Senate

The Senate on Thursday defeated two resolutions to amend the fiscal year 2011 spending bill that would have blocked funding for Planned Parenthood and all funds to implement last year's healthcare reform law.

The House passed both resolutions just hours before.

Votes on the defunding measures in both the House and the Senate were a condition Republicans insisted upon as part of last week's agreement with the White House and Democrats on funding for the rest of FY 2011.

The Senate defeated the Planned Parenthood amendment 42-58. The House passed that resolution 240-185.

The Senate defeated the bill to defund the healthcare law 47-53. The House passed that resolution 245-189.

Both measures were required to meet a 60-vote threshold.

The Senate immediately moved on to a roll call vote on the bill to fund the federal government through fiscal year 2011.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) responded to a Senate-floor attack on the Tea Party Thursday by inviting Democrats to bring their vision to an actual Tea Party.

“It's amazing to me to be lectured to and hear about how awful the Tea Party is and what the Tea Party represents from folks who have never been to a Tea Party” event, Paul said after Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) delivered a broadside against the conservative grassroots movement.

“Come on down to a Tea Party,” said Paul. “Bring your Huey Long rhetoric, a chicken in every pot, a windmill in every background — a windmill in every backyard, bring it on down to the Tea Party, let's have a discussion,” Paul said.

Paul was referring to Huey Long (D-La.), a populist senator and governor in the 1930s known for his "share the wealth” philosophy.

Menendez’s 20-minute speech blasted what he said was the Tea Party’s vision.

“Tea Partiers see an America in which the burden of balancing the budget should be borne by senior citizens, students, middle-class families, while protecting subsidies to big oil companies and giving even more tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans,” he said.

The Senate is preparing to vote Thursday afternoon on a compromise funding bill for fiscal 2011 that Paul says he will oppose.

The Senate will almost certainly begin its two-week recess without passing the Small Business Administration (SBA) funding bill, which has been stalled on the floor for almost four weeks, Senate staffers close to leadership told The Hill on Thursday.

Senate leaders were unable to move the bill forward because of disagreements on three amendments that are not germane, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said on Wednesday.

“Some in the Senate won’t allow an agreement on other amendments unless they get their amendments,” Reid complained. “We just haven’t been able to work through this legislative morass.”

Much of the Senate’s attention has also been consumed with the budget debate for fiscal year 2011, which is expected to conclude when the House and Senate vote on a proposal to cut $39.9 billion from the remainder of this fiscal year on Thursday.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday tore into President Obama's Wednesday speech on deficit reduction, saying the public doesn’t want advice from him on fiscal prudence.

"The American people are not inclined to take advice on fiscal responsibility from an administration whose unprecedented borrowing and spending has done so much to create the mess we are in," said McConnell.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) confirmed Thursday that every senator has agreed to allow the Senate to proceed to a vote on last week’s spending deal as soon as it clears the House.

The unanimous consent agreement was reached even though some senators plan to vote against the legislation, which would cut $39.9 billion from this year’s spending.

“I am very appreciative that we were able to get the consent agreement to move forward for after we get the papers from House,” an appreciative Reid said from the Senate floor.  

The Senate will vote Thursday on the spending deal the White House reached with House Republicans last week that averted a government shutdown.

The Senate will also vote on two resolutions, one to ban federal funds for Planned Parenthood, another to defund the new healthcare law.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) agreed to the votes on the two resolutions, which would need 60 votes to proceed, as part of a deal engineered by Reid, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and President Obama.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday afternoon that a disagreement on just three amendments has halted progress on the Small Business Administration (SBA) funding bill, which has been stalled on the floor for almost four weeks.

“There is no reason why we should have not been able to do something in the last few days, but that’s where we are,” said Reid.

Although the SBA funding bill is non-controversial, senators from both parties have taken advantage of the open amendment process to file more than 125 amendments — of which only about 20 are germane.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and the Democratic women of the Senate took to the floor for nearly an hour Wednesday to decry Republicans for forcing a vote that would strip Planned Parenthood’s federal funding as part of the 2011 budget.

“These socially provocative riders literally wage war against woman,” Mikulski said, referring to another measure that would defund the implementation of Democrats' healthcare law. “Let’s talk about the war they want to wage against women.”

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Wednesday that he has never been anywhere that worked less well when trying to reduce spending than the U.S. Congress.

"I have never been in a place that is more dysfunctional," said Corker. "No matter what Americans think about the way we handle the money, I can assure them it's worse."

"This is the No. 1 issue for Americans," Corker continued, referring to the national debt. "It threatens our national security."

Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday told the Senate to begin debating the House proposal to fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year even though the House has yet to vote on it.

Time is of the essence, as the stopgap approved last week after an accord was struck to avert a federal shutdown expires at the end of Friday.

“The text has been filed in the House,” said Reid, referring to the funding bill that would cut $39.9 billion from current spending. “We expect to receive it tomorrow — the earlier the better.

“I ask senators to come and talk about this resolution — things they like or dislike,” said Reid. “This would be the time to do that, because we are going to be cramped for time when it gets here.”

The Senate is scheduled to begin a two-week break at the end of this week.