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, …
Economy
Introducing “The Call”
We’ve got a new feature here on Swampland. It’s a weekly podcast where you get to listen in to a few of our reporters talk about the stories they’ve been working on and the highlights of the week. Today’s call features Karen and Kate discussing Arlen Specter’s re-election battle and (of course) everything health care. Enjoy:
“Heidi Montag Says No to Plastic”
I’m not sure what’s more surprising here, that’s the guys pushing for financial reform have resorted to this or that Ron Howard directed the video. But it is pretty funny…
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Morning Must Reads: It’s All About the House
–We’re at an interesting point where both parties are trumpeting their intentions to run on health reform if/when it goes through, pro and con respectively. But I’m very skeptical of Senator McConnell’s assertion that every election in November will be a referendum on the issue. The notion that health care will totally overshadow …
When A Hard Vote Ends A Political Career
As the House prepares for its final push on health care, there are Democratic members, particularly those from conservative districts, who are facing a hard truth: This is the kind of vote that can end a career.
I’ve found myself thinking a lot lately about one of the most extraordinary spectacles I have ever witnessed in the House …
Rangel Steps Down: Who’s Next?
Charlie Rangel today announced he’ll temporarily lay down the gavel to the Ways & Means Committee, Congress’s top tax writing panel, after being admonished by the Ethics committee for two corporate sponsored trips to the Caribbean. So, the question is: who succeeds him? ABC News reported that Michigan’s Sander Levin, the No. 3 …
Bunning Caves
More than five days after he began but two days too late to prevent a cut off in services that will now have to be fixed retroactively, Senator Jim Bunning gave up his one-man filibuster of a $10 billion bill to extend unemployment benefits for 30 days. The measure passed with large bipartisan support 78-19. The Kentucky Republican said …
Make ‘Em Filibuster: Bunning Edition
Senate Democrats are looking to force Jim Bunning, who has single handedly blocked a bill extending unemployment insurance benefits (amongst other provisions) causing them to lapse on Sunday, into an actual filibuster. Well, sort of. Roll Call reports that Dems are lining up a series of senators who will attempt to move for a vote on the …
Bunning Budges?
Third Floor U.S. Senate
The GOP Senate conference is downstairs having their weekly policy lunch on the second floor of the Senate. I hear Kentucky’s Jim Bunning is getting an earful in the meeting and rumors are swirling that he may cave and accept Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s offer to have a vote on his plan to use stimulus …
Bunning Hijacks the Senate
I didn’t think it was possible for Senator Jim Bunning, a Kentucky Republican, to get more unpopular with his colleagues: he was forced, feet dragging, to announce he wouldn’t run for reelection after fellow Kentuckian and minority leader Mitch McConnell wouldn’t even endorse him. But tonight, he is pariah to a whole new level. …
Midday Reads
–A CNN poll finds 67 percent of Americans say congressional Republicans aren’t doing enough to foster bipartisanship, and they are about split on whether Obama is reaching out in good faith. It seems highly improbable tomorrow’s kabuki health reform summit moves the needle.
—Greg Sargent argues that in the end, voters are more …
Jobs Bill Passes Senate
The Senate just passed Harry Reid’s jobs bill 70-28. Reid plans on repeating this strategy over and over and over again till Election Day. Okay, maybe not Election Day – but definitely until Easter recess.
Morning Must Reads
–As Kate writes, political posturing pervades ahead of Thursday’s health care summit with Democrats and Republicans scrambling to score points. There’s plenty of that to come in the next 48 hours.
–To wit: Obama communications chief Dan Pfeiffer offers to post a Republican plan on the White House blog in a transparently backhanded …