Senate

Make ‘em Filibuster, Jobs Edition

By Jay Newton-Small | @JNSmall | March 15, 2010 | +

The Senate is bracing for a possible all-nighter as leaders have thus far failed to reach an agreement on the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act. You may remember this as Harry Reid’s relatively small $15 billion jobs bill that he introduced after yanking the Baucus/Grassley deal. The House then passed an amended version, and Reid is now hoping to pass this deal and send it to President Obama this week to be signed into law.

As he did the first time around, Reid again has refused to allow amendments (if the bill were to be changed in any way it would have to go back to the House — resulting in a game of ping pong that has entrapped some pieces of legislation for years). Republicans last time were incensed that they couldn’t amend the bill but 13 of them ended up still voting for it on final passage. This time around they are refusing to allow the Senate to proceed to the legislation in protest (every bill must have unanimous consent to be brought up). This is essentially a GOP filibuster which Reid will have to file for cloture to overcome — a procedural tactic that will require a 60-vote threshold for a bill everyone knows will pass (the first version passed 70-28) and 30 hours of debate. Usually, such debates are wound out during civilized daylight hours. But, if Republicans refuse to pass the bill tonight, Dems are preparing force them to stay in session all night. The cloakroom is lining up Democratic senators to preside over the chamber all night and the Senate’s Sergeant-at-Arms, Terrance Gainer, has warned his staff that they could be in through the wee hours. Not quite a real filibuster, but at least one potential night sans sleep.

This builds on Senator Jim Bunning’s five-day one-man filibuster of unemployment benefits. Dems seem increasingly prepared to force Republicans to publicly block popular, bipartisan jobs bills to demonstrate the degree of logjam in the Senate. Republicans, meanwhile, are accusing Dems of playing politics with important legislation. But if this “filibuster” goes anything like Bunnings’, Democrats are coming to the table with the upper hand.

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Related Topics: all-nighter, filibuster, jobs bill, Senate, Congress, Democratic Party, Economy, Harry Reid, Republican Party, Senate

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  • nflfoghorn

    Why is the Senate so antiquated?

  • grape_crush

    No offense to our older friends, but the average age of a US Senator is around 62 years old. Things were different in the Senate a few decades ago; I’m not sure that some Senators have grasped how things have changed.

  • apr2563

    Grape, by cracky I am one of your older friends. I’m not sure the Senate has changed so much as the extremism on the right has pushed out all the Republican moderates. I remember Javitts, Rockefeller, Brooks, et all.
    The rules in the Senate are basically the same. They are now exploited by a nihilist right.

  • 53_3

    “Dems seem increasingly prepared to force Republicans to publicly block popular, bipartisan jobs bills to demonstrate the degree of logjam in the Senate.”
    .
    It’s taken all this time for our Democratic leaders to figure this out?
    .
    If they had done thunked it through when the recession was still a potential depression, the fallout of that action would have led to a masterful string of accomplishments, including HCR, with real reforms.
    .
    Instead, with HCR looming on the horizon, we have Democrats acting more like Republicans, which was not what I voted for…

  • grape_crush

    The rules in the Senate are basically the same.
    .
    Yes.
    .
    They are now exploited by a nihilist right.
    .
    Yup, things sure have changed. The Senate rules were not as clumsy or as random as those in the House, an elegant structure for a more civilized age. Over a few generations the Senate was the guardian of peace and justice in the old United States. Before the dark times, before the Nihilst Right.

  • http://lotsamythoughts.wordpress.com jlrratz

    If this bill is such a shoo-in to pass as the author of this post thinks, then why is Harry afraid to let go through standard process and risk amendments? This is so much about politics and not about what the legislation is targeted at…typical of our government.

    And old friend referring to the Republican moderates, I suggest you refer to the disappearance of all moderates, not just those on the right. Washington is bi-polar, not the country.

  • 53_3

    Anyone for aerial Risperdal spraying?
    .
    It might just help…

  • grape_crush

    Instead of Star Wars references, here’s a few suggestions about what could be done to fix the Senate, starting on page 11…

    http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/03/pdf/filibuster.pdf

  • apr2563

    You don’t consider Ben Nelson, Bill Nelson, Jim Webb, Bill Nelson, Pryor, Lincoln, etc as moderate or to the right? Unfortunately the Dems have to many moderates or righties for my taste.

  • freeinpa

    Among the modifications to the bill is the requirement that it be fully paid for.

    “Our fiscal situation is simply not sustainable. That’s why it’s so important that this bill is fully paid for, largely by cracking down on offshore tax abuse,” said Representative Sander Levin (D-Mich) in a statement.”

    ==
    Seems like Levin had a come to Jesus meeting. First he paid his taxes now he wants to uphold PAYGO. Seems I remember the left crucifying Bunning for this very thing. Who would of thunk it?

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