Spending

How Mitch McConnell Convinced Republicans To Derail Dems' Spending Plan

Brian Beutler | December 17, 2010, 2:25PM

Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell approached the microphones for his weekly press conference on Tuesday with more sense of purpose than he's had since he tried -- but failed -- to derail the health care law in March. His goal this time was to kill the Omnibus spending bill, which his Democratic counterpart Harry Reid had just unveiled. Just as earlier this year, though, he didn't sound like a party leader who was certain he had the votes to kill it.

"I am actively working to defeat it," he said.

At that point, it looked like the package would sneak by with the help of a half-dozen or more Senate Republicans who don't have a religious aversion to earmarking. On Thursday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) released a statement describing it as "on a glide path to passage." But as the week dragged on, more and more of those members started inching away from the spending bill.

Read more »

Spending

A Primer On The Fallout Of OmnibusFAIL

Brian Beutler | December 17, 2010, 11:30AM

President Barack Obama meets with Democratic and Republican leaders

Late last night, Harry Reid's plan to get the federal government funded through the end of the fiscal year went up in flames, burning months and months of work by Senate appropriators and their staffs. To avert a government shutdown, Reid agreed to work out a federal funding plan with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell -- Congress will agree to continue funding the government at its current levels through some yet-to-be-determined point next year. The "continuing resolution" will likely pass the Senate in a blink, the lights will stay on, and then they can move on to other priorities: The DREAM Act, Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal, and START.

Here's how last night's melodrama impacts policy and the politics on Capitol Hill:

Read more »

Harry Reid

After Spending Bill Implodes, Reid Schedules Vote on DADT Repeal

Brian Beutler | December 16, 2010, 8:49PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

On Thursday night, Senate Republicans killed must-pass legislation to fund the government, and forced Democrats to accept GOP spending demands to avert a federal shutdown. The development infuriated Democratic members and led to unusually angry, churlish exchanges on the Senate floor. But as a consolation prize for defeated Democrats, they'll have a real shot at finally repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell on Sunday evening.

After long deliberations with Republican principals Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced on the Senate floor that nine GOP members had reneged on their pledges to vote for the omnibus spending bill, which reflected months of bipartisan negotiations, and included earmarks benefiting both parties.

That left Reid several votes shy of the 60 he'd need to overcome a filibuster and essentially vaporized a year's worth of work by the Appropriations Committee.

Read more »

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

DADT Moves In The Senate: Reid To File Cloture Tonight, Vote On Saturday

Evan McMorris-Santoro | December 16, 2010, 7:56PM

On the Senate floor just now, Majority Leader Harry Reid announced the Senate will begin to vote as soon as Saturday on a bill to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. That puts it ahead of the START treaty, as proponents of repeal had requested.

"We've got to move this all along," Reid said from the floor.

Reid will also file for cloture on the DREAM Act. That means both bills should come up for a procedural vote on Saturday. The vote on the DREAM Act will come first, followed by the vote on DADT.

Democrats expect the cloture vote on the DREAM Act to fail. Next will come a cloture vote on DADT. "If DREAM gets 60 to end debate then we would have final passage Sunday," a Reid aide told TPM. "If DREAM fails, but DADT gets 60 then it's the same case -- final vote Sunday."

Though progressives will see the votes on DADT and DREAM as key victories, Reid's other announcement will likely be seen as a victory for the Republicans. Reid announced that despite the bipartisan process behind the omnibus spending bill, he could not get any Republican votes for the massive omnibus spending bill. So he's scrapping it in favor of a short-term spending package that will keep the government up and running through early next year.

So for those paying close attention, here's the schedule of votes moving forward: DREAM, DADT repeal, short-term spending bill and, finally START treaty.

Ron Wyden

Wyden Cancer Bout Complicates Dems' Lame-Duck Agenda

Brian Beutler | December 16, 2010, 6:44PM

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)

The exceedingly good news is that Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) is expected to make a full recovery from prostate cancer, for which he will undergo surgery early next week. For Democrats, though, that could create real logistical problems, if they hope to round out a still-crowded lame-duck session in the next several days.

"[I]t now appears that I will be missing votes tomorrow and possibly next week while I prepare and undergo this procedure," Wyden said in a statement. "I expect to be back to work full-time when the Senate reconvenes in January."

That wouldn't matter if Democrats were trying to pass legislation with broad support. But just about everything left on their docket is expected to face broad GOP opposition, and pass by paper-thin margins, if at all.

Read more »

Barack Obama

Obama In Tough Spot On Porked-Up Omnibus Bill - Again

Christina Bellantoni | December 14, 2009, 3:48PM

President Barack Obama

When President Obama was forced this spring to sign a $410 billion omnibus spending bill laden with earmarks, he called it "imperfect" and called for a more transparent process moving forward.

And he's about to do it again. With the renewed focus on fiscal responsibility on the horizon, Obama is likely to sign a $1 trillion spending bill that passed Congress and contains about $4 billion worth of more than 5,000 earmarks.

"It's not perfect. The president will continue to try to make progress on those issues," Gibbs said. "There's no doubt we've still got a long way to go."

Read more »