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One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -- Plato (429-347 BC)

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Democrats Frustration At Reid's Legislative Blockade in The U.S. Senate Finally Boils Over . . .

... & damn the Democrats
 who don't do what I say.
. . .  Manchin: "I’ve Never Been In A Less Productive Time In My Life", Booker: Are Nominees "All The Senate Does?"
Today in Washington, D.C. - June 24, 2014
The Senate reconvened at 10 AM today and then  voted to confirm four district court nominees, three for Florida, and one for Vermont.

Those nominees were advanced after Democrats again used the nuclear option to break Senate rules and allow cloture on nominations with fewer than 60 votes. Democrats voted to invoke cloture on the four nominees yesterday.

Following the votes on district court nominees, the Senate began a vote on cloture on the nomination of Leon Rodriguez to be Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The House reconvened at 10 AM.   Today the House is expected to consider:
H.R. 6 - "To provide for expedited approval of exportation of natural gas to World Trade Organization countries, and for other purposes"
H.R. 3301 - "To require approval for the construction, connection, operation, or maintenance of oil or natural gas pipelines or electric transmission facilities at the national boundary of the United States for the import or export of oil, natural gas, or electricity to or from Canada or Mexico, and for other purposes."

Yesterday the House passed:
S. 2086 (Voice Vote) - To address current emergency shortages of propane and other home heating fuels and to provide greater flexibility and information for Governors to address such emergencies in the future."
S. 1044 (370-12) — "To direct the Secretary of the Interior to install in the area of the World War II Memorial in the District of Columbia a suitable plaque or an inscription with the words that President Franklin D. Roosevelt prayed with the United States on D-Day, June 6, 1944."
H.R. 4801 (Voice Vote) — "To require the Secretary of Energy to prepare a report on the impact of thermal insulation on both energy and water use for potable hot water."
H.R. 412 (Voice Vote) — "To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the mainstem of the Nashua River and its tributaries in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for study for potential addition to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes."
H.R. 4092 (Voice Vote) — "To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to establish the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy as the lead Federal agency for coordinating Federal, State, and local assistance provided to promote the energy retrofitting of schools."
H.R. 4002 (Voice Vote) — "To revoke the charter of incorporation of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma at the request of that tribe, and for other purposes."
Senate Amendment to H.R. 316 (379-3) - Renewable Energy Promotion Act.

Speaking on the Senate floor this morning, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said, “Last summer, I said it felt like the White House had hung a ‘Gone Campaignin’’ sign outside the Oval Office. President Obama didn’t seem the least bit interested in passing serious, bipartisan solutions for the Middle Class. . . . This summer, the Democrat-controlled Senate seems to have put out a ‘Gone Campaignin’’ sign of its own. That’s why the Democrat Senate has become a veritable graveyard for good ideas. Most people assume the purpose of the Senate is to pass legislation to help the American people. But, these days, the Democrats who run the Senate seem to think their role is actually to bury good legislation. They’re more interested in pleasing their Far-Left political patrons – patrons who appear to oppose everything that could actually help the American Middle Class. Case in point, the Republican-led House of Representatives has already passed hundreds of pieces of legislation this Congress – legislation introduced by members of both parties, including dozens of jobs bills – that remain stuck in the Senate. That means President Obama hasn’t had to sign or veto them. And the Senate Majority Leader has been all too happy to protect him from choosing between helping the Far-Left fringe and the vast American Middle. In other words, Senate Democrats are on a mission this summer: to obstruct solutions for the Middle Class at every turn, and to prevent almost any serious legislating from occurring at all.”

He elaborated, “Over in the House, the minority party has been offered more than 160 votes on their amendments since last July. Here in the Senate, the Democrat leadership has blocked all but 9 of ours. And it’s not just Republican amendments getting squashed either. The Democrats who run the Senate are so scared of legislating these days that they’re now blocking virtually every amendment on both sides. It’s gotten to the point where one House Democrat, a Congresswoman from Texas, has now had twice as many roll call votes on amendments since last July – 15 – as the entire Senate Democrat caucus combined. Between 55 Senate Democrats, they’ve had to split 7 amendments.”

Majority Leader Harry Reid’s shutdown of any serious legislating in the Senate has gotten so egregious even his own caucus can’t keep their frustrations quiet any longer. The Hill reports, “Democratic senators have been sidelined in legislative debates because of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) tight grip on amendments. The lack of votes has become a liability for vulnerable Democratic incumbents from conservative states. Republicans have attacked Sens. Mark Begich (Alaska), Mark Pryor (Ark.) and other endangered Democrats for voting their party line consistently or lacking the power to force their leadership to take a vote on a controversial amendment. Begich, who was elected in 2008, has never received a roll-call vote on an amendment he’s offered on the Senate floor. The last time Pryor got a roll-call vote on one of his amendments was in March 2010. Former Sen. Olympia Snowe, a centrist Republican from Maine who served in the chamber from 1995 to 2013, called the inability of Begich and Pryor to get votes in the past four years ‘shocking.’ ‘It’s startling, frankly, to me as someone who had an entirely different experience in the Senate and in the House of Representatives,’ she said. ‘Even as a freshman in the House of Representatives in the minority I was able to get a vote on an amendment and I was successful.’ . . . Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) and Chris Coons (Del.), who were both elected in 2010, also have not ever received votes on amendments they offered on the floor. Sen. Michael Bennet (Colo.), the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, last received a roll-call floor vote on an amendment in March 2010.”

Some Democrats are finally going public with their complaints, according to The Hill. “‘I’ve never been in a less productive time in my life than I am right now, in the United States Senate,’ Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who has not received roll-call vote on an amendment since June of last year, told Time magazine last week. None of the freshman Democrats elected in 2012 have yet had a chance to get a vote on an amendment they offered on the Senate floor, although Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) did get a vote earlier this month on a stand-alone bill to reduce student loan rates. Democratic senators used to have much more ability to shape legislation on the floor. In 2006 and 2007, the final two full years of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) career, he received roll-call votes on 11 different amendments.”

Politico also picked up on Democrats’ frustrations with how Reid runs the Senate, writing, “Harry Reid has a new dilemma on his hands: restless Senate Democrats who are frustrated they aren’t casting enough votes. For the past year, Reid and Republicans have bitterly sparred over the stunning inactivity in the Senate. But the majority leader is now facing growing pressure from fellow Democrats agitating over the lack of votes on amendments, a central aspect of legislating in the Senate. Led by Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, a small but vocal group of mostly younger Democratic senators are meeting secretly and privately lobbying Reid to help ease the gridlock. . . . The push for more votes is being fueled by junior senators, many of whom worry they have little to show voters back home. On the floor a few weeks ago, one of the group’s members, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, buttonholed West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin to express frustration that the Senate was casting yet another vote to confirm a presidential nominee — not on legislation. According to people familiar with the exchange, Booker asked: Is that all the Senate does? In addition to Begich, Manchin, Heitkamp and Booker, the group of Democrats who have met over the matter include freshmen Sens. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Tim Kaine of Virginia, as well as Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a second-term senator who won reelection last cycle, has been part of the discussions, and so has Sen. Mark Warner, who faces a potentially tough reelection in Virginia this fall. Leaders ‘understand the frustration, it was very, very evident,’ Manchin said of the group’s two meetings this month with Reid and other top Democrats.”

Politico points out, “[W]hile most legislative sessions during election years are unproductive, freshmen Democrats have reason to be concerned. Since joining the Senate in January 2013, the 12 freshmen Democrats have not had a single vote on the floor on any amendment bearing any of their names as the lead sponsor. Although some freshmen have succeeded in proposing amendments during committee consideration or won changes as part of a package drafted by the managers of a particular bill, winning a vote during floor debate is a rarity these days. ‘I got more substance on the floor of the House in the minority than I have as a member of the Senate majority,’ said Murphy, who is less active in the group of late because he believes the effort is likely to be fruitless. . . . Just 15 amendments have received a vote since last July. In contrast, there were 94 roll call votes in just the first six months of 2013 on amendments to the budget, immigration, a farm bill and water resources.”

As Leader McConnell said, “This is the kind of stuff that makes Americans so mad at Washington. I mean, how do you justify stifling the voices of so many Senators — and the tens of millions of Americans they were sent here to represent? You can’t. It’s indefensible. And it’s gotten worse and worse under current Democrat leaders.” He concluded, “For the Democrat leadership, helping the Middle Class seems to be far from priority one. But the Middle Class needs help now. And the only way to offer working moms and struggling college graduates real solutions is to break through the Senate Democrat logjam. There are two ways to accomplish that. Either our friends on the other side can get serious about working for the people who elected them, or the people who elected them can make the decision for them.”

Tags: Democrats frustration, Harry Reid, incompetent leadership To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 11:38 AM - Post Link

1 Comments:

Anonymous Lonny Winterton said...

I've come to the conclusion that voting for a democrat is bad enough the first time.... but twice is worse than a dog returning to eat his own vomit. That could be used for many R.I.N.O.'s, too.

6/26/2014  

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