President Barack Obama. Shh! Just play along!
Recapping yesterday's action:
The House proceeded pretty much as expected yesterday, finishing up this week's installment in the continuing saga seeking the repeal of the ACA, before moving on to the Defense authorization bill and its 152 amendments. They appear to have gotten through 36 of the 152 up to this point.
The Senate split their time between running down the cloture clock on the motion to proceed to S. 990, which is set to become the vehicle for the USA PATRIOT Act renewal, and a series of failed motions to proceed to consideration of budget proposals. First up was the House-passed Ryan budget, followed by the budget resolution introduced by our good friend Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (R-AL). Now, the trick here was that this second resolution was the original budget proposal submitted by the President back in February. Normally that's a document that's reworked several times, and of course, almost never actually comes to the floor without extensive revision in the Budget committees, or even replaced entirely by their own work. But this time around, nobody actually took up the Obama budget, so it was in no sense an actual legislative proposal. But Republicans apparently felt the need to retaliate for being asked to vote on the House-passed Ryan budget. (Now why would they feel that way?) So Sessions took the dormant Obama document, put his name on it in order to get it a bill number, and moved it to the floor. So if you want to know who actually introduced the budget that got zero votes on the motion to proceed, the answer is: Jeff Sessions.
Oh yeah, there were also two other loser budgets, from Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Rand Paul (R-KY).
Looking ahead to today:
The House has its work cut out for it today, with over a hundred amendments to the defense bill left on the list. Now, very often, a list this long will get whittled down as groups of similar or non-controversial amendments are considered "en bloc," while others are adopted with minimal debate by voice vote, and still others are just dropped altogether and not offered at all. So it's not necessarily the case that they'll consider all 152 amendments along the way. Members certainly hope that isn't the case, because the weekend is coming. More importantly, recess—yes, another recess!—is coming. But on top of this defense bill, there's also the matter of the PATRIOT Act renewal, for which they're waiting on Senate action. The current extension expires at the end of the week, and everybody's a little nervous about leaving town for a recess without an extension of some kind in place.
Ordinarily, then, this would be a great time for the Senate to use the leverage the recess and the expiration give them to hand over their preferred version of the bill and then skip town, leaving the House to either accept what they're given or take the blame for the fact that there's no renewed law in place. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a great deal of sunlight between Democrats and Republicans on this, so I'm not predicting great things coming from this opportunity for the Dem Senate to assert itself against the Runaway Republican House.
Today's floor and committee schedules appear below the fold.
In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Democratic Whip:
THE NIGHTLY WHIP: WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011
TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK
On Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business.
Last votes: ???
“One Minutes” (5 per side)
Complete Consideration of H.R. 1540 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Rep. McKeon - Armed Services)
The Rule provides for no further general debate and makes in order only the following remaining amendments:
Inslee (WA) Amendment (10 minutes of debate)
Jackson Lee (TX) Amendment #138 (10 minutes of debate)
Runyan (NJ) Amendment (10 minutes of debate)
Thompson (PA) Amendment (10 minutes of debate)
Turner (OH) Amendment #197 (10 minutes of debate)
Cravaack (MN)/Chaffetz (UT) Amendment (10 minutes of debate)
McGovern (MA)/Amash (MI)/Cicilline (RI)/Jones (NC)/Lewis (GA)/Paul (TX)/Welch (VT) Amendment (20 minutes of debate)
En Bloc Amendment #3 (20 minutes of debate)
En Bloc Amendment #4 (20 minutes of debate)
En Bloc Amendment #5 (20 minutes of debate)
En Bloc Amendment #6 (20 minutes of debate)
Postponed Amendment Votes:
Mica (FL) Amendment #38
Flake (AZ) Amendment #40
Smith (WA) Amendment #42
Buchanan (FL) Amendment #43
Maloney (NY) Amendment #47
Mack (FL)/Bilirakis (FL) #48
Langevin (RI) Amendment #49
Amash (MI)/Lee (CA)/Conyers (MI)/Jones (NC)/Nadler (NY)/Paul (TX) Amendment #50
Campbell (CA) Amendment #53
Campbell (CA) Amendment #54
Chaffetz (UT)/Welch (VT) Amendment #56
Polis (CO) Amendment #60
Conyers (MI)/Clarke (NY)/Cohen (TN)/Duncan (SC) Amendment #61
Flake (AZ) Amendment #62
Ellison (MN) Amendment #63
Loretta Sanchez (CA) Amendment #102
Likely Consideration of the Senate Amendment to the House Amendment to S. 990 - PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011 (Judiciary/Intelligence Committee) (Subject to a Rule)
HOUSE FLOOR WRAP-UP FOR MAY 25, 2011
Considered and Passed:
H.R. 1216 - To amend the Public Health Service Act to convert funding for graduate medical education in qualified teaching health centers from direct appropriations to an authorization of appropriations (Rep. Guthrie - Energy and Commerce) (234 – 185)
- Amendment – Adopted (1):
·Foxx (NC) Amendment #7
- Motion to Recommit Amendment – Not Adopted:
·Offered by Rep. Clyburn (184 – 236)
Ordering the Previous Question to deny the McGovern Amendment on H.Res. 276 - Which allows for Mr. Andrews of New Jersey’s bill, H.R. 1979 to be considered. H.R. 1979 would end the Disabled Veterans Tax to ensure all disabled military retirees receive their full pensions and disability benefits, end the Military Families Tax to secure full benefits for the more than 50,000 survivors of our fallen heroes and ensure reservists receive the retirement pay they have earned. (239 – 181)
Unfinished Business:
H.R. 1540 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Rep. McKeon - Armed Services)
Amendments – Adopted (6):
·Wittman (VA) Amendment #1
·Carter (TX) Amendment #6
·Carson (IN) Amendment #19
·Cole (OK) Amendment #27
·Flake (AZ) Amendment #39
·Edwards (MD) Amendment #100
Amendments – Not Adopted (10):
·Woolsey (CA) Amendment #2
·Hunter (CA) Amendment #12
·Sarbanes (MD)/Hanabusa (HI)/Langevin (RI)/Loebsack (IA)/Reyes (TX) Amendment #24
·Murphy (CT) Amendment #25
·Garamendi (CA) Amendment #28
·Maloney (NY) Amendment #26
·Jackson – Lee (TX) Amendment #31
·Andrews (NJ) Amendment #32
·Richmond (LA) Amendment #37
·Schakowsky (IL) Amendment #41
Amendments – Withdrawn (2):
·Lee (CA) Amendment #33
·Rohrabacher (CA) Amendment #59
Amendments – Not Offered (6):
·Quigley Amendment #65
·Southerland (FL) Amendment #66
·Young (AK) Amendment #67
·Young (AK)/Bordallo (GU) Amendment #69
·Wilson (SC) Amendment #71
·Connolly (VA) Amendment #89
In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:
Convenes: 9:30am
Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to concur in House message to accompany S.990, the legislative vehicle for the PATRIOT Act extension with the time until 10:00am equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees.
The filing deadline for 2nd degree amendments to the House message to accompany S.990 with an amendment is at 9:40am on Thursday.
The cloture vote on motion to concur with respect to the PATRIOT Act will be at 10:00am on Thursday.
Additional roll call votes in relation to amendments to the PATRIOT Act are possible tomorrow.
5/25 Senate wrap-up:
Votes:
77: the motion to proceed to Calendar #36, H.Con.Res.34 (House-passed budget); Not Agreed to: 40-57
78: McConnell motion to proceed to S.Con.Res.18 (Sessions); Not Agreed to: 0-97
79: the McConnell motion to proceed to S.Con.Res.21 (Toomey); Not Agreed to: 42-55
80: the McConnell motion to proceed to S.Con.Res.20 (Paul); not agreed to: 7-90
There will be no further roll call votes during today's session.
Unanimous Consent:
Discharged Armed Services of and adopted S.Con.Res.13, A concurrent resolution honoring the service and sacrifice of members of the United States Armed Forces who are serving in, or have served in, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn and added all Senators as cosponsors.