Today in Washington D. C. - Sept 8, 2008
Congress Returns From Vacation: The Senate will reconvene at 3 PM and resume consideration of the motion to proceed to the Defense authorization bill (S. 3001). The House returns at 2 PM today and will consider a number of bills under suspension of the rules.
As the 110th Congress returns for what may be its final month of work, it appears poised to end just as it began: with Democrats pushing partisan legislation while managing to accomplish next to nothing of consequence. Though there are many important issues to address in September, including energy, taxes, Defense Department spending, and funding the government, Democrats are apparently suggesting they’d like to return to partisan bills that have little prospect of advancement. Democrats want to return to the Lily Ledbetter Act, which would overturn a Supreme Court ruling from earlier this summer which rules employees must actually pay heed to statutes of limitation when considering wage discrimination.
Energy remains a critical issue, yet Democrats controlling both houses of Congress have given little indication that they will actually allow a full and fair debate on energy, as opposed to the take-it-or-leave-it tactics they used to push flawed energy bills over the summer. Indeed, Democrats in the House may attempt to attach previously-rejected measures such as “use it or lose it,” and renewable energy mandates to scaled-back drilling proposals.
Of course, one of Congress’ most basic jobs is to fund the federal government, something that Democrats have not been able to bring themselves to address at all so far this year. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid both signaled early on this year that they were not interested in trying to hold down spending in order to get appropriations bills approved by the president.
So as we approach the end of the fiscal year on September 30th, Congress will have to pass a continuing resolution (CR) in order to fund the government for the rest of the year. Plans for the CR remain fuzzy, but a critical question is whether a renewal of the ban on offshore drilling will be attached to the measure. If Democrats want to end this Congress on a positive note and accomplish something for the American people, they would do well to consider dropping plans for partisan show votes and concentrate on working on a bipartisan basis on government funding, defense issues, and energy solutions. Unfortunately, their track record over the last two years doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence that this will be the case.
Tags: continuing resolution, CR, 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!
As the 110th Congress returns for what may be its final month of work, it appears poised to end just as it began: with Democrats pushing partisan legislation while managing to accomplish next to nothing of consequence. Though there are many important issues to address in September, including energy, taxes, Defense Department spending, and funding the government, Democrats are apparently suggesting they’d like to return to partisan bills that have little prospect of advancement. Democrats want to return to the Lily Ledbetter Act, which would overturn a Supreme Court ruling from earlier this summer which rules employees must actually pay heed to statutes of limitation when considering wage discrimination.
Energy remains a critical issue, yet Democrats controlling both houses of Congress have given little indication that they will actually allow a full and fair debate on energy, as opposed to the take-it-or-leave-it tactics they used to push flawed energy bills over the summer. Indeed, Democrats in the House may attempt to attach previously-rejected measures such as “use it or lose it,” and renewable energy mandates to scaled-back drilling proposals.
Of course, one of Congress’ most basic jobs is to fund the federal government, something that Democrats have not been able to bring themselves to address at all so far this year. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid both signaled early on this year that they were not interested in trying to hold down spending in order to get appropriations bills approved by the president.
So as we approach the end of the fiscal year on September 30th, Congress will have to pass a continuing resolution (CR) in order to fund the government for the rest of the year. Plans for the CR remain fuzzy, but a critical question is whether a renewal of the ban on offshore drilling will be attached to the measure. If Democrats want to end this Congress on a positive note and accomplish something for the American people, they would do well to consider dropping plans for partisan show votes and concentrate on working on a bipartisan basis on government funding, defense issues, and energy solutions. Unfortunately, their track record over the last two years doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence that this will be the case.
Tags: continuing resolution, CR, 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!
Posted by Bill Smith at 10:52 PM - Post Link
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