The Senate's number two Republican, Jon Kyl of Arizona, said Tuesday, "There's no way it can be acted on this week," referring to a jobs bill Democrats are poised to introduce in the chamber. The Majority Leader, Harry Reid, D-NV, repeated Tuesday that he wants to complete action on the bill by week's end, even mentioning possible weekend work, ahead of next week's President's Day recess.
When asked why the bill cannot be completed this week, Kyl had a suggestion: "Ask Scott Brown!" Brown is the newest member of the Senate, a Republican who swiped a seat from Democrats in Massachusetts, in part by riding a wave of populist anger at the ways of Washington. Brown, according to Kyl, was asking around about a jobs bill Tuesday and wondering how in the world the Senate could possibly vote by Friday. "Good question," Kyl said.
While much has been made of "backroom deals" over healthcare reform, no such outcry has come on the jobs bill. One reason? A handful of Republicans have been in the back room this time. Kyl, who loudly decried the closed door sausage-making on healthcare legislation, had a softer tone on the jobs bill.
"The truth of the matter is, a lot of things here are done by staff behind closed doors, and it's not always the wrong way to put something together, as long as you have plenty of time for that product to get out to members so they can evaluate it, have the public take a look at it...If you're going to forgo the committee process, then you at least have to get it out to members so they can reflect on it. And that's why you can't vote on it by Thursday or Friday," Kyl said.
By and large, Republicans who have briefed on what's in the bill did not voice any strong objections. Finance Committee Republicans met in Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's office to discuss the legislation Tuesday.
Kyl, a member of Finance, said he most definitely "would not call it a 'jobs bill'," though. He said a third of it is tax policy, which he supports, and a so-called "Doc fix" which keeps doctors who treat Medicare patients from experiencing drastic cuts in their annual federal reimbursements. That $35 billion "fix" is for seven months.
"No, I dont call that a jobs bill," Kyl said emphatically, noting that the Patriot Act is extended in the bill for one year. "All of that has to be done, but it does not create one job," Kyl said.
Only one provision, according to Kyl, would stand a chance of creating jobs: a payroll tax break for employers who hire new workers.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-TX, also a member of Finance, had nice things to say. "I think it's fair to say there's a lot of content that would be mutually agreeable."
For her part, Finance Committee Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe said she is still waiting for language and wants to see the Congressional Budget Office do an analysis of the actual jobs impact.
"We need to fully understand exactly how many jobs will be created or preserved with this. We did not do that with the stimulus bill, and we should have," the Maine senator said, adding that she intends to introduce legislation to mandate a "jobs impact stastement" like this for future stimulus bills.
Snowe said she would also like to see "unallocated stimulus funds" pay for the newsest jobs legislation.
Still, despite the consternation, it did not appear Republicans would block the bill.
"I think in the end a bill will be passed. I won't stand in the way," Kyl said, a welcome sign to Democratic leadership, to be sure.
The newest member of the Senate, Scott Brown (R-MA) just finished casting his first votes of his Senatorial career today but what might be equally important to his supporters is that his beloved green GMC truck, one of the most memorable symbols of the campaign, has arrived at the Capitol. Brown's staff said he and his wife drove it down from Massachusetts.
Brown used the truck to crisscross Massachusetts during his historic campaign, and it played a prominent role in his campaign ads as well as his opponent’s.
After his upset victory over Democrat Martha Coakley, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Brown that he could park it anywhere he’d like on Capitol Hill. Looks like Brown has taken McConnell up on the offer. Keep Reading...
Monday’s death of Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) leaves vacant one of the most coveted and powerful positions in the House of Representatives.
Murtha chaired the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, which decides how the Pentagon spends its money. It’s one of the most influential posts on Capitol Hill. In fact, the chairs of the Appropriations Subcommittees are called “cardinals” in Congressional parlance. That’s a nod to the role cardinals play in the Catholic church because of the sway these lawmakers hold over their area of federal spending.
And with Murtha’s death, there are questions about who might succeed him in that slot.
Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA) is the next ranking Democrat on the Defense Appropriations panel. First elected in 1976, Dicks chairs the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee.
And House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) says it’s likely Dicks will move into Murtha’s old position.
“Presumably he will take that chairmanship,” said Hoyer.
Still, another name mentioned as a potential candidate to succeed Murtha is Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX). Though more junior than Dicks, Edwards chairs the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee. He represents a large military constituency in his district and is well-schooled in the Pentagon’s budgetary needs.
Because the Appropriations subcommittee chairs wield such dominant authority over the federal purse, the panel typically defers to the next senior lawmaker when an opening occurs. House Democrats require their caucus to approve “cardinals” as well as the Steering Committee, which metes out committee assignments.
A final decision on who may wield the Defense Appropriations gavel might not be settled for a few weeks.
The United States House of Representatives has cancelled recorded votes for the remainder of the week due to the weather. The Washington, DC metropolitan area was buried after a storm dropped 18 inches of snow over the weekend, and another 10-12 inches is expected to fall starting Tuesday afternoon and continue into Wednesday morning.
Don’t expect members to report back to the Capitol next week though. On Monday, February 15th the federal government will be closed for Presidents Day. The rest of the week has been designated as a “district work period,” a time that members use to work in their home districts or travel on fact-finding missions as part of a Congressional Delegation, also known as a CODEL.
This means that most members will be out of the building until Monday February 22, 2010 when the next recorded vote is scheduled to occur. The schedule change also means that there will be recorded votes on Friday, February 26th. Friday votes are rare in the House, as members frequently use the day to travel and work in their home districts.
The official release sent to members is below:
Due to inclement weather affecting travel to Washington, D.C, Members are advised that there will be no recorded votes taken in the House this week.
Next votes will be on Monday, February 22, 2010 with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.
Due to changes in the floor schedule this week, the House will now meet on Monday, February 22, 2010, with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m., and recorded votes are now expected on Friday, February 26, 2010. These are changes to the previously announced schedule.
Fox obtains a copy of the parameters of the Senate jobs bill emerging from bipartisan negotiations. One note of caution -- there are many moving parts here; items from different cmtes of jurisdictions.
The Finance Cmte portion --- meaning all stuff related to TAXES -- has the agreement of top cmte Republican Chuck Grassley and senior cmte member Orrin Hatch., according to sources
The rest is still TBD.
Sen Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, said Tuesday that most of his members havent seen the bill.
BUT --- Republicans are sure to like that Dems gave up their intention to pay for any part of this bill with TARP bailout funds.
SENATE JOBS BILL
Cost- $85 billion
Will include:
· Hiring tax credits (close to Schumer/Hatch proposal to allow employers an exemption of payroll taxes if they hire new employees)
· Infrastructure (Build America Bonds, 1 year extension of highway trust fund)- total for this is $15 billion
· Tax extenders ($35 billion, just date changes to extend from 2009 to 2010)
Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, said Tuesday that a deal on a bipartisan jobs bill, which he described as "a really nice piece of legislation," is close, and while he hopes "we dont have to work the weekend", he wants to finish a bill this week before a weeklong recess.
Sen Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, did not shut the door on a jobs bill passing this week, but he did note that most Republicans have not yet seen the bill.
Reid said he hopes to have a bill by day's end, again saying the bill is expected to include a 1-year highway bill extension, infrastructure building bonds, a tax break for employers who hire new workers, some kind of extension (likely short term) of a package of tax extenders, as well as a short term extension of the Patriot Act.
Reid said Wednesday is likely to be a day for running out a procedural clock, resulting from a presumed filibuster of the bill, which will help Washington recover from the second snowstorm in a week. Amendments are expected from both sides, although neither Reid nor McConnell indicated what those would entail.
Wicked weather continues to be the dominant story in Washington. The House of Representatives has cancelled all votes for the day in anticipation of a heavy snowstorm that is expected to reach the District around noon. They’ve also cancelled all of their previously scheduled afternoon events.
The Senate is soldiering ahead though, and is set to vote on two appointments by President Barack Obama. Judge Joseph Greenaway is set to become a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. His nomination is expected to go through without a problem. The path forward for the other nominee is less clear though. President Obama has nominated Craig Becker for a spot on the National Labor Relations Board. Critics fear that as a former lawyer to the AFL and SEIU, he is too close to organized labor. Expect some fireworks on the floor as the vote nears at 5:00p.
At 10:15a, a bipartisan group of leaders in the House and Senate are set to meet with President Obama to discuss the economy. Will it be the beginning of a bipartisan push for health care reform, or will both sides dig in deeper? Fox News will bring you the event and fair and balanced reaction.
In a closed secure session, the Senate Armed Services Committee gets a briefing on the policies and procedures relating to the transfer of detainees from the Guantanamo Detention Facility. We’ll be there staking out members to find out what they learned. UPDATE: This briefing is now cancelled.
As the snow gets closer to town, plans may change, so say tuned to the Fox News Channel for the latest developments…
It is quite rare for Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) to oppose cloture on a nominee, but he is on Craig Becker, the union lawyer up for nomination for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB.) As Nelson is fond of saying, he has been a chief executive (former governor) - and he likes for an executive to get a fair shot at his nominations. No need for a filibuster most of the time - except in "extraordinary circumstances."
That does take some of the ooomph out of Scott Brown's vote.
Unclear if Democrats can muster 60 votes to shut down the filibuster. This makes it quite hard.
Cloture is still scheduled for 5pm tomorrow (Tuesday) night.
Not a lot of lawmakers were in Washington on Monday due to the massive snowstorm that buried the region over the weekend. But that didn’t stop them from eulogizing the late-Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) in heartfelt statements and emails.
Murtha had perhaps no greater ally than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). In fact, Pelosi endorsed Murtha over current Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) in a leadership contest to be her deputy when Democrats won control of Congress in 2006. But Hoyer defeated Murtha handily.
“I was privileged to call him friend,” said Pelosi in a statement.
Pelosi applauded Murtha for his stance against the war in Iraq.
“The nation saw his courage writ large when he spoke out against the military engagement in Iraq,” said Pelosi. But she also noted that even though Murtha grew disillusioned with the war, he remained an ardent defender of U.S. troops.
“As a proud Marine, he was always Semper Fi,” the speaker said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said those in Congress “will miss the tenacity and passion that he brought to his job every day.”
In a statement, President Obama saluted Murtha’s “tough-as-nails reputation” and said the Pennsylvania Democrat “became a respected voice on issues of national security.”
“I am deeply saddened to lose my dear friend,” said Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA). “He was a public servant in every sense of the word and his passing is a great loss to all of Pennsylvania.”
Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) mourned his Keystone State colleague and noted that Murtha “learned the lessons of service to country first as an Eagle Scout.”
Over the years, Murtha certainly garnered his share of critics. He was named an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the FBI’s ABSCAM sting nearly 30 years ago. Alleged ethics breaches dogged Murtha about his earmarking practices and associations with a shady lobbying firm now facing federal scrutiny. Others argued he was wrong to criticize the Iraq war effort with troops on the battlefield.
But some lawmakers used their statements as an opportunity to quash Murtha’s critics.
“I hope I have the courage that Jack showed when he realized how wrong the Iraq war was and stood up to those in the Bush Administration and in the media who did everything they could to detract from his credibility,” said Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA). “History will show how unsuccessful and misguided his detractors were.”
Murtha was a longtime member of the House Appropriations Committee, the panel that determines how the government spends its money.
“Words cannot describe the loss my wife Arlen and I feel for my dear friend,” said Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA), the leading Republican appropriator. “I have never seen a more valiant defender of the men and women of our armed forces, nor a more steadfast advocate for our country’s unequaled national defense.”
Lewis added that “Congress will be a much lesser place without him.”
Rep. Chris Carney (D-PA) said that Murtha “cast a long shadow and so many of us were privileged to seek its shade.”
As the senior member of the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation, Murtha was known to hold court with fellow lawmakers in a back portion of the House chamber during votes. Carney said he would miss Murtha’s “big Irish smile.” But added “he Pennsylvania corner of the House chamber will never be the same."
- Fox’s Trish Turner and Dominique Pastre contributed to this report.
Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), the first veteran of the Vietnam war to be elected to the House and one of the most powerful lawmakers in Congress, died Monday afternoon at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA, after complications from gallbladder surgery. Murtha was 77.
