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Johanns amendments frustrate Dems
Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) has shown a knack in his first months in office for putting Senate Democrats in a pickle while galvanizing the right.
This week, he forced votes on banning federal funds for ACORN, the community organizing group that has come under fire from conservatives. His amendments on this topic were adopted to two spending bills, both with support of more than 40 Democrats.
Johanns has used the amendment process to make a difference on behalf of the minority while frustrating Democratic leaders.
"I try to look at the legislation and see if there's something we can do to get strong support, strong bipartisan support, ideally," he told The Hill. "These days, you have to get good bipartisan support in order for it to pass."
Other Republicans have taken notice.
"He's come up with some pretty successful ideas," a GOP leadership aide said. The aide added that there isn't a coordinated effort by leadership on amendments and noted that at least one other Republican senator had considered an anti-ACORN amendment before Johanns.
Most GOP amendments to the Democrats' spending bills have failed to gain much bipartisan support. Democrats have held the line on attempts to freeze spending at last year's levels and earlier Republican measures aimed at ACORN, which has been a bugaboo to conservatives since last year's election when Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) accused the grassroots organization of voter registration fraud.
Democrats dismissed two amendments offered by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), one to the $787 billion stimulus and another to a community service bill, which would have blocked federal money for ACORN. But last week ACORN employees were caught on video advising what turned out to be actors posing as a prostitute and a pimp on how to evade tax laws and conservative activists have since pounced on the group.
"It's just a cumulative effect," Johanns said. "I think the timing was right."
Republicans didn't hold back their glee after most Democrats voted for Johanns's two anti-ACORN amendments to appropriations bills this week. When asked what made the difference, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) quipped, "bad publicity."
Johanns was elected to the Senate last year after having served as Nebraska governor for two terms and Agriculture secretary in President George W. Bush's Cabinet.
"This is a remarkable thing that a brand new member can come down with an idea, put that idea in an amendment and debate it and get a vote on it," he said.
Johanns said he has benefited from having past relationships with lawmakers. He said he listened to the longest-serving senator, Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), before proposing his amendment that sought to block Democrats from having the option of passing a climate change bill with just a simple majority. Byrd has been the fiercest critic of that special budget procedure, Johanns noted.
But while Johanns has courted support from the other party, he hasn't been afraid to use his amendments to make it harder for Democrats to govern.
Seeing that the second ACORN amendment was certain to be adopted, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) suggested that the Senate allow it to go through on a voice vote. Avoiding a vote would save time, which Senate appropriators are looking to do with less than two weeks left in the fiscal year and with none of the 12 appropriations bills cleared for the president's signature.
"There's a redundancy," Feinstein said. "This is going to have to be done on every appropriations bill."
But Johanns insisted on a recorded vote.
"The American people want us to come to the floor and cast a vote on this issue," he said.
Johanns has proposed a stand-alone bill that would block any federal funding for ACORN, arguing that passing that bill would be easier than approving separate amendments on each of spending measure. But Johanns said he's ready to do that even if it slows the Senate down.
"I appreciate I'm not in control of the agenda, and we will continue to bring this up," he said.
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