The Union: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, Gov. Charlie Crist (I-FL), Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL).

• Fox News Sunday: Glenn Beck.

• NBC, Meet The Press: Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu (D), Brad Pitt.

Sunday Shows

The Sunday Show Line-Ups

Eric Kleefeld | June 18, 2010, 4:43PM

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)

Here are the line-ups for the Sunday talk shows this weekend:

• ABC, This Week: White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

• CBS, Face The Nation: Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA).

• CNN, State Of The Union: Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT).

• Fox News Sunday: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

• NBC, Meet The Press: Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS), Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), former Shell Oil Company president John Hofmeister, Katty Kay of the BBC, TARP Executive Compensation Special Master Ken Feinberg.

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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Oil Spill

Why A Catastrophic Oil Spill Makes Clean Energy Legislation Harder In The Senate

Brian Beutler | May 5, 2010, 8:23AM

Clockwise from top left: Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

You might think that an oil spill of historic proportions that's just 50 miles from U.S. shores might create a groundswell of support in Congress for legislation designed to reduce the country's reliance on fossil fuels. But you'd be wrong.

In the peculiar world of the United States Senate, the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe has actually intensified existing divisions, drawing offshore drilling foes into growing conflict with oil patch Democrats and industry friendly members, who continue to support exploration, and incentives, for new drilling.

With oil still gushing from the well at a calamitous pace, a mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, furious Senators threatened Tuesday to block any climate and energy bill that would lead to more drilling off the U.S. coast.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Fire In The Gulf: New Pictures Of The Deepwater Horizon]

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Barack Obama

Offshoring Up Support: Obama Looks For Help From Democrats On Climate-Energy Legislation

Brian Beutler | April 1, 2010, 5:15PM

President Barack Obama

Was President Obama's big announcement yesterday that he plans to open vast swaths of the U.S. coastline to oil and natural gas drilling necessary to win Democratic support for comprehensive climate and energy legislation?

Though members of Congress and the media were thrown for a loop by the news, the announcement came as little surprise to others, particularly key Senate Democrats. This, they've accepted, is the price that must be paid to bring oil-patch Democrats into the fold on a more comprehensive energy bill.

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Democracy for America

Poll: Vast Majority Say Anti-Public Option Dems Should Face Primaries

Brian Beutler | December 14, 2009, 9:33AM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)

Here's a snapshot of the electorate, at the moment when a small handful of Democrats have teamed up to tank the public option. A new Research 2000 poll, commissioned by Democracy for America and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee finds that the overwhelming majority of likely voters believe Democrats who vote against the public option should face primaries from their left.

When asked: "If a Democratic member of Congress votes against a public health insurance option, would you want a more progressive candidate to run against them in a Democratic primary?" 84 percent of respondents said "yes," 11 percent said "no," and 5 percent said they weren't sure.

Those are fairly striking numbers, particularly given last night's news that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is standing in the way of public option alternatives. Lieberman, along with Sens. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) joined forces several weeks ago, insisting they'd filibuster a health care reform bill if it included a public option. That threat laid the groundwork for a new compromise, but Lieberman's saying even that's a no-go.

The overall survey, which will be released later today, polled 802 from December 11 through the 13th--it's margin of error is 3.5%. For the above question, which went to Democrats only question, 256 were polled, yielding a 6.1% margin of error.

Health Care

Landrieu, Lincoln: No Final Public Option Deal Until CBO Weighs In

Brian Beutler | December 9, 2009, 3:29PM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)

Health care negotiators have not yet sealed the deal to remove the opt out public option from the Senate bill. Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA)--two health care swing votes who helped negotiate a bourgeoning compromise on the public option--said much still depends on what the CBO concludes about the menu of alternatives sent their way.

Lincoln was reluctant to describe last night's news as a deal.

"There was no compromise," Lincoln corrected, refusing to weigh in on the broad outline on the table. "There were a lot of ideas, where there was consensus that we needed more information to move forward."

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Health Care

Who Likes The Public Option Deal, Who Doesn't, And Will It Win 60 Votes For Health Care

Brian Beutler | December 9, 2009, 1:45PM

Democratic Senators Harry Reid, Chris Dodd and Tom Harkin

The Senate was remarkably quiet this morning, less than a day after Democratic leaders and health care negotiators announced a tentative deal to swap out the public option in health care legislation for a menu of other measures. But slowly, members have begun making their positions known.

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Ben Nelson

Checkmate: How Joe Lieberman Turned The Public Option Fight On Its Head

Brian Beutler | December 7, 2009, 9:40AM

From left to right Top: Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) Bottom: Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Center: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

After Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) threw down the gauntlet on the public option, political observers and liberal critics had no shortage of theories. Lieberman was rebelling against the liberal base. Lieberman harbors animosity about 2006. Lieberman is an egotist and wants the spotlight. Any or all of these theories might be true, but they obscured the more important, strategic rationale for his decision: With a 60 member caucus, and little to no Republican support, every Democrat has a pocket veto of the health care bill. Lieberman's explicit threat to use his veto was, in effect, checkmate on the public option in the Senate, and created breathing room for other public option skeptics to create the bloc that is now negotiating away the public option entirely.

"I think we all came to a similar conclusion. He came to the timing of his announcement, I think, pretty much on his own," conservative Democrat Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) told me of Lieberman's threat.

So you all sort of knew where each other stood?

"Yes of course. We continued to talk about it. Each of us had a problem, to one degree or another, with the public option."

I asked, "Did you see it as helpful to your own negotiating on the public option?"

"I don't think it hurt," Nelson said.

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Harry Reid

Face Off: Liberal And Conservative Democrats Huddle To Reach Public Option Compromise

Brian Beutler | December 4, 2009, 6:32PM

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

It's crunch time! In a rare face-to-face meeting between conservative and liberals members, a number of key Democrats huddled behind closed doors tonight to discuss the public option in the hopes of reaching some sort of compromise in time to salvage the health care bill.

On hand were Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)--who's been trying to broker a compromise between competing factions for months--Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE)--who's been floating a potential compromise modeled on Olympia Snowe's trigger--and Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), and Ben Nelson (D-NE).

According to Rockefeller, the range of views is an indication that things are coming down to the wire.

"There's no question about that," Rockefeller told reporters. "This should have started a long time ago and thankfully Harry Reid caught it in time to put us together."

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Health Care

Landrieu: Public Option Skepticism Rooted In Fierce PR Campaign

Brian Beutler | December 4, 2009, 9:36AM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Conservative and moderate Democrats met with Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) last night to discuss possible changes to the Senate health care bill, including the potential need for a public option compromise.

Attending the meeting were key health care swing votes Sens. Ben Nelson (D-NE), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and a number of freshman Democrats, including Kay Hagan (D-NC) and Mark Begich (D-AK).

The meeting resulted in few revelations, or major developments--"Generally speaking I didn't hear anything that changes my mind," Lieberman told reporters. But afterwards, I asked Landrieu whether she's concerned that Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)--a public option stalwart--might not be willing to compromise on the public option any further.

"Senator Brown knows what we know, that we've just got to try to find a way forward, and we're going to continue to work with him," Landrieu said. "He's put in a tremendous amount of time and effort."

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Health Care

With Health Reform At Stake, Senators Scramble To Reach Public Option Compromise

Brian Beutler | December 3, 2009, 2:12PM

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)

Key Democrats in the Senate, accompanied by party leadership, are bearing down on a solution to the public option problem that has dogged the caucus for months now. They're holding a constant series of meetings, bringing liberals and conservatives together to reach a compromise--seemingly modeled on a trigger--that can garner 60 votes. And interestingly, one key public option supporter seems pleased.

"There's sort of a new initiative on the public option, which is highly useful, without saying anything more about it," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). "There's going to be a group of people representing various points of view who are going to just closet themselves and try and resolve this so we can have something on the floor that can pass," he said.

"It's been taking place, it's ongoing, several different rooms, several different groups," said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin.

Included in the meeting, according to Durbin, are the well-known public option skeptics, and, on the other side of the party, Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

"I'm doing my best to do what I can do," Sanders said.

"It's one of the two, i think, really critical issues remaining, with the issue of abortion," Durbin said.

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Health Care

The Final Four: Who's Standing In Reid's Way, And Can They Be Won Over?

Brian Beutler | November 24, 2009, 4:29PM

From left to right Top: Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) Bottom: Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Center: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Toward the end of the summer, when it was unclear whether Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would include a public option in his health care bill, progressives let it be known that he would not be forgiven if he allowed a handful of nameless Democrats silently filibuster the provision. In the end, this pressure, and various other factors, ultimately convinced Reid to include the opt out public option in the legislation, and the opponents have had to come forward. Their names won't surprise students of Democratic politics: Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Ben Nelson (D-NE), and Mary Landrieu (D-LA).

These conservative Democrats are known for taking stances at odds with the party on key issues, but in this health care debate they are ultimately driven by very different motives. They have suddenly become the targets of every major reform organization in the country, and understanding what makes them tick will be key to the advocates who are now trying to change their minds.

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Harry Reid

What Did We Learn From Saturday's Health Care Vote

Brian Beutler | November 23, 2009, 11:50AM

Senators Nelson (D-NE) and Lieberman (I-CT)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid got his 60 on Saturday, and when the Senate returns from Thanksgiving recess next week, they'll be debating and amending a major piece of health care legislation. However, the vote, and its aftermath exposed or clarified the cleavages within the Democratic party that will have to be bridged if Reid hopes to keep his caucus in line on the next cloture motion--to end a Republican filibuster and hold a simple majority vote on reform.

If you thought the opt-out compromise was a silver bullet for the public option, you may have gotten a bit ahead of yourself. It held up for a while, and could still survive, but that's going to require some interesting gymnastics from Democratic leaders. Leading up to Saturday's vote, and in its immediate aftermath, conservative Democrats entrenched their opposition to the public option in the Senate bill. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) repeated his threat to support a health care filibuster if it includes a public option of any kind, and, despite her earlier support for the provision, Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) took to the Senate floor Saturday and announced, "I'm promising my colleagues that I'm prepared to vote against moving to the next stage of consideration as long as a government-run public option is included." That gives her a bit more wiggle room than Lieberman's left himself, and Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Ben Nelson (D-NE) have a bit more still, but that makes 60 for the opt out a tough climb. On the other side of the caucus, though, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Roland Burris (D-IL) have inched closer to threatening to block a health care bill from the left if the public option is weakened further. If reform is to pass, one side of the caucus will have to hold its collective nose and vote for something they don't like.

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Chuck Schumer

Spokesman: Schumer Open To Public Option Negotiations, But They Haven't Started

Brian Beutler | November 21, 2009, 9:56PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

In light of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's statement tonight--that he welcomes negotiations on a public option compromise--Sen. Chuck Schumer's spokesman Brian Fallon emails a statement to TPMDC. He says discussions with centrists, such as they are, are in the earliest stages.

"Leading up to tonight's vote, some senators expressed a desire to discuss the public option currently in the Senate bill. Of course, Senator Schumer did not rule that out. But no such talks have yet taken place, and there is not any compromise at hand beyond what Leader Reid has already inserted into the bill. Senator Schumer remains a strong proponent of the opt-out, level playing field public option."

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) told TPMDC earlier today that Schumer had been tasked as the point man in negotiations between senators who support a public option, and those who prefer a "trigger" compromise.

This statement seems to suggests that those discussions are in their infancy, whatever Schumer's role in them is.

Harry Reid

Reid: 'I Welcome Schumer, Landrieu, And Carper, As They Work On Public Option Compromise'

Brian Beutler | November 21, 2009, 8:51PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

After a successful vote to begin debate on a landmark health care bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid addressed the news, first reported by TPMDC, that conservative Democrats are working with public option supporter Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on a compromise.

"I welcome Sen. Schumer, Landrieu and Carper--Landrieu said that they're working together on a public option that's acceptable to [all parties]."

Asked by TPMDC about Schumer's role in the negotiations, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) applauded his colleague. "Senator Schumer, when he's not hunting, works with a lot of different individuals on a lot of different points," Nelson said. "He was the one that came up with the idea of opting out--I don't think it sold very well, but he has the ability to be very pragmatic about a lot of these issues, and that makes him very important in the process."

Public option stalwart Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said he hopes that triggers aren't ultimately affixed to the public option, but isn't alarmed that Reid isn't tamping down on the negotiations.

"That's been Harry from the very beginning. He's always said that, and he's always meant it," Rockefeller said.

Late update: Schumer spokesman Brian Fallon emails a statement to TPMDC. He says discussions with centrists, such as they are, are in their earliest stages. "Leading up to tonight's vote, some senators expressed a desire to discuss the public option currently in the Senate bill. Of course, Senator Schumer did not rule that out. But no such talks have yet taken place, and there is not any compromise at hand beyond what Leader Reid has already inserted into the bill. Senator Schumer remains a strong proponent of the opt-out, level playing field public option."

Health Care

Spokesman: Schumer's Not Initiating Any Trigger Negotiations

Brian Beutler | November 21, 2009, 4:34PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer's spokesman Brian Fallon says his boss stands foursquare behind the opt out public option, and any suggestion that he's been involved in negotiations regarding a triggered public option are false:

"Since Leader Reid announced the opt-out public option would be included in the Senate bill, Senator Schumer has not approached anyone about compromises," Fallon said in a statement to TPMDC. "He is fully behind the level playing field opt-out, which he himself helped advance."

That's a direct contradiction to the assertion in this post, by a Democratic aide, that Schumer recently approached Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) about a public option compromise. But it doesn't address Landrieu's contention, that Schumer is a point man in behind the scenes negotiations regarding a potential trigger compromise.

We'll try to get more clarification on that last point.

Chuck Schumer

Dem Aide: Schumer Dealmaking On Public Option "Inappropriate"

Brian Beutler | November 21, 2009, 3:28PM

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

The plot thickens!

A Senate Democratic aide tells me that folks aren't too happy with the news that Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is negotiating a public option "trigger compromise with members of the caucus.

"He went on his own to talk to Landrieu about the trigger option," the aide says. "That's rather unseemly, especially for Schumer to have reached out to Landrieu before we had the vote. It's very inappropriate."

Obviously there are plenty of reasons for plenty of people to say they're upset about this. But the fact that Schumer began these discussions before today's vote does seem notable, given that Harry Reid was supposed to be negotiating for the votes.

Landrieu and her fellow conservative Democrats have been very adamant today that the public option as it is will earn this health care bill a filibuster. Schumer is apparently involved in discussions with them, and other members, to reach a compromise.

Blanche Lincoln

Lincoln: "I'll Filibuster A Public Option Bill"

Brian Beutler | November 21, 2009, 3:00PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

Conservative Democrats are making it very clear that they'll switch their vote and kill the bill down the line if the public option doesn't get stripped out of it.

"Let me be perfectly clear," Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) said on the floor of the Senate. "I am opposed to a new government administered health care plan as a part of comprehensive health insurance reform, and I will not vote in favor of the proposal that has been introduced by Leader Reid as it is written.... I've already alerted the Leader and I'm promising my colleagues that I'm prepared to vote against moving to the next stage of consideration as long as a government-run public option is included."

That's pretty compatible with what Mary Landrieu told reporters earlier this afternoon.

"I believe it's going to be very clear at some point very soon that there are not 60 votes for the current provision in the bill, and that the leader and the leadership are going to have to make a decision and I trust that they will figure out how to do that," Landrieu said.

Health Care

Landrieu To Reid: No Triggers, No Bill--Negotiating Compromise With Schumer

Brian Beutler | November 21, 2009, 1:41PM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

After announcing her intent to support a health care debate this afternoon, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) told reporters she thinks Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will soon have to choose between a triggered public option and no health care bill. She also says Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)--the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate one of its most fierce and vocal public option advocates--has been tasked as a point man on the issue.

"I believe it's going to be very clear at some point very soon that there are not 60 votes for the current provision in the bill, and that the leader and the leadership are going to have to make a decision and I trust that they will figure out how to do that," Landrieu told reporters.

Landrieu has been in negotiations with a number of centrist senators about a compromise that would eliminate the public option, except in states where insurance remains unaffordable. Interestingly, though, Schumer is playing a big role in that process.

Read more »

Mary Landrieu

Landrieu To Vote For Health Care Debate

Brian Beutler | November 21, 2009, 12:30PM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)

The suspense has lifted. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) will announce on the Senate floor this afternoon that she will vote to debate health care legislation.

When she does, she will join her colleague Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), another conservative Democrat, in the "yes" column. The lone holdout at this point is Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), who has yet to publicly announce her intentions.

Health Care

Senate Debates Historic Health Care Bill

Brian Beutler | November 21, 2009, 10:14AM

Sen. McConnell (R-KY) Sen. Reid (D-NV)

We'll be following today's proceedings live from the U.S. Capitol, gavel-to-gavel. Check in all day for breaking updates.

Read more »

Ben Nelson

Tomorrow's Health Care Vote: A Cheat Sheet

Brian Beutler | November 20, 2009, 5:40PM

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Max Baucus (D-MT)

With Ben Nelson now in the "yes" column, there are now two known Democratic hold outs on tomorrow's health care vote: Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR).

Landrieu told reporters today that she'll likely make an announcement tomorrow morning. Lincoln, on the other hand, has been unreachable, and it's unclear if, or when, she'll announce her intent publicly before the vote, which will come at 8 p.m. tomorrow night.

It's probably a safe guess that, if at the end of the day, there's something standing between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and 60 votes on the motion to debate to his bill, he won't hold the vote. As unlikely as that is, here are the potential hangups.

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Chuck Schumer

Is Chuck Schumer Taking Temperature On Carper's Public Option Compromise?

Brian Beutler | November 20, 2009, 5:15PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

I'd missed this before, but check out what Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) told reporters last night about conservative Democrats' push for something like a public option trigger mechanism.

"Senator Carper has been trying to help forge a compromise and I'm very proud of his efforts, and he's still at work, I understand, on that, so is Senator Schumer. They've been trying to negotiate this compromise among the various factions for a while and I think actually we're getting closer. We're not there yet. But we're a lot closer than we were two months ago, where it was just a logjam."

Schumer's name, in this context, is interesting. It's possible that she simply means Schumer is talking to all parties, trying to get everybody on the same public option page as he has been for months. But it certainly sounds like she's saying he's taking the caucus' temperature on this Carper compromise, which I outlined here.

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Health Care

Sen. Landrieu Remains Undecided On Eve Of Test Health Care Vote

Christina Bellantoni | November 20, 2009, 4:04PM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)

Several conservative Democrats have signaled they will vote with the party to bring the health care bill to the Senate floor for debate, but Sen. Mary Landrieu is still on the fence.

TPMDC's Brian Beutler is on the scene at the Department of Health and Human Services, where Landrieu (D-LA) joined an Adoption Day event.

"I haven't made a final decision, because I literally have been...reading the bill, and that's going to continue 'til about 6 or 7 tonight, and then after I have all the information in front of me I'm gonna make a final decision."

Landrieu said she had been leaning against voting "yes" on the motion to proceed until a meeting with Majority Leader Harry Reid yesterday, which tilted her into "neutral" territory.

She said she will likely release a statement regarding her final decision in the morning.

Health Care

Though Still Undecided, Landrieu Looks Ahead To Health Care Debate

Brian Beutler | November 20, 2009, 9:53AM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) spoke to reporters last night about her intentions going forward on health care reform. I wasn't present, but a colleague passes along the audio. The short version is, Landrieu is still uncommitted on tomorrow's test vote on the motion to proceed, but she's looking forward to changing the bill (particularly the public option) on the floor, indicating she doesn't imagine the bill will falter at this stage.

"I have leverage now, I'm using it to the best of my ability, I'm going to use it on the Senate floor," Landrieu said. "I have people voting for me who are liberal Democrats, independents, conservative Democrats, and some moderate Republicans. I understand what my base is. My base is very broad."

And in that spirit, Landrieu says that even if her vote is there tomorrow, it won't necessarily be there down the line.

"The other thing that remains a concern to me is the shape of this public option," she says. "We have made a lot of progress taking it from a robust, government run [plan] to now something that is more mainstream, more narrow, more private sector oriented, I'd like to take it a step or two even further. So that will be debated on the floor. And if it's not done that way, maybe my vote's not there at the end."

Ben Nelson

Landrieu, Nelson Win Goodies As Reid Seeks Their Vote On Reform

Brian Beutler | November 20, 2009, 9:27AM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Sen. Mary Landrieu's state of Louisiana is still ailing years after Hurricane Katrina devastated its largest city. So Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid could be killing two birds with one stone by including in his health care bill $100 million in federal Medicaid aid for any states (aka, Louisiana) that have suffered a natural disaster in the last seven years. That's much needed help for the poor in Louisiana, and also a sweetener for Landrieu, whose support for health care reform has never been terribly certain.

That appears to be a more justifiable offer from Reid than a separate concession to Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), another health-care fence sitter. In a move that appears designed to win Nelson's initial procedural votes, Reid decided not to include a measure ending anti-trust exemptions for the insurance industry.

Reid originally fought hard to lift the exemption, even testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the need to end insurance companies' monopolistic practices. But his decision may be paying political dividends, as Nelson inches toward supporting a key health care test vote on Saturday.

The only remaining question: What's in it for Arkansas?

AR-SEN

HCAN: Health Care Swing States Want An Up-Or-Down Vote On Reform

Brian Beutler | November 20, 2009, 9:13AM

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

Congressional procedure can be confusing even for politicos, but the reform campaign Health Care for America Now has boiled it down. The group has distributed polling data to its largest member organizations indicating that voters in key swing states believe health care shouldn't be stymied by procedural supermajority requirements in the Senate.

The polls were taken in Nebraska, Louisiana, and Arkansas, home of reform skeptics Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, and Blanche Lincoln, don't believe their senators should kill reform by voting with Republicans to block either a debate or a vote on the bill.

"In the Senate, before a bill can be voted on, there must be a vote to allow it to be debated," reads the first survey question. "Regardless of whether you support or oppose the health insurance reform plan itself, do you believe that it should be debated on the floor of the Senate?"

In all states, voters overwhelmingly said the Senate health care reform bill should be debated on the floor. Nebraska: 88-9, Louisiana: 82-9, Arkansas: 84-11.

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