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Timing is everything
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06/01/09 01:56 PM ET
Returning from its Memorial Day recess, Congress is facing many timing questions that could be answered before Independence Day.
Will Democrats schedule a floor vote before the summer recess on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor?
Will climate change legislation hit the House floor in the next four weeks?
Will healthcare reform dominate this summer’s agenda, and will it pass Congress by early August?
Republicans have said they do not want to rush a vote on the Sotomayor nomination, but politically, they would be wise not to drag their feet.
When President Bush nominated John Roberts, Democrats were split. Half of the caucus backed his nomination and half opposed it. Republicans enjoyed watching Democrats grapple with their divide.
Now, the shoe is on the other foot, with Republicans in Congress urging conservatives off Capitol Hill to cool their rhetoric while Democrats enjoy the spectacle of the GOP’s angst.
Republicans would much rather be talking about climate change, an issue they think works to their advantage. Yet it is noteworthy that one of their own, Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), backed the bill when it was approved by the Energy and Commerce Committee last month.
Four Democrats opposed it, but Bono Mack’s support could be an indication that there are up to a dozen yes votes among House Republicans — votes that Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) may need for passage.
Some Democrats do not want to vote on climate change if it can’t clear the Senate, which appears unlikely.
Yet Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) recently said that if the House can pass its bill, so can the Senate. That is a strikingly more optimistic tone than he took a few weeks ago when he said moving a climate change bill would give him headaches.
Healthcare reform has more support in Congress than climate change. But there are many unanswered questions about what President Obama and congressional Democrats want to achieve in their reforms and how they plan to get it.
The budget resolution stipulates that healthcare reform will cost $637 billion and be paid for, but it doesn’t say exactly what the offsets will be.
Covering 46 million uninsured Americans will cost more than that, and it is highly doubtful Congress will be able to offset the price tag fully.
Obama has called the $637 billion “a down payment.” What is the full price, and will Congress take an incremental approach — or a huge step — on healthcare this year?
Much has been made about Democrats’ calling for the filibuster-proof reconciliation protections for healthcare reform, allowing the bill to clear the Senate with a simple majority of votes. Less attention has been paid to the fact that if Democrats stray from the numbers in the budget reconciliation, their healthcare reform bill will be subject to points of order and will need 60 votes.
The decisions that the president and congressional Democrats make in the next four weeks will be the most important of the 111th Congress.
Will Democrats schedule a floor vote before the summer recess on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor?
Will healthcare reform dominate this summer’s agenda, and will it pass Congress by early August?
Republicans have said they do not want to rush a vote on the Sotomayor nomination, but politically, they would be wise not to drag their feet.
When President Bush nominated John Roberts, Democrats were split. Half of the caucus backed his nomination and half opposed it. Republicans enjoyed watching Democrats grapple with their divide.
Now, the shoe is on the other foot, with Republicans in Congress urging conservatives off Capitol Hill to cool their rhetoric while Democrats enjoy the spectacle of the GOP’s angst.
Republicans would much rather be talking about climate change, an issue they think works to their advantage. Yet it is noteworthy that one of their own, Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), backed the bill when it was approved by the Energy and Commerce Committee last month.
Four Democrats opposed it, but Bono Mack’s support could be an indication that there are up to a dozen yes votes among House Republicans — votes that Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) may need for passage.
Some Democrats do not want to vote on climate change if it can’t clear the Senate, which appears unlikely.
Yet Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) recently said that if the House can pass its bill, so can the Senate. That is a strikingly more optimistic tone than he took a few weeks ago when he said moving a climate change bill would give him headaches.
Healthcare reform has more support in Congress than climate change. But there are many unanswered questions about what President Obama and congressional Democrats want to achieve in their reforms and how they plan to get it.
The budget resolution stipulates that healthcare reform will cost $637 billion and be paid for, but it doesn’t say exactly what the offsets will be.
Covering 46 million uninsured Americans will cost more than that, and it is highly doubtful Congress will be able to offset the price tag fully.
Obama has called the $637 billion “a down payment.” What is the full price, and will Congress take an incremental approach — or a huge step — on healthcare this year?
Much has been made about Democrats’ calling for the filibuster-proof reconciliation protections for healthcare reform, allowing the bill to clear the Senate with a simple majority of votes. Less attention has been paid to the fact that if Democrats stray from the numbers in the budget reconciliation, their healthcare reform bill will be subject to points of order and will need 60 votes.
The decisions that the president and congressional Democrats make in the next four weeks will be the most important of the 111th Congress.
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