Good afternoon, Daily Kos / Congress Matters readers. This is your afternoon open thread to discuss all things Hill-related. Use this thread to praise or bash Congresscritters, share a juicy tip, ask questions, offer critiques and suggestions, or post manifestos.
This is an open source project, so feel free to add your own insights. Here's the news I found lurking around the Internets...
Good Morning Afternoon, Vietnam!
Sen. Durbin D-IL pledges that when Speaker Pelosi has a reconciliation bill to send over from the House, he has a plan for victory. David Axelrod declares that a majority vote is not stealing democracy. Then Sen. Graham R-SC almost cusses like Nixon and Lamar! R-TN compared it all to the brazen acts of Watergate.
That was Flashback Sunday.
Democrats have threatened to pass health care reform. First one chamber did. Then the other, using the sixty vote new normal in the Senate.
Agreeing to the other chambers bill or amendment is an arcane parliamentary tactic as old as the Capitol building itself. Budget reconciliation is a matter of law. Neither are unprecedented.
Now that is over, here is the bill as reported to the Budget Committee according to the budget resolution passed last April. Here is the final House bill from November and the final Senate bill from December. Kaiser has a tool for quick comparisons.
Here is Casual Wednesday's Considered Forthwith: Budget Committees and reconciliation. Our chairman today is John Spratt, Jr. D-SC. Let the usual begin.
Committee wmf stream. CSPAN3 flash stream.
UPDATE: 24 Democrats - 15 Republicans
Pictures of member here since angle of cameras don't line up with name plates.
Committee membership list here