Today in Washington D. C. - April 25, 2008

In the Senate: The Senate recessed yesterday until Monday at 2 PM. They are then expected to vote at 5:30 on cloture on the motion to proceed to the FAA reauthorization bill (H.R. 2881). Yesterday, an amendment by Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) to the veterans’ bill (S. 1315) that would have taken money the bill will spend on pensions for Filipino veterans and used it for U.S. veterans was defeated. The Senate subsequently passed the veterans’ bill and later passed the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act (H.R. 493). The Senate passed with unanimous consent a bill (H.R. 4286) co-authored by Sens. Mitch McConnell and Diane Feinstein to award Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi with the Congressional Gold Medal. Also passed by unanimous consent was a resolution honoring the 60th anniversary of Israel’s independence (H. Con. Res. 322).

Senate Democrats again felt the need to take aside time yesterday afternoon to accuse Republicans of “filibustering” numerous pieces of legislation, despite the fact that two bills had passed just before that. Earlier in the week, DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer told reporters that Republicans filibustered “the bill implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission; the intelligence authorization bill; the court security bill; the water resources bill; the Clean Energy Act; the CHIP reauthorization; the economic stimulus package; the CPSC overhaul bill; the highway technical corrections bill; and just yesterday, the veterans health bill.” Of course, Schumer neglected to mention that every single one of those bills has passed the Senate, and most have become law.

In the House: House Democrats are blocking two vital pieces of legislation: revisions to FISA that the intelligence community has needed for over a year and the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. Granted, Democrats in the House are busy… they’re squabbling with each other over how to handle the supplemental funding bill for Iraq and Afghanistan. Roll Call reported yesterday, that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is beginning to put together a plan to address the conflicting demands of her caucus: “

That still-developing strategy involves advancing three separate legislative vehicles: one to exclusively provide emergency funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; another aimed at stimulating the economy through a mix of domestic spending measures; and potentially, a third that would advance some sort of language on troop withdrawals. . . . Such a strategy would at least theoretically address the conundrum faced by House leaders: how to pass a war spending bill when anti-war Democrats oppose any new funds without a change in Iraq policy. Further complicating matters, fiscally conservative Democrats could oppose a supplemental that is too heavily laden with domestic spending items and does not have to abide by pay-as-you-go budget rules.”

CQ Today notes an interesting statement by anti-war appropriator Jim Moran (D-VA). Moran is apparently interested in a flexible bridge fund for the war into 2009 which could “allow the next president upon taking office to shift large amounts of money away from Iraq to Afghanistan or pay for troop withdrawals." [Note" There are no links to Roll Call & CQ Today items because they are subscriptions services.]

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