So far - All flash - no substance! Facts from Senate & News Sources: Congress returns today with lots to complete with only about three weeks this year remaining. The Hill, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today have stories previewing the rest of this session. Congress’ unfinished business includes a possible omnibus appropriations bill to fund the government, since 11 of the 12 spending bills still have not been passed into law; funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through the spring; FISA reform legislation, the Peru free trade agreement; the stalled farm bill; an AMT patch; and SCHIP reauthorization. Democrats have signaled that they would like to take up their troublesome energy proposals. Sen. Mitch McConnell summed up things: “Congressional Democrats have neglected their duty on the 12 spending bills, they’re threatening to neglect their duty to our troops in the field and to our security at home, and they’re also about to slap millions of Americans with a middle-class tax hike better known as the A.M.T.”The Editors at National Review Online declare today that Congress' [Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi] leadership is already a failure, no matter what they now do. Reid has scheduled a 1 PM press conference today, before the Senate convenes. Per The Hill, Reid “will almost certainly blame Republicans for blocking last month a $50-billion Iraq bill that called for troops to return home by the end of 2008.” Reid should not continue to hold up war funding. Even Democrat Sen. Jim Webb said yesterday on Meet the Press, “that’s not a winning formula.” The Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion have both called on Congress to stop playing politics with war funding and to get our troops the money they need to do their job.
On The Floor: Senate reconvene at 2 PM today - No roll call votes are expected today & No formal schedule has been announced "yet" for this week: it’s likely the Senate will take up legislation to implement the Peru Free Trade Agreement (H.R. 3688). Since the bill was negotiated under fast-track trade negotiating authority, the agreement cannot be amended, only voted up or down. A vote could be scheduled for tomorrow. The agreement is expected to pass.
There is talk of Senate Democrats holding another vote on Iraq funding this week - most likely the $50 billion bridge funding bill that passed the House prior to Thanksgiving and included withdrawal requirements and the Webb amendment, which would lock the DOD into a rigid troop deployment policy. Previously, the bill fell 7 votes short of the 60 needed to advance because of Dem's demans for a Troop withdrawal date.
Dem's hoped to take up FISA reform legislation (S. 2248) at the beginning of the week, but the Intelligence and Judiciary committees have produced competing bills, and have so far been unable to agree among themselves on a way to move forward. Other possible action this week may be a return of the farm bill (H.R. 2419) or the Democrats’ energy package (H.R. 6 / H.R. 3221).
Tags: FISA reform, spending legislation, Peru free trade agreement, Farm Bill, federal funding, Harry Reid, Iraq War, Mitch McConnell, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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