Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) indicated this week that he will try to attach six small-government amendments to the small-business reauthorization bill that the Senate is considering this week.

Coburn on Monday said he would seek to suspend the rules and get these amendments approved by unanimous consent, which will require senators to agree to include them even though they are not germane to the bill at hand, S. 493.

The vote to repeal the 1099 tax reporting requirements included in Democrats’ healthcare reform bill ought to be the first of many votes to repeal that “disastrous” legislation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday morning.

House Republicans on Monday night were prepping a new one-week fiscal 2011 spending bill, H.R. 1363, for passage this week in the event that Republicans and Democrats are unable to come to a final agreement on a full-term spending bill. The bill would cut $12 billion from current spending levels, much more than the usual $2 billion in cuts per week that Republicans have sought in the last two continuing resolutions.

As of Tuesday morning, the House Rules Committee said the chamber "may" consider this bill, and no meeting had been announced to approve a rule for the bill. Introducing the bill Monday night will allow the House to consider it as early as Wednesday, given the Republicans' practice of making bills public for three calendar days before bringing them up for a vote.

According to a summary of the bill, the continuing resolution funds the Defense Department for the rest of the year, and increases defense funding by 1.5 percent over fiscal 2010 levels.

Tea Party Republican Paul Broun (Ga.) on Monday evening accused Democrats of purposefully wanting to shut down the government.

"I believe they're dodging their responsibilities on purpose," Broun said on the House floor. "The Democratic leadership is trying to pack us into a corner with only two ways out: keep spending money at their outrageous levels, or shut down the government.

"I believe they actually want to shut down the government for their own political purposes," he added.

The House Monday evening passed H.R. 1246, which would cut Defense Department spending costs by 10 percent and save an estimated $35 million in FY 2012.

The bill was brought up under a suspension of House rules, which requires the support of two-thirds of voting members. The bill passed unanimously, 393-0.

Earlier in the day, the bill drew just token opposition from Del. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), who said the House could be spending its time more wisely, such as by considering deeper cuts to DOD. However, she said she would not call on Democrats to reject the bill.

The Senate unanimously confirmed Jimmie Reyna as the first Latino member of the federal appeals court on Monday and, in doing so, confirmed its 15th judicial nominee of the year.

Last year at this same time the Senate had only managed to make two confirmations.

Prior to the vote Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, came to the floor to praise Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for insisting the Senate vote on at least one judicial nominee each week. He urged Reid to maintain the regular schedule through out the year.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is based in Washington and has its jurisdiction based wholly upon subject matter rather than geographic location.

The Senate adjourned at 6:22 p.m. on Monday and is set to convene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

House Democrats on Monday indicated they would not vote against a bill to reduce Defense Department printing costs, although their designated speaker on the bill did raise a brief argument that Republicans should be looking to cut far more from Defense spending.

Democrats sent one speaker to the floor in a brief debate on H.R. 1246, which would cut 10 percent in DOD printing costs, or $35.7 million from the estimated FY 2012 budget. Del. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), a delegate who cannot vote, said she would not urge Democrats to vote against the bill, but said the bill is a "bad use of valuable floor time" because the amount saved "hardly makes a dent in multi-trillion dollar deficits facing our nation."

Freshman Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) on Monday jokingly taunted fellow freshman Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) about the NCAA men’s basketball championship.

Coats bragged hat Indiana's Butler Bulldogs would be triumphant over the University of Connecticut Huskies in Monday night’s game. And he didn’t give Blumenthal much of a chance to respond.

“I could extol of Butler for quite some time and take advantage of you,” Coats told Blumenthal, who was sitting at the dais as acting Senate pro tempore during the discussion. Blumenthal was unable to respond to Coats because under Senate rules, the senator acting as president pro tempore is not allowed to engage in floor conversations. 

“Butler has been a dream and a joy for those of us in Indiana,” said Coats, who revealed that he and Blumenthal had placed a gentlemanly wager on the game consisting of a collection of edible products from their respective states.  

“I'm looking forward to receiving your part of the bargain delivered to my office,” Coats said. 

The Butler Bulldogs will tip off against the Connecticut Huskies at 9 p.m. Monday.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) sought Monday to convert into political points the Obama administration's reversal on the trial venue for accused 9/11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

“I would like to note a welcome development on the war on terror,” McConnell said in a floor speech. "Incredibly enough, today the administration is announcing it has changed course."

Attorney General Eric Holder announced on Monday that the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks would be tried before a military commission at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base rather than in civilian court, as the administration had hoped. In 2009 Holder announced that the trial would be held in New York City, prompting a bipartisan outcry from lawmakers in that state.

“For the last two years, the Obama administration has actively sought to bring the 9/11 plotters into our communities for civilian trials," said McConnell. "It was a completely horrible idea that rightly drew overwhelming bipartisan opposition from the American people and from their elected representatives here in Congress," McConnell said. 

"It’s the right outcome to a long and spirited debate," he said.