Today in Washington D. C. - June 17, 2008

On The Floor: Senate will resume consideration & will vote on cloture of the motion to proceed to the House-passed tax extenders bill (H.R. 6049). The vote was moved from Monday. A cloture vote on the same bill failed last week. This week’s schedule remains undetermined but action could occur on a number of issues including housing legislation, unemployment insurance, the Defense authorization bill, or a return of the Medicare fix bill.

The House: Funding for the D.C. school voucher program will be debated in a House appropriations subcommittee today. Two great articles: Virginia Walden Ford’s “Choice for the Children” and William McGurn’s “School Choice Is Change You Can Believe In.” Heritage Foundation, Dan Lips also wrote a thorough analysis of the D.C. voucher program last month.

As detailed below, the impact of rising gas prices continue in the news although he impact of flooding in the Central U.S. is now on the front covers. Sen. McConnell hit the nail on the head this morning with regard to the Democrats plans regarding gas prices, “Telling people whose livelihoods depend on getting to and from work that they should get used to high gas prices is not an energy policy. Supporting a ‘gradual adjustment’ to $4 a gallon gasoline is not an energy policy.” McConnell is correct; for a liberal Democrats desiring a "Nanny State" their efforts are right on track and now very exposed. Their objective: continues to be limiting individual rights while advancing increased government control through economic hardships, environmental restructuring, government control and providing government handouts and subsidies.

From Senate & News Sources: Today’s New York Times features an eyebrow-raising editorial pointing to a “silver lining” to high gas prices, seemingly endorsing Democrats’ “gradual adjustment” approach to energy. The NY Times applauds the decision by GM to “shutter much of its production of pickups and sport utility vehicles” because Americans now prefer more fuel efficient cars.: “Americans’ response to rising gasoline prices makes an excellent case for a gas tax. It proves that drivers will change their behavior in response to high fuel prices.”

The Times’ discussion of this “silver lining” sounds an awful lot like what Democrat Sens. Barack Obama and Byron Dorgan had to say when they were asked if increased gas prices could be a good thing. Obama said, “I think that I would have preferred a gradual adjustment,” and Dorgan said, “[I]t certainly forces some conservation for people that can't afford to fill their tank.” Since high gas prices seem to be advancing liberal goals, one has to wonder if Democrats would prefer things to continue as they are in light of their refusal to vote on efforts to increase domestic energy supplies.

Roll Call reports that House Democrats may have finally decided how to move forward on the war supplemental after another long round of deliberations. Recall that House Democrats spent weeks back in April trying to figure out how to move troop funding the first time. Their dilemma then was the same as now - how to get the most unrelated domestic spending possible to piggyback on a must-pass bill. This time, Democrats are looking to push through $16 billion in unemployment benefits. Democrats have been negotiating among themselves for so long, they may have forgotten that the president has threatened to veto any bill that includes too much extra domestic spending.

Fortunately, though, in the process of all the wrangling over domestic spending, Democrats may have finally decided that it is unwise to also pursue ill-considered troop withdrawal requirements in the supplemental funding bill. Reuters reports that Democrats are preparing to move the bill without these provisions. It’s long past time to get this bill completed and signed by the president. One would hope that Democrats would look for the path most likely to produce that result.

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