Good afternoon, Daily Kos readers. This is your afternoon open thread to discuss all things Hill-related. Use this thread to praise or bash Congresscritters, share a juicy tip, ask questions, offer critiques and suggestions, or post manifestos. We'll be here all weekend.
This is an open source project, so feel free to add your own insights. Here's the news I found lurking around the Internets...
Bunning and Coburn news
When you see those two names, you just know that we are going to talk about obstruction. Remember when Jim Bunning held up the bill to extend unemployment benefits? Remember how that bill also meant that 2,000 highway workers would be furloughed? Well if you don't check the link for a refresher.
So it only seems fair that those workers should be compensated for their lost time. Enter Senator Tom "Dr. No" Coburn.
Coburn wants to repay furloughed DOT workers from Congress's account
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is blocking Senate passage of a bill that would compensate the roughly 2,000 Transportation Department workers who were furloughed during an impasse over federal funding for highway and transportation projects.
Coburn wants to pay the workers back with $1 million from the congressional budget, rather than tapping the federal coffers. That proposal would cost each House and Senate office approximately $2,000.
~snip
"If Senator Coburn really wanted to take a stand, why doesn't he change his amendment so that it is paid for out of the Republican office accounts only?" asked Reid spokesman Jim Manley. "Seems only fair, given that they were the ones that blocked the money in the first place."
So that would end this entry had I not come across this while Googling Bunning's name.
Republican Bunning stirs anger with WTO block
(Reuters) - A Republican senator who held up action earlier this month on a bill to renew jobless benefits faced more criticism on Wednesday for blocking approval of President Barack Obama's nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the World Trade Organization.
~snip
But Bunning, who is a member of the Finance Committee, has used his right under Senate rules to block further action on both nominations. He is stalling in an effort to put pressure on the Obama administration to prod Canada to change parts of its anti-smoking legislation.
Got that? The former Baseball player -- let me repeat: the former athlete -- is holding up confirmation of one of the country's most important trade representatives because he wants Canada to ease its anti-smoking laws which are decreasing tobacco exports north.
Jill Richardson has more.
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Health Care/Insurance Reform
Hindsight is always 20/20. We really should have framed the debate as "health insurance reform." Health care = good. Health insurance = not so good. Just future reference.
Anyway, it's been a busy 24 hours as Congressional Democrats and the Administration prepare for the final push to pass something. Here is your holistic health insurance reform news. First the bad news:
Pelosi: Public option will not be in health bill despite liberal efforts
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Friday that the public health insurance option will not be included in a package of fixes to healthcare reform legislation.
Pelosi's comments throw a wrench into liberal efforts to reintroduce it to the bill. She shut the door on a possible pathway opened by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who said earlier on Friday that he would "aggressively" push senators to vote for the plan if the House included it in the fixes.
"We had it, we wanted it ... it's not in the reconciliation," Pelosi said at her weekly press briefing. "It isn't in there because [the Senate doesn't] have the votes to have it in there."
Bold is mine and it's a pretty important point. The blame lies with the Senate. Or more specifically with any of nine Democrats who are holding out like people serving soup to Oliver Twist at the orphanage.
Public Option Support Now Over 40 In Senate
Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) became the 41st senator to say that he would back the public insurance option as part of a health care bill moved through reconciliation.
Nelson, asked by HuffPost if he would vote for a public option on the Senate floor, was unequivocal. "Yes," he said firmly. "I've already voted for it in the committee, in the Finance Committee."
The running tally is here. The problem, of course is that 41<50.</p>
The silver lining is that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told Bark Stupak what to do with his coathanger amendment.
Hoyer: House ready to move forward without a deal on abortion
House Democrats are ready to "forge ahead" on healthcare without a deal on abortion, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Friday.
~snip
But Hoyer said Friday that Democrats were preparing to take the plunge without Stupak’s votes in tow.
"We don’t want to go without their votes but we do want to forge ahead," Hoyer said.
At any rate, President Obama has postponed a trip to Guam, Australia and Indonesia to push the process along. After more than a year fighting this battle, we will likely get a vote this week.
Democrats Planning for Health Bill Vote Next Week
WASHINGTON — The White House and Congressional leaders put Democrats on notice Friday that they would push ahead next week toward climactic votes on the health care legislation, as President Obama delayed a foreign trip and Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she hoped to complete House action before he leaves.
As early as Thursday or Friday, Democrats said, they would first pass the health care bill already approved by the Senate in December, clearing the way for Mr. Obama to sign it, and then approve a package of changes in a separate bill that the Senate would also pass by a simple majority vote.
Incidentally, the president will leave March 21 rather than March 18 as he originally planned.
Speaker Pelosi is still trying to round up the 216 votes she will need to pass the House version. The Hill has a survey of the Democratic "yes," "no," and "maybe." Let this be your guide for any phone calls and emails between now and at least Tuesday. Interestingly, The National Journal found that most of the uncommitted members come from districts with a higher than average number of Senior Citizens.
Pelosi will also be working to get "assurances" that the Senate will cooperate and actually pass the fixes through reconciliation and do it quickly.
Pelosi to seek Senate 'assurances' before House health vote
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday said she will need "certain assurances" from Senate Democrats before the House votes on healthcare reform as early as next week.
Pelosi did not say what those assurances would be, but acknowledged that extracting them would be necessary to counter lingering concerns from within her caucus that the Senate will not be able to pass a reconciliation bill.
"With reconciliation, a simple majority, a constitutional majority, I think members are much more comfortable with the fact that this reconciliation will happen," Pelosi said at her weekly press conference. "Nonetheless, there are certain assurances that they want, and that we will get from [Senate Democrats] before I ask them to take the vote."
The Nation has a pretty good round up of what will likely happen next week.
Depressed yet? Well here is one more item that is like the icing on a turd cupcake.
Lobbyists Go Full Tilt In Health Fight
The battle over health care reform legislation is in the endgame, and lobbying and advertising to boost or kill the measure on Capitol Hill have gone white-hot.
In the latest blitzes to push health care legislation through Congress, liberal groups are homing in on big insurance rate hikes for people buying individual policies, and the attacks echo a major theme of the White House and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill. Reform opponents are focused heavily on the high costs of the proposed legislation and whether it adequately curbs abortion funding.
Some of the amounts detailed in the story will turn your stomach. If only we could all be lobbyists.
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Student loan reform
The reconciliation instructions that are guiding the health care bill also call for reforms for college student loans. It is looking like those reforms will be included in the health care insurance reconciliation.
Democrats move toward grouping health reform with student-aid bill
Democratic leaders said Thursday that they were increasingly inclined to release a final health-care bill that could accomplish two of President Obama's top domestic priorities: guaranteeing coverage to 30 million uninsured Americans and vastly expanding federal aid for college students.
~snip
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) had been one of the chief opponents because he feared the education proposal -- which would free up billions in federal subsidies to private lenders as it increases funds for Pell Grants -- would provoke procedural challenges from Republicans. But Conrad said the Senate parliamentarian suggested in a preliminary ruling that combining the bills could work, provided that the right balance on cost was found. "I'd say yes, we're leaning toward it," Conrad said.
Here's what the proposal would do:
The bill would end government payments to private, commercial student lenders, leaving the government to lend directly to students. It would also redirect billions of dollars to expand the Pell grant program for low-income students, and to pay for other education initiatives.
The maximum Pell grant is set to rise to $5,550 for the 2010-11 school year and, under the deal struck Thursday, would increase automatically each year in line with inflation. As many as eight million of the nation’s lowest-income students receive Pell grants to help pay for college each year. Under current law, Congress must determine any increases.
The government pays banks a fee to make student loans to college students who cannot get enough scholarships, federal grants and loans to pay tuition. These loans are risk-free for the banks since they are guaranteed by the government. This proposal would simply cut out the banks and allow the government to make all of the loans directly. That keeps the banks from preying on college students who need the money to go to school and are unlikely to worry too much about interest rates. In addition, the Pell Grants will further cut costs for students to go to school.
You know who doesn't like the idea? Former aides to Bill Clinton.
Student Loan Bill Opposed by Group Packed With Ex-Clinton Aides
"This wasteful spending was first identified by President Bill Clinton," Representative George Miller, Democrat of California and chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, declared on Thursday at a news conference in the Capitol.
Mr. Miller was explaining why he believed there was an urgent need for an overhaul of federal financial programs that have long enriched private, for-profit student lending companies.
~snip
But just a few minutes after Representative Miller had invoked Mr. Clinton’s name, the Glover Park Group, a powerhouse consulting firm founded by a cadre of former Clinton aides, was aggressively at work fighting the president’s proposal on behalf of an unnamed client.
If I had to take a guess, I would say that the "unnamed client" is probably banks who are getting rich on the backs of recent college graduates.
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Good earmarks vs. bad earmarks
We could have predicted this reaction:
Private companies, lobbyists seek to differentiate worthy projects from earmark requests
As lawmakers imposed another restriction Thursday on congressional earmarks, private companies and lobbyists defended their work in securing federal money for what they deemed worthy projects.
The private interests said that much of their work -- what amount to no-bid grants secured through Congress -- was unfairly being lumped in with earmarks that were obtained through well-timed donations to key lawmakers.
"I understand what the debate is about. But I think that, as Congress reviews the policy on appropriations, there's an opportunity to differentiate those like ours, which are looking for a win-win use of taxpayer dollars," said Benson P. Lee, president and chief executive of Technology Management in Cleveland. His company received a $500,000 earmark to commercialize a biofuel system.
On one hand, he has a point. The troublesome earmarks are the ones that look like "bribes." To refresh, some members funneled money to companies, particularly defense contractors. Those companies, for some odd reason, often ended up being major campaign donors. On the other hand, if Mr. Lee's company is that good at making biofuels, then they can go the competitive bidding route.
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Talking about the filibuster
If you have a couple of hours, check out this video. The featured speaker is Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico talking about reforming the filibuster.
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This may be why Congress move so slowly
The Most Important News of the Day™ features Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas discussing issues of importance to his constituents. LOLs. Just kidding. He took to the Floor to blame Obama because he had to walk in the rain today.
GOP member: White House 'clowns' are 'punishing' lawmakers after security flub
Members of Congress are being "punished" as a result of the notorious "gate crashing" security breach at the White House last year, according to a Texas Republican.
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) took to the House floor Friday to give a lengthy complaint about having to walk a block in the rain through heavy security Thursday to visit the White House.
~snip
He described the White House as a "circus" run by "clowns," and said lawmakers were being unfairly punished for Tareq and Michaele Salahi's crashing a White House party last year.
Meanwhile, the rest of us slobs here in the District used our umbrellas today. With that, I bid you a good weekend.