Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Adding and Subtracting
I had to delete some of my posts from the last two weeks because of some conflict of interest issues. I will try and have some posts up to replace the deleted ones by the end of the week, but this is going to be a VERY busy week. I apologize for the inconvenience.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Senate Battlefield
As the 110th Congress convened on Thursday, the attention was almost entirely on the House. All eyes were on Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the first female Speaker of the House. House members had their families on the floor for the chamber. Pelosi’s grandchildren surrounded her as the vote for Speaker took place. Applause and laughter could be heard as each person cast their vote. In the Senate, the ceremonies were much quieter, with Vice President Dick Cheney swearing in the new members of the Senate, and only a few non-members on the floor. However, while the House gets all the attention, the real battles will likely be fought in the Senate.
Prior to the first session on the Senate floor, party leaders met in the old Senate chambers in the U.S. Capitol to discuss their views for where the body should head in the 110th. Specific issues were left off the table, with the two sides discussing hopes and frustrations instead. That type of bipartisan cooperation is normally nonexistent in the House. In the House, each side presented their own candidate for Speaker, each side had their own nominations for the administrative House positions and the Democrats did not allow the minority the opportunity to introduce an alternative rules package. In the Senate, majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and minority Mitch McConnell (R-KY) acted as cosponsors of the organizing resolution for the 110th. The two held a press conference stating their intention to work together now and in the future.
While the Senate has always been more dependent on consensus then the House, the 110th Congress starts out in a more co-dependent situation then normal. The Democrats hold a 31 seat majority in the House, while Senate Democrats hold a close 51-49 majority. Now, with Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) possibly out for months wile recovering from emergency brain surgery, the Democrats now barely maintain that majority. With procedural motions like closing off debate requiring 60 votes, this does not give Senate Democrats the same free reign that the House can enjoy. This means the likelihood of getting bills passed quickly through the Senate is unlikely.
As is often the case, the devil will be in the details, and both parties will have to reach consensus if they plan to pass any meaningful legislation.
Unlike the House, which just pushed through its ethics reform package this week, the Senate will have to battle over every bill, making sure that they not only have the votes to pass the bill, but enough votes to keep the opposition from slowing down important legislation, or even attempting a filibuster. The Senate Democrats are going to have to fight for everything they get, likely doing some heavy horse-trading to get the votes they need. It could even end up being the Senate GOP that bogs down final passage of Pelosi’s “First 100 hours” agenda. The Senate should be a very entertaining to monitor these next two years.
Prior to the first session on the Senate floor, party leaders met in the old Senate chambers in the U.S. Capitol to discuss their views for where the body should head in the 110th. Specific issues were left off the table, with the two sides discussing hopes and frustrations instead. That type of bipartisan cooperation is normally nonexistent in the House. In the House, each side presented their own candidate for Speaker, each side had their own nominations for the administrative House positions and the Democrats did not allow the minority the opportunity to introduce an alternative rules package. In the Senate, majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and minority Mitch McConnell (R-KY) acted as cosponsors of the organizing resolution for the 110th. The two held a press conference stating their intention to work together now and in the future.
While the Senate has always been more dependent on consensus then the House, the 110th Congress starts out in a more co-dependent situation then normal. The Democrats hold a 31 seat majority in the House, while Senate Democrats hold a close 51-49 majority. Now, with Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) possibly out for months wile recovering from emergency brain surgery, the Democrats now barely maintain that majority. With procedural motions like closing off debate requiring 60 votes, this does not give Senate Democrats the same free reign that the House can enjoy. This means the likelihood of getting bills passed quickly through the Senate is unlikely.
As is often the case, the devil will be in the details, and both parties will have to reach consensus if they plan to pass any meaningful legislation.
Unlike the House, which just pushed through its ethics reform package this week, the Senate will have to battle over every bill, making sure that they not only have the votes to pass the bill, but enough votes to keep the opposition from slowing down important legislation, or even attempting a filibuster. The Senate Democrats are going to have to fight for everything they get, likely doing some heavy horse-trading to get the votes they need. It could even end up being the Senate GOP that bogs down final passage of Pelosi’s “First 100 hours” agenda. The Senate should be a very entertaining to monitor these next two years.
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