Tag: U.S. Senate

Spooked McConnell Threatens ‘Scorched Earth’ To Protect Filibuster

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As momentum grows to eliminate a tool Republicans have used over the years to kill overwhelmingly popular legislation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday threatened to make the Senate into an unbearably slow and hostile work environment as retribution.

“Nobody serving in this chamber can even begin, can even begin to imagine what a completely scorched-earth Senate would look like,” the Kentucky senator declared in a speech on the Senate floor, referring to what he’d do if Democrats repealed the filibuster, the extended debating tactic that makes it possible for the chamber’s minority to block legislation. Invocation of cloture, a move to limit the debate, requires a total of 60 votes to be adopted.

McConnell said he’d require a quorum to be present to conduct even mundane business. That would slow down work in the Senate because it would pull lawmakers from committee hearings and take away time senators have to meet with constituents in their offices in Washington, D.C. Continue reading.

McConnell offers scathing ‘scorched earth’ filibuster warning

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Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) offered a scathing warning to Democrats on Tuesday, amid growing pressure to nix the legislative filibuster.

“Let me say this very clearly for all 99 of my colleagues: Nobody serving in this chamber can even begin, can even begin, to imagine what a completely scorched-earth Senate would look like,” McConnell said.

He added that in a chamber that functions on a day-to-day basis by consent, meaning all senators sign off on an action, “I want our colleagues to imagine a world where every single task, every one of them, requires a physical quorum.”  Continue reading.

These senators owe their careers to redistricting

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Ripple effects extend beyond House races when districts change

While redistricting can be a curse for some politicians by forcing them into uncomfortable and even unwinnable situations, new congressional lines can be launching pads for other candidates, with repercussions beyond the House. 

At least six U.S. senators can credit their initial arrival on Capitol Hill to redistricting. Each of them appeared to be destined for Congress at some point, but new lines propelled them into the House and put them in position to later advance to the Senate. 

That means while there are initial macro implications for redistricting on the fight for the House majority and micro impacts on the fate of individual members, there are ripple effects beyond the 2022 elections that could play out over the next decade or more. Continue reading.

The most likely filibuster reform — and its limits

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The talking filibuster could get the support that repealing the filibuster wouldn’t. Like other ideas, though, it has its drawbacks. 

Senate Democrats this weekend passed President Biden’s historic $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on a party-line vote. But the exercise reinforced the reality for the party moving forward: GOP votes will be very hard to come by, and passing virtually any other significant Democratic legislation will be very difficult. This one required just 50 votes under the reconciliation process, but that legislative maneuver can be used only sparingly, and everything else will require 60 votes.

Enter the most likely current candidate for reform: the talking filibuster.

Sen. Joe Manchin III (W.Va.) is one of two moderate Senate Democrats posing the biggest obstacle to the left’s quest to get rid of the filibuster — the source of the effective 60-vote threshold. He and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) have said there are no circumstances under which they would nuke the filibuster. Given that a majority of the Senate is needed to undo it — and Democrats have just 50 votes — that’s prohibitive for now. Continue reading.

Klobuchar, Collins Introduce Legislation to Expand Training and Support Services for Families and Caregivers of Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Susan Collins (R-ME) reintroduced the Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Act to expand training and support services for families and caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

More than six million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease and by 2050 that number is expected to grow to 13 million. The nearly 11 million caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias report higher levels of stress and depression than those who provide care to individuals without dementia, which resulted in $11.4 billion in additional health costs for Alzheimer’s caregivers in 2017. This legislation would authorize grants to public and non-profit organizations to expand training and support services that improve caregiver health and delay long-term care facility admissions by keeping loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in their homes longer.

Companion legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Chris Smith (R-NJ). Continue reading.

Senate votes to take up COVID-19 relief bill

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Senate Democrats voted on Thursday to take up a sweeping $1.9 trillion coronavirus bill, teeing off what’s expected to be a days-long sprint to pass the legislation. 

The Senate voted 50-50 to proceed to the coronavirus relief legislation, with Vice President Harris breaking the tie to advance the bill. 

“The Senate is going to move forward with the bill. No matter how long it takes, the Senate is going to stay in session to finish the bill this week,” Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said from the Senate floor on Thursday ahead of the vote.  Continue reading.

Senate passes massive COVID-19 relief bill, sending changes back to House

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Democratic leaders in the House will need to convince members to back changes

The Senate approved a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package Saturday, sending it back to the House where Democratic leaders will need to convince their members to back changes to unemployment insurance and tax rebate checks.

The 50-49 party-line vote capped off the more than 24 hours of continuous voting, courtesy of the fast-track process Democrats are using to advance the pandemic aid package. Under budget reconciliation, senators could offer as many amendments as they wanted.

Republicans filed nearly 600 amendments to the bill, but only brought up a fraction of those for debate and votes. Democrats were mostly united throughout the process, rejecting 29 Republican amendments. Overall, six amendments were adopted, including two GOP proposals. Continue reading.

Biden limits eligibility for stimulus payments under pressure from moderate Senate Democrats

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Change comes as Senate prepares to move forward on Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief bill

President Biden has agreed to narrow eligibility for a new round of $1,400 stimulus payments in his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, a concession to moderate Senate Democrats as party leaders moved Wednesday to lock down support and finalize the sweeping legislation.

Under the new structure, the checks would phase out faster for those at higher income levels compared with the way the direct payments were structured in Biden’s initial proposal and the version of the bill passed by the House on Saturday.

The change came as the Senate prepared to take an initial procedural vote to move forward on the bill as early as Thursday. Biden and Senate Democratic leaders were scrambling to keep their caucus united since they cannot lose a single Democrat in the 50-50 Senate if Republicans unite against the legislation. Continue reading.

Many of Biden’s nominees of color run into turbulence in the Senate

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The Biden administration has fewer top government leaders in place than other recent presidents at this point in their terms, a pace that’s been slowed by a siege at the Capitol, an impeachment trial, a plague and a series of snowstorms.

But activists who pushed Biden to nominate a diverse Cabinet are also noticing another phenomenon: Many of the president’s Black, Latino, Asian and Native American nominees are encountering more political turbulence than their White counterparts, further drawing out the process of staffing the federal government.

Controversy has centered on endangered nominee Neera Tanden, who would be the first Indian American to lead the Office of Management and Budget, typically a low-profile post. Her detractors, including Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, have seized on scores of pointed attacks that Tanden has made via social media in recent years — a line of criticism that women’s groups say is unfair because it focuses on her tone rather than her qualifications or policies. Continue reading.

Why it matters that some GOP senators huddled with Trump’s lawyers

Graham, Lee, and Cruz aren’t just ignoring their impeachment oath, they’re flaunting their indifference to their responsibilities.

Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment proceedings is only a “trial” in a colloquial sense. Many Americans have some sense of how a case is tried in court, and this isn’t it.

Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), for example, is overseeing the proceedings, while also serving as a “juror.” He’s also, incidentally, a witness to the crime. In fact, in this case, each of the jurors are witnesses, which in a normal trial would never be permissible.

And because the usual rules and procedures of an American trial do not apply to the Senate’s impeachment proceedings, it stands to reason that there will be dramatic differences in how senators approach their responsibilities. But by any sensible measure, it’s tough to defend tactics like these. Continue reading.