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| Toon Created 6 mo's ago applies today! By Gary Varvel |
The Senate is not in session today and will reconvene on Monday afternoon to resume consideration of S. 1813, the highway bill. The House opened for less than 5 minutes and then adorned until 10 Am on Tuesday.
Yesterday the House passed (390-23) H.R. 3606: Reopening American Capital Markets to Emerging Growth Companies Act of 2011 - "To increase American job creation and economic growth by improving access to the public capital markets for emerging growth companies." Only a simple majority of 207 votes were needed to pass this bill. Because of this the following interesting demographics are noted. All Republicans (except 9 not voting) voted for the bill and 158 Democrats voted for the bill with 23 voting against the bill and 10 not voting. The Majority of all State delegations supported the bill. The No votes were from the following delegations: In CA 6 Democrats voted against including the proverbial disturbed Henry Waxman while 26 other democrats including Speaker Pelosi vote Yes. The other states with nominal democrat no votes were GA, IL, ME, MD, MA, MI, NJ, NY, NC, OH (outgoing Kucinich), and WA.
Yesterday, following personal lobbying from President Obama, Senate Democrats filibustered an amendment to the highway bill from Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) that would have finally authorized the Keystone XL pipeline. The vote was 56-42.
Yesterday, after President Obama “personally lobbied” Senate Democrats, they voted down an amendment from Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) that would have finally authorized the Keystone XL pipeline after repeated delays from the White House.
After Politico reported that “President Barack Obama is intervening in a Senate fight over the Keystone XL oil pipeline and personally lobbying Democrats to reject an amendment calling for its construction,” Bloomberg News added, “Ahead of a vote . . . the president has made personal appeals to Democrats from Midwestern states, where many of the jobs would be created . . . .” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney confirmed President Obama’s lobbying efforts against the Keystone XL pipeline to reporters at his press briefing yesterday.
The Wall Street Journal wrote last night, “Every Republican who voted supported the proposal, and 11 Democrats joined them, despite last-minute lobbying from President Barack Obama, called senators personally to persuade them it was ‘irresponsible.’ . . . Republican lawmakers and the Business Roundtable were quick to denounce the rejection of the measure. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the chamber’s Republican leader, pinned the blame on Mr. Obama.”
Clearly, the president’s lobbying of Democrats to vote against creating jobs and securing American energy worked, since the amendment fell just short of the 60 votes needed for approval. Politico notes, “Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) wryly congratulated Obama on his lobbying efforts. ‘That was very strong work by President Obama himself, making personal calls to Democrats,’ Lugar said. ‘He understood that a majority of the American public and a majority at least of the Senate are strongly in favor of this project.’”
It’s amazing that the President continues to oppose a project that even labor unions argue would create tens of thousands of American jobs. And at a time of serious concerns about the Middle East, Keystone XL would enhance American energy security by allowing better access to domestic oil and bringing more oil from our friends and allies in Canada.
Politico explains the upshot of the vote yesterday: “Thursday’s squeaker of a Senate vote on the Keystone XL pipeline serves both as a warning to President Barack Obama that a majority of both houses of Congress supports the pipeline and as encouragement to Republicans to keep pushing the issue. Obama had personally lobbied Senate Democrats with phone calls urging them to oppose an amendment to the highway bill that would fast-track the Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline. And as it turned out, he needed every bit of their help. In all, 11 Democrats joined 45 Republicans to support the pipeline. Only the fact that 60 votes were needed for passage saved the White House from an embarrassing defeat.”
Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell summed up the situation, saying, “The Democrat-controlled Senate just turned its back on job creation and energy independence in a single vote by rejecting the bipartisan Hoeven-Lugar amendment. They rejected legislation that would have led to construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline and the thousands of private-sector jobs that come with it. At a moment when tensions are rising in the Middle East, millions of Americans are struggling to find work and millions more are struggling with the rising cost of gas, Democrat opposition to this legislation shows how deeply out of touch they are with the concerns of middle-class Americans. President Obama’s personal pleas to wavering Senators may have tipped the balance against this legislation. When it comes to delays over Keystone, anyone looking for a culprit should now look no further than the Oval Office.”
Tags: Washington, DC, US Senate, keystone Pipeline, US House, merging markets, jobs, cartoon, Gary Varvel, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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