Lame! Duck! Session!
Roll Call this morning is already adding up the remaining legislative days, subtracting the weekends, dividing by campaign hours, and applying the theory of pessimisity to the remainder of the 108th Congress. They're editorializing today that by best estimates, the 108th will be back after the elections for a lame duck session to deal with any remaining spending bills.
The scoreboard doesn't look too good, though, and they have a valid point. Roll Call points out that the House has sent four appropriations bills to the Senate and have passed three more out of committee. The Senate, in contrast, has passed one (the Defense Approps bill; during a war, it's hard not to) and has cleared one additional spending bill out of committee. Appropriations bills, however, must originate in the House, so it's not odd for them to be ahead of the Senate at this point.
To look at the Senate schedule, however, one might think that Bill Frist has forgotten that he's no longer at the helm of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The Majority Leader/Electoral Cheerleader has blocked out this week for nominations and tort reform - there's a political jab embedded in both issues for the newly minted Democratic VP candidate; next week, a vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment, which will force Democrats to go "on the record" on the divisive issue of gay marriage.
It looks as if appropriations will not see major momentum until after the August recess and the party conventions, as CQ Today reports that Appropriations Cardinal Ted Stevens (R-AK) has flatly rejected the idea of an omnibus package before the Senate leaves town for August.
On the optimistic side, perhaps Frist and the Senate Republicans will get all their election year posturing out of the way in July, leaving September free and clear to consider, pass, conference on, pass again and send the remaining twelve appropriations bills to the White House before everyone needs to leave town for electioneering.
Oh, wait. Now I think I see where Roll Call's pessimism comes from.
Related Posts:
Edwards is the man, tort reform is the issue
The scoreboard doesn't look too good, though, and they have a valid point. Roll Call points out that the House has sent four appropriations bills to the Senate and have passed three more out of committee. The Senate, in contrast, has passed one (the Defense Approps bill; during a war, it's hard not to) and has cleared one additional spending bill out of committee. Appropriations bills, however, must originate in the House, so it's not odd for them to be ahead of the Senate at this point.
To look at the Senate schedule, however, one might think that Bill Frist has forgotten that he's no longer at the helm of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The Majority Leader/Electoral Cheerleader has blocked out this week for nominations and tort reform - there's a political jab embedded in both issues for the newly minted Democratic VP candidate; next week, a vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment, which will force Democrats to go "on the record" on the divisive issue of gay marriage.
It looks as if appropriations will not see major momentum until after the August recess and the party conventions, as CQ Today reports that Appropriations Cardinal Ted Stevens (R-AK) has flatly rejected the idea of an omnibus package before the Senate leaves town for August.
On the optimistic side, perhaps Frist and the Senate Republicans will get all their election year posturing out of the way in July, leaving September free and clear to consider, pass, conference on, pass again and send the remaining twelve appropriations bills to the White House before everyone needs to leave town for electioneering.
Oh, wait. Now I think I see where Roll Call's pessimism comes from.
Related Posts:
Edwards is the man, tort reform is the issue
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