Legislative Debate

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) proposed an amendment on Tuesday that would reduce the money authorized to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

The amendment, which would cut the agency’s funding back to 2008 spending levels, is almost certain to fail in a vote Tuesday evening.

Paul, who has pledged to use every opportunity in the Senate possible to call attention to the nation's overspending, said the amendment is needed to help tackle the deficit.

"Its irresponsible as legislators to stand up here and say more, more, more, more," Rand said on the Senate floor. "We can't do it.  We are talking about the consequences of a massive debt."

Paul also said he was speaking for the American people who "instinctively know this."

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) accused Paul of proposing cuts "at the heart of the FAA" and claimed he wants to "cut blindly."

"I don't believe this is a thoughtful suggestion because it doesn't reflect where we are today or where we will be in the future," Durbin said.

Paul has chosen a controversial path since joining the Senate this year. Rejecting most compromises, he has proposed and supported legislation like the FAA amendment that many of his Republican colleagues reject. 

Paul's amendment, however, does match a pledge by many House Republicans and some Senate Republicans to slash overall spending for 2011 to 2008 levels.

The Senate is now engaged in 100 minutes of debate on the amendment. The debate is equally divided between Paul and FAA floor manager Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.).

Upon the expiration or yielding back of debate time the Senate will proceed to a vote on the Paul amendment.

The unanimous vote is a reaction to widespread traveler complaints about the controversial machines.

Only one Republican amendment had been submitted as of Monday evening while Democrats have submitted six.

The legislation passes the House on its second try; Senate likely to take up the bill this week.

The aviation bill's floor manager is 'frustrated' by an argument over a slots amendment.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee and floor manager for the Federal Aviation Administration authorization bill, said Monday that he is fed up with a spat over adding long-distance flight slots at an airport near Washington, D.C.

The disagreement is arresting progress on the bill, and senators have little chance of settling their argument anyway, Rockefeller said.

"I am a little bit losing my patience on slots," Rockefeller said. "We are frustrated because progress is made and unmade, people agree and they don't agree."

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) tore into the president's 2012 budget proposal Monday, saying it "fails to address the grave fiscal situation facing our country."

"President Obama's budget doubles down on the bad habits of the past four years by calling for more taxes, spending and borrowing of money that we simply do not have,” Cantor said

Cantor also took the opportunity to tout Republicans' budget plan, which is expected to include steeper cuts.

"It will be clearly evident in the coming weeks as [House Budget Committee] Chairman Paul Ryan and House Republicans introduce our own budget, one that addresses the challenges we face so that our children have the same hope, opportunity, and ability to achieve that our parents gave to us and their parents to them."

Expect further commentary from Cantor on the president's budget after he meets with reporters in his weekly pen-and-pad session at 2 p.m.

The House overwhelmingly approved a resolution Friday intended to eliminate burdensome regulations in a 391-28 vote.

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) on Friday said the Democrats' "miserable failure" to create jobs is why Republicans won the House back in November.

"The Republican Party is here because of the miserable failure of the Democrat leadership in this House of Representatives and our president who has ruined millions of jobs in this country," Sessions said. "And that is why the Republican Party is here, to do something about that. Don't worry, we'll be adding millions of jobs."

Sessions on Friday was managing a House resolution requiring increased House scrutiny of regulations that hurt companies, and his comments were a response to Democratic complaints that the resolution would do nothing to create jobs.

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-Minn.) on Friday morning rejected Democratic arguments that regulatory scrutiny is not the way to create jobs, and said the Democratic proposal to spend government money has been a proven failure.

"Clearly, we believe, and I believe, that we are directly addressing jobs, because we found out over the last few years, certainly the last two years, that spending billions and hundreds of billions and trillions of dollars does not in fact put America back to work," Kline said on the floor Friday morning.

"Without fiscal responsibility, without addressing the exploding debt, without addressing the job-killing healthcare plan which we've done, and without addressing the blizzard of regulations that is coming out of this administration and every industry, we're not going to be able to create these jobs," Kline said earlier in his remarks.

Kline was responding to a comment from Rep. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.), who, along with other Democrats, said debating a resolution calling for more regulatory scrutiny among House committees is a "political exercise" that won't create jobs.

House Democrats on Thursday night vowed to fight any and all Republican efforts to scale back environmental regulations as part of their broader effort to ease the regulatory burden on companies.

Debate over the GOP's plans grew emotional tonight after Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) said the Obama administration is hurting energy exploration efforts by limiting access to federal lands for drilling, and what he described as the "war on coal." Lamborn criticized the administration's efforts to rewrite surface mining rules, and said energy companies cannot explore for new energy sources with any confidence as the rules are changing.

Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) immediately took to the House floor to respond.

"What I just heard makes my blood boil," Garamendi said. "I was Deputy Secretary in the Department of Interior when the rapers and pillagers of the public lands wanted all regulations to disappear."