February 14, 2007: Budget Resolution Will Pass; What About Iraq?

[18:15]
The Senate adjourned until 10 a.m. tomorrow.  Tomorrow will include speeches in morning business and a vote on a judge.


[17:32]
John Ensign, NV.  Ensign is giving a speech in tribute to our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln.  Lincoln presided over Nevada's entrance to the Union.


[17:28]
Saxby Chambliss, GA. He is thanking the majority leader for working with him on funding for some program he is referring to in acronym.  Children's insurance.

He suggests the absence of a quorum.  The clerk will call the Roll.  Mr. Akaka...


[17:25]
The Senate confirmed a judge earlier.  Right now they are passing the budget resolution for FY 2007 government spending.  The floor is clearing after this vote, so the Senate is probably done for the day.  Reid is on the floor, Wyden, Levin, Snowe, Lott, Durbin.  Obama is presiding.  He winked at someone earlier.

Resolution passes, 15 votes in opposition.


[12:15]
John Cornyn, TX.  The junior senator from Texas had to come to the floor to respond to comments made yesterday about the state of the economy by Harry Reid (NV).  Reid described the state of the economy as 'bleak.'  This surprised Cornyn, who, if this economy was 'bleak', would hate to see, or, would love to see what a good economy looked like.  Cornyn then says, It's ironic that on the day the distinguished majority leader made this comment that on the front of "the Washington, ah...newspaper"...etc. quoting some story about the economy doing well.  Cornyn couldn't bring himself to say that the article was from the Washington Post, which he loves to include in a blanket bashing of the so-called liberal media but from which newspaper he has now taken articles twice in the last month to support the argument he is making.  He is now linking the strong economy to the tax cuts early this decade.


Preview & Review:
Yesterday the Senate voted its approval of the continuing resolution for FY 2007 government funding.  The resolution survived a cloture vote with 71 yeas.

The most interesting news coming out of the Senate yesterday came from Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV).  He indicated that he was now leaning toward the House Iraq resolution which is arguably more direct than the Warner Resolution that the Senate tried but failed to bring up for debate last week.  The House Resolution, being debated this week in the House, says two things.  One, Congress supports the troops.  And second, that Congress disapproves of the decision the President made on January 10, 2007 to send more troops to Iraq.  It is unclear when or if Reid would try to bring the House resolution before the Senate.  It would need 60 votes to succeed cloture.  It is unclear as of yet whether enough Republicans, specifically the Warner clan, would join the Democrats in taking the debate past cloture.  Recall that virtually every Republican opposed cloture on the Warner Resolution (even Warner) because the Democrats would not agree to allow a vote on a Gregg Amendment to the resolution that verified the President as the commander of military missions and ensured Congressional compliance in military misson funding, whatever the circumstances.