February 12, 2007: Debate on Government Funding Resolution

[18:27]
Smith (OR) and Wyden (OR) have been quite present on the floor over the last hour plus.  As far as I can tell, Oregon is on the cusp of losing a bunch of federal funding—the money will be lost if the CR is not amended.  Smith is up for re-election in 2008.


[16:53]
Patty Murray, WA, on in support of the CR..."We are fast approaching the deadline," she says...


[16:43]
Olympia Snow, ME.  Snowe is usually kind of quiet but not this afternoon.  She wonders why there is a conception that the Senate has missed its chance to debate Iraq.  She is incredulous at Senate plans to take a recess next week (President's Day?).  Our troops are on the frontlines, and the Senate is on the sidelines, she says.  Before her Chuck Hagel (NE) spoke about prior instances when the Senate debated non-binding resolutions on conflicts.  The examples include Bosnia, Kosovo, and Somalia.  This is the group of Republicans who back the Warner Resolution on Iraq (Collins, Warner, Hagel, Snowe).  They are all calling for debate to take place in the Senate on Iraq.  Snowe observes that we have been in Iraq for four years and yet are still "mired" there.  She hates how the coverage of politics talks about who is winning, Democrats or Republicans?  Who is winning?, she asks.


[15:06]
Gordon Smith, OR.  Speaking on the...Secure rural schools & community determination act (?)  Smith says this is a dire issue and he says he is prepared to speak for five hours today.  I brought a lot of phonebooks with me, he says.  His companion, Ron Wyden (OR), will also be speaking on this issue in the coming days.  I'm still not quite sure what the issue is here.  He puts it as "The United States versus the Northwest, state versus state."  Fights for funding under the act.  Oregon gets a lot of money under the program, based on a formula that awarded money based on the amount of money reaped from federal lands in a given state.

Oh, this is him wanting to offer an amendment to the budget CR (continuing resolution).  But his amendment cannot be offered because the "tree is filled" (a procedure whereby the majority leader blocks any amendments from being attached to a bill).  He says "it's a rounding error in a $1.7t continuing resolution..."  


[15:02]
The Senate has been quiet today.  Either quorum call or speeches that have been made before.  Majority Leader Reid indicated that a cloture vote on the budget continuing resolution (CR) would come tomorrow morning.

Among the senators who've spoken today are: Grassley (IA)(alternative minimum tax policy); Dorgan (ND)(oversight on government contracting in Iraq); Alexander (TN)(Not sure; TV on mute); Thomas (WY)(Hartman as new Interior Dept. head)(btw, do you know what Gayle Norton, former leader at the Dept. of Interior is now doing?  Working for Shell!)

Review and Preview:
I was traveling last week.  Apparently, I missed only one vote, the confirmation of General George Casey as the new Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army.

The Senate will stroll in to the chamber today at 13:00.  Those not out campaigning for president will be debating government funding.  Before the Senate is a so-called "continuing resolution" which essentially guarantees funding of government agencies, programs, and employees in the absence of FY 2007 budgets.  Recall that last year under Frist & Co., the Congress did not pass a new budget for FY 2007 but chose instead to fund the government by way of these continuing resolutions, also referred to simply as "CR"s.  Majority Leader Reid (NV) and his companion Pelosi in the House agreed that they would not try to squeeze in a shortened FY 2007 budget but would pass one final CR to continue government funding until the end of FY 2007.  The current CR expires in three days (Feb. 15).  Reid has been of the mind that the Senate could not possibly pass two budgets in one year; that passing budgets this year for FY 2008 will be difficult enough.  I don't know how interesting debate on this CR will be.  It is my understanding that this CR CANNOT be amended.