Today in Washington D. C. - Nov 8, 2007
From Senate sources: A year after the 2006 elections, Democrats have compiled an astonishing record of mismanagement. Democrats have given us political Iraq votes, partisan investigations, repeated attempts to raise taxes, and payback for Big Labor while failing to fund the government, address the AMT, confirm a new attorney general, and properly fund our troops in the field. Senate GOP leaders took the occasion of French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to compare Democrat visions to those French voters reconsidered in their election of Sarkozy.
Yet instead of addressing any of these issues, Democrats appear to have decided to try to vote once again on Iraq withdrawal plans. This decision flies in the face of numerous positive reports of change for the better in Iraq. On Tuesday, Michael Yon described to Hugh Hewitt all the progress he’s seen in Baghdad just this year. Michelle Malkin posted Yon’s iconic picture of Muslims and Christians reopening a church. Even MSM outlets are reporting good news today: The Washington Post reports on Iraqis returning to Baghdad as violence declines; The New York Times reports that the commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad believes al Qaeda forces have been driven out of the city; and The AP sees “dramatic progress” in a neighborhood that was once a center of al Qaeda operations in Iraq’s capital.
Democrats are clearly aware that the news does not square with their rhetoric on Iraq, as a senior Democrat leadership aide told Roll Call today: “Although a senior Democratic leadership aide acknowledged that earlier this year Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and his team had expected the fall to be dominated by the Iraq debate, events on the ground have temporarily put that issue on the back burner. . . . “‘This [fight on spending] isn’t the fight we wanted, but it’s the fight we got,’ the Democratic leadership aide said.”
Meanwhile, Democrats are fighting among themselves over a patch to the alternative minimum tax to prevent it from affecting 19 million taxpayers next year. Democrats in leadership want to offset an AMT patch with tax hikes, while some rank-and-file members would prefer not to vote for tax increases. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and IRS Commissioner Linda Stiff both wrote letters warning of the consequences of delaying an AMT patch, among them a delay in issuing around $75 billion in tax refunds.
On The Floor: Senate will resume consideration of the vetoed Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) (H.R. 1495). Senators will vote on overriding President Bush’s veto of the WRDA bill.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said this morning that later today the Senate will attempt to take up the conference report on the fiscal 2008 Defense appropriations bill (H.R. 3222) after it is passed by the House.
Yesterday, the Senate considered the conference report on the fiscal 2008 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill. Democrats had added the Military Construction-VA spending bill to the conference report, in an attempt to force President Bush to sign a bill he objects to (the Labor bill) by combining it with one he approves of (the VA bill). Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) raised a point of order against the conference report, allowed by a new rule Democrats passed earlier in the year prohibiting additions to conference reports not passed in the original legislation by either house (the VA bill). A vote to waive the point of order failed 47-46, 13 votes short of the 60 needed. The VA bill was removed and the Senate subsequently voted to send the Labor-HHS bill back to the House.
Roll Call reports today that Democrats could continue to hold the VA funding bill into December in an attempt to use it as leverage against the president.
Work on the farm bill remains stalled thanks to Reid’s decision to prevent Republicans from offering amendments.
Tags: AMT, Christian Values, Iraq War, labor-HHS bill, military defense, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C., Water Resources Development Act To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Yet instead of addressing any of these issues, Democrats appear to have decided to try to vote once again on Iraq withdrawal plans. This decision flies in the face of numerous positive reports of change for the better in Iraq. On Tuesday, Michael Yon described to Hugh Hewitt all the progress he’s seen in Baghdad just this year. Michelle Malkin posted Yon’s iconic picture of Muslims and Christians reopening a church. Even MSM outlets are reporting good news today: The Washington Post reports on Iraqis returning to Baghdad as violence declines; The New York Times reports that the commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad believes al Qaeda forces have been driven out of the city; and The AP sees “dramatic progress” in a neighborhood that was once a center of al Qaeda operations in Iraq’s capital.
Democrats are clearly aware that the news does not square with their rhetoric on Iraq, as a senior Democrat leadership aide told Roll Call today: “Although a senior Democratic leadership aide acknowledged that earlier this year Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and his team had expected the fall to be dominated by the Iraq debate, events on the ground have temporarily put that issue on the back burner. . . . “‘This [fight on spending] isn’t the fight we wanted, but it’s the fight we got,’ the Democratic leadership aide said.”
Meanwhile, Democrats are fighting among themselves over a patch to the alternative minimum tax to prevent it from affecting 19 million taxpayers next year. Democrats in leadership want to offset an AMT patch with tax hikes, while some rank-and-file members would prefer not to vote for tax increases. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and IRS Commissioner Linda Stiff both wrote letters warning of the consequences of delaying an AMT patch, among them a delay in issuing around $75 billion in tax refunds.
On The Floor: Senate will resume consideration of the vetoed Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) (H.R. 1495). Senators will vote on overriding President Bush’s veto of the WRDA bill.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said this morning that later today the Senate will attempt to take up the conference report on the fiscal 2008 Defense appropriations bill (H.R. 3222) after it is passed by the House.
Yesterday, the Senate considered the conference report on the fiscal 2008 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill. Democrats had added the Military Construction-VA spending bill to the conference report, in an attempt to force President Bush to sign a bill he objects to (the Labor bill) by combining it with one he approves of (the VA bill). Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) raised a point of order against the conference report, allowed by a new rule Democrats passed earlier in the year prohibiting additions to conference reports not passed in the original legislation by either house (the VA bill). A vote to waive the point of order failed 47-46, 13 votes short of the 60 needed. The VA bill was removed and the Senate subsequently voted to send the Labor-HHS bill back to the House.
Roll Call reports today that Democrats could continue to hold the VA funding bill into December in an attempt to use it as leverage against the president.
Work on the farm bill remains stalled thanks to Reid’s decision to prevent Republicans from offering amendments.
Tags: AMT, Christian Values, Iraq War, labor-HHS bill, military defense, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C., Water Resources Development Act To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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