Senate Addresses Obama Stimulus; House Considers White House Subpoena
Updated 6 PM: The Washington Post reports: "A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee voted 14-9 along party lines to authorize subpoenas of top White House officials. GOP lawmakers say the subpoenas are necessary because the White House has denied or delayed requests for thousands of documents related to Solyndra. The Fremont, Calif., company received a $528 million federal loan before filing for bankruptcy protection and laying off 1,100 workers." Info is that the Subpoenas include Chief of Staff William Daley and Vice President Biden Chief of Staff Bruce Reed.
The Hill reports: Senate Republicans on Thursday voted in unison to block a piece of President Obama's jobs package. The GOP senators were joined by one Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.), and Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.) in rejecting a procedural motion on legislation that would spend $60 billion on transportation infrastructure programs. The vote was 51-49."
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Today in Washington, D.C. - Nov. 3, 2011:
The Senate resumed consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 1769, Democrats’ $60 billion infrastructure stimulus bill, and the motion to proceed to S. 1786, the Republican alternative.
The Democrat bill includes $10 billion for an infrastructure bank and a tax hike on job creators and is opposed by jobs groups, while the GOP bill is paid for with unspent federal funds and includes the REINS Act and other regulatory rollbacks to help employers.
At 3 PM, the Senate will vote on cloture on the motion to proceed to the Democrat stimulus (S. 1769). If cloture is not invoked, the Senate will vote on cloture on the motion to proceed to the Republican alternative, offered by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) (S. 1786).Later in the day, the Senate is expected to take up two district judge nominees.
Today, the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee is considering issuing a subpoena to the White House for documents related to Solyndra Inc.
This afternoon, the Senate will vote on Democrats’ latest stimulus bill and a Republican alternative that rolls back red tape and regulations to help job creators. Instead of dueling votes, the Senate could be considering bipartisan jobs legislation that’s been passed by the House, but once again Democrats chose the partisan route that results in nothing passing.
In a floor speech this morning, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell explained this week’s Democrat stimulus bill: “First, according to the CBO, the Democrats’ proposal will do little for the economy and putting people back to work in the short-term because the money will be spent gradually. According to the CBO, less than one tenth of the funds in the Democrat proposal will be spent next year. And roughly 40 percent won’t be spent until after 2015. This hardly matches the President’s calls for doing something ‘right away.’ Second, it costs another $57 billion we don’t have. Third, they want to pay for this temporary spending bill with a permanent tax hike on job creators. And fourth, they already know that Republicans and yes, some Democrats, don’t think we should be taxing job creators, particularly at a time when 14 million Americans are looking for a job — and that we’ll vote against any proposal that does so.”
“In other words,” Leader McConnell said, “the Democrats have deliberately designed this bill to fail. So the truth is, Democrats are more interested in building a campaign message than in rebuilding roads and bridges. And frankly, the American people deserve a lot better than that. The people of Kentucky deserve better than that.”
What’s truly absurd is Democrat senators are well aware of this and admit it when asked. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said at a press conference yesterday, “Every Democrat knows it's not going to pass.” On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) was asked by Mika Brzezinski, “Does it have a shot at passing?” McCaskill responded, “No.” Earlier this week, Politico reported that Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) “expressed frustration that Senate Democratic leaders continue to bring pieces of the president’s plan forward even though they know full well the proposals will fail.” And The Hill reported, “Democratic operatives are quick to note that they never expected to pass the jobs bills through the Senate, adding that the multiple roll calls will put Republicans on the defensive and force them to explain on the 2012 campaign trail why they voted no on measures that poll well with voters.”
Even Democrat leaders don’t seem to bother obfuscating what’s going on. According to Politico, “Asked about the concerns from the center of the Democratic Caucus over political tactics, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin said dismissively: ‘A political strategy in the Senate? Where did you come up with that?’”
But even looking at the policy Democrats are advancing, their latest stimulus still falls short. Jobs groups “strongly” oppose the bill, in part for its tax increase. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce writes in a letter, “The Chamber strongly opposes the job killing tax hikes on small businesses—the drivers of job creation and economic growth in America—provided in the [stimulus bill].” The Chamber goes on to call the bill “a charade,” concluding, “Simply put, this bill is nothing more than a tax increase masquerading as the answer to America's transportation infrastructure investment challenges.” A coalition of jobs groups representing 1.8 million businesses, including The Chamber, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, and the National Association of Manufacturers, write that “the Senate legislation would pay for this new stimulus spending bill by raising tax rates on hundreds of thousands of business owners” which they call “a job killing punitive tax hike.” They also note that “the Obama Administration's own data demonstrates that 4 out of 5 of the taxpayers who will face this surtax are business owners . . . .” And the Associated General Contractors write that the Democrat bill “includes a permanent increase in the income tax on individuals, many of whom are undoubtedly small business owners.”
As Leader McConnell said, “[T]he American people can decide which approach they prefer: our proposal, which doesn’t add to the deficit, doesn’t raise taxes, empowers the states to make decisions on the local level, and is designed to gain bipartisan support. Or the Democrats’ top-down approach, which perpetuates uncertainty, raises taxes on businesses at a time when we should be giving them more reasons to hire not less, and which was designed in coordination with the White House political team to fail. These are the two approaches on display in the Senate today. The choice should be obvious.
Tags: Washington, D.C., Us Senate, Us House, stimulus bill, jobs bill, REINS Act, White House, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The Hill reports: Senate Republicans on Thursday voted in unison to block a piece of President Obama's jobs package. The GOP senators were joined by one Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.), and Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.) in rejecting a procedural motion on legislation that would spend $60 billion on transportation infrastructure programs. The vote was 51-49."
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Today in Washington, D.C. - Nov. 3, 2011:
The Senate resumed consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 1769, Democrats’ $60 billion infrastructure stimulus bill, and the motion to proceed to S. 1786, the Republican alternative.
The Democrat bill includes $10 billion for an infrastructure bank and a tax hike on job creators and is opposed by jobs groups, while the GOP bill is paid for with unspent federal funds and includes the REINS Act and other regulatory rollbacks to help employers.
At 3 PM, the Senate will vote on cloture on the motion to proceed to the Democrat stimulus (S. 1769). If cloture is not invoked, the Senate will vote on cloture on the motion to proceed to the Republican alternative, offered by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) (S. 1786).Later in the day, the Senate is expected to take up two district judge nominees.
Today, the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee is considering issuing a subpoena to the White House for documents related to Solyndra Inc.
This afternoon, the Senate will vote on Democrats’ latest stimulus bill and a Republican alternative that rolls back red tape and regulations to help job creators. Instead of dueling votes, the Senate could be considering bipartisan jobs legislation that’s been passed by the House, but once again Democrats chose the partisan route that results in nothing passing.
In a floor speech this morning, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell explained this week’s Democrat stimulus bill: “First, according to the CBO, the Democrats’ proposal will do little for the economy and putting people back to work in the short-term because the money will be spent gradually. According to the CBO, less than one tenth of the funds in the Democrat proposal will be spent next year. And roughly 40 percent won’t be spent until after 2015. This hardly matches the President’s calls for doing something ‘right away.’ Second, it costs another $57 billion we don’t have. Third, they want to pay for this temporary spending bill with a permanent tax hike on job creators. And fourth, they already know that Republicans and yes, some Democrats, don’t think we should be taxing job creators, particularly at a time when 14 million Americans are looking for a job — and that we’ll vote against any proposal that does so.”
“In other words,” Leader McConnell said, “the Democrats have deliberately designed this bill to fail. So the truth is, Democrats are more interested in building a campaign message than in rebuilding roads and bridges. And frankly, the American people deserve a lot better than that. The people of Kentucky deserve better than that.”
What’s truly absurd is Democrat senators are well aware of this and admit it when asked. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said at a press conference yesterday, “Every Democrat knows it's not going to pass.” On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) was asked by Mika Brzezinski, “Does it have a shot at passing?” McCaskill responded, “No.” Earlier this week, Politico reported that Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) “expressed frustration that Senate Democratic leaders continue to bring pieces of the president’s plan forward even though they know full well the proposals will fail.” And The Hill reported, “Democratic operatives are quick to note that they never expected to pass the jobs bills through the Senate, adding that the multiple roll calls will put Republicans on the defensive and force them to explain on the 2012 campaign trail why they voted no on measures that poll well with voters.”
Even Democrat leaders don’t seem to bother obfuscating what’s going on. According to Politico, “Asked about the concerns from the center of the Democratic Caucus over political tactics, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin said dismissively: ‘A political strategy in the Senate? Where did you come up with that?’”
But even looking at the policy Democrats are advancing, their latest stimulus still falls short. Jobs groups “strongly” oppose the bill, in part for its tax increase. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce writes in a letter, “The Chamber strongly opposes the job killing tax hikes on small businesses—the drivers of job creation and economic growth in America—provided in the [stimulus bill].” The Chamber goes on to call the bill “a charade,” concluding, “Simply put, this bill is nothing more than a tax increase masquerading as the answer to America's transportation infrastructure investment challenges.” A coalition of jobs groups representing 1.8 million businesses, including The Chamber, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, and the National Association of Manufacturers, write that “the Senate legislation would pay for this new stimulus spending bill by raising tax rates on hundreds of thousands of business owners” which they call “a job killing punitive tax hike.” They also note that “the Obama Administration's own data demonstrates that 4 out of 5 of the taxpayers who will face this surtax are business owners . . . .” And the Associated General Contractors write that the Democrat bill “includes a permanent increase in the income tax on individuals, many of whom are undoubtedly small business owners.”
As Leader McConnell said, “[T]he American people can decide which approach they prefer: our proposal, which doesn’t add to the deficit, doesn’t raise taxes, empowers the states to make decisions on the local level, and is designed to gain bipartisan support. Or the Democrats’ top-down approach, which perpetuates uncertainty, raises taxes on businesses at a time when we should be giving them more reasons to hire not less, and which was designed in coordination with the White House political team to fail. These are the two approaches on display in the Senate today. The choice should be obvious.
Tags: Washington, D.C., Us Senate, Us House, stimulus bill, jobs bill, REINS Act, White House, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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