Uncategorized

Snapshot From The Senate Finance Committee

By Karen Tumulty | September 22, 2009 | +

Chairman Max Baucus just warned the committee that he is prepared to work all night. I would take this more seriously if it hadn’t been for the fact that he made this announcement to four Democrats, five Republicans … and 10 empty chairs.

UPDATE: Commenter Rustyreturns asks: Who are the “missing” Senators, Karen?

It varies. Current count of empty chairs is nine, and a minute ago, it was five. A number of them seem to be running into a back room for coffee, which is perfectly understandable, but others have been gone all morning, except for when they were giving their own statements.

Worth noting that the longstanding practice on Capitol Hill is that when a Senator or Congressman leaves a hearing, an aide discreetly removes his or her nameplate from the lectern, so the absence is not so obvious (especially to the C-SPAN cameras).

There also appears to be a sizeable delegation here from the White House, including health care czar Nancy-Ann DeParle, who has been in the front row of the staff area almost since this proceeding began. The public area is full of people in expensive suits, but I’m unable to identify any of the most recognizable Big Guns from the industry and interest groups.

Related Topics: Health Care, Max Baucus, Senate Finance Committee, Uncategorized

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  • nflfoghorn

    ….just as many empty suits?

  • spob

    Work all nite? Yeah, let’s pull an all niter to regulate 1/6th of our economy. Nothing I do in my line of work is anywhere close to that complex. And I am a pretty sharp guy–I don’t pull all niters to mark-up documents if I can possibly avoid it.

  • rustyreturns

    Who are the “missing” Senators, Karen? Perhaps they need a few emails sent, phone calls to their offices to “GET TO WORK!!!” and don’t forget to READ THE BILL!!!

  • stuartzechman

    Why Americans hate Congress:
    .
    “an aide discreetly removes his or her nameplate from the lectern, so the absence is not so obvious”
    .
    Thanks so much for that tip, KT.
    .
    I should have expected that, but I didn’t.

  • nflfoghorn

    I understand this committee has $ clout, but beyond that is it the only reason why everyone’s concentrating on what transpires from it? The other four committees all seem to agree more or less. Seems like everyone else is a round hole and Baucus’ comm is a square peg.

  • Ivy_B

    NPR has been telling me for weeks that this is the only bill that matters. Then this morning they confused me by doing an excellent story on uninsured people in the country, the Blue Dogs, and the expensive suits who influence them – as opposed to their uninsured constituents.

    Of the 100 congressional districts with the highest percentage rates of uninsured people, 53 are represented either by Republican lawmakers who are fighting the overhaul, or by conservative Blue Dog Democrats who have slowed down and diluted the overhaul proposals.

    One leader of the Blue Dog effort is Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas, the coalition’s chief health care negotiator. His 4th Congressional District covers southern Arkansas, a rural area with a high poverty rate. In his district, more than one out of five residents under age 65 lacks health insurance. That’s 30 percent higher than the national average.

    Text as well as audio at –

    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113042528

  • sevenoaks07

    Given the importance of the subject and the advance notice I expected most senators to be present. However if they have to attend other committees then their absence can be explained. But other than the Armed Services Committee is there one engaged in more important activity than the Baucus Group?

    Any of these people attending personal fund raisers? Any health lobbyists providing lunch and fund raising on the side?

  • plukasiak

    considering the fact that we’re now three hours into the hearings, and “opening statements” are still going on, I’m not sure how much sense it makes to require senators to be there.
    _
    Of course, the real problem is that everyone wants to make an opening statement — that’s three wasted hours and counting of the public’s time (and hundreds of “work hours”, when you consider how much staff time was wasted preparing these remarks, and how much staff time is being wasted by staff who have to be in the room listening to this nonsense.)

  • conversets

    Why don’t we just call her “health care advisor Nancy-Ann DeParle”.

  • deconstructiva

    Yep, looks like an all-nighter. Even with this critical work, they still gotta go thru the pomp and circumstance – and not all show up for it? KT, bring a sleeping bag. Hopefully there’s enough leftover pizza and mac ‘n cheese at home for your family to feed themselves while you’re stuck there.

  • pafro

    Classic NPR. Spend months confusing the issue, and who the good and bad actors are, then drop a decent story at some “too little, too late” juncture.
    Contrast this with the Washington Post model: have some early, good reporting on an issue, then bury this glimmer of useful information with a bunch of horse-race reporting and dozens of error-riddled editorials by their large contingent of useful idiots (who appear to have not read the earlier WaPo reporting). The coup de grace comes, when facing a reader revolt and e-mail barrage over the crappy reportage and lack of real news stories, Howard Kurtz and the ombudsman both snidely point out that such-and-such and issue was covered in depth on December 24th, 2005, and therefore the paper is off the hook for the ensuing four years of printing nonsense; and besides, the people complaining are LIEBERALS, and everyone knows they run MSNBC what with all the Morning Joe and Pat Buchanon and whatnot so STFU!

  • Paul-no not that one

    Because that’s not part of the script!

  • plukasiak

    I want to know what she isn’t identified as “czaress”. I mean, she is a woman last time I checked….

  • deconstructiva

    …or that a female czar’s title is hard to spell. “Czarina” is a common translation but “tsaritsa” appears to be the correct one, per Catherine I, Anna (not Kournikova), and Catherine the Great. But good luck with corporate media talking heads trying to say / spell tsaritsa (though I’ll bet KT will get it right, yes?).

  • plukasiak

    well, ya learn something every day. “Czaress” isn’t a word, and “czarina” generally refers to the wife of the czar — although elizabeth I is also called czarina, despite attaining power not through marriage to a czar, but by overthrowing Ivan VI (and his mother’s regency).

  • Ivy_B

    Well, I’m certainly glad I stopped back here!

    Learn something from commenters as usual.

  • http://twitter.com/ktumulty Karen Tumulty

    she’s more than an “advisor.” she runs the health office in the white house, and “czar” is a word that I have heard people in the White House (including her) use to describe it. it wasn’t a loaded word when ronald reagan had a drug czar, and if anything, her job is more influential.

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