Yesterday's
lesson: never underestimate the cravenness of a Republican. The "principled" stance of the extreme right in the House against more federal government spending went completely out the window over a paltry, but very politically charged, $100 million. In the scope of the whole bill, $1.043 trillion, that tiny amount coming out shouldn't have appeased the tea partiers. But since $100 million matches the amount of losses to the government from the Solyndra loan, and they thought it would score a political point, well, so much for principle.
So now the House has passed their version of the continuing resolution, still with inadequate FEMA funding and the job-killing offset that Democrats have opposed. But here's their trick, explained by David Waldman.
The House schedule was late in arriving last night due to the extended session. But they're expected to continue work on the TRAIN Act, set aside yesterday, and then quickly adjourn for the week. (Or more likely, adjourn to a series of pro forma sessions spread out over the next week.) A little move we'll call "my way and the highway." The play here is to hand the Senate a continuing appropriations bill they don't like, and stick them with a shutdown if they won't accept it. We'll see how that goes.
That's otherwise known as jamming: "You hand the other chamber a must-pass bill and you walk from the table. In this case, failure to pass a bill before September 30th would mean a government shutdown, and Boehner has said his chamber is not reconvening until October 3rd."
It remains to be seen whether Senate Democrats will actually get jammed. They have been pretty clear on their opposition to this bill, and Republicans might find it hard to explain that the government had to shut down because they refused to return to work and negotiate a resolution. But either way, it's hardly a new spirit of job-creating compromise reigning over Capitol Hill.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has two options: cave or escalate. He can pass the House bill or can kill it, forcing the House to either return to work or take responsibility for the government shutting down while they were taking a break. They were talking sort of tough last night.
"The bill the House will vote on tonight is not an honest effort at compromise," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in a statement anticipating its passage. "It fails to provide the relief that our fellow Americans need as they struggle to rebuild their lives in the wake of floods, wildfires and hurricanes, and it will be rejected by the Senate."
A livid Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) told reporters Thursday night "We're fed up with this...we're sick of it, we're tired of it."
Stay tuned.
8:24 AM PT: The Senate is voting now on whether to table, or reject, the House bill.
8:26 AM PT: David Waldman explains the vote to table.
That means it's being killed before the House votes to adjourn for yet another recess. That disrupts the play where the House passes its version and then skips town, leaving the Senate to either accept it or shut the government down. If the House leaves now, they do so knowing there's no live CR in play and that's half their fault.
8:41 AM PT: The Senate is still voting, but the tea party senators—DeMint, Toomey, Paul, Lee, Rubio—have all voted to table the bill. Presumably to say that it still costs too much.
8:45 AM PT: The ticker on CSPAN2 says that the Senate has rejected the House bill, so they've reached a majority before the vote is officially over. The House is also currently in its last vote before adjourning. The race is on for the Senate to reject this officially before the House goes on recess.
9:13 AM PT: And they're still holding the vote open. I don't know why.