March 6, 2007: Big States versus Little States in the Battle for Homeland Security Funding

[18:17]
Now the Leahy Amendment, which increases the minimum allocation to each state.  Needs 51 votes to pass.  It gets only 49 ayes, 50 nays.  None of the three amendments just voted on passed.  Now Reid is laying out tomorrow's schedule.  More votes tomorrow.  McCaskill Amendment, some non-germane amendments.  Possibly a cloture vote on Friday.


[17:56]
Second vote of three consecutive votes is on an Obama Amendment, #338.  This amendment seems to place risk-based funding somewhere between the now departed Feinstein amendment and the current language in the bill.  Obama (IL) says that there are some losers under this bill, but that 34 states would do better.  Here the minimum is .25% for each state unless a state is a border state in which case its minimum is .45%.  Senator Lieberman, managing this bill for the majority, opposes the amendment, saying it would dock current funding levels for 32 states.  This is another vote on a motion to table the Amendment.  Here we go:

Obama Amdt. is tabled with 59 ayes.



[17:38]
First, the Senate is voting to table the Feinstein Amendment, which changes the way risk-based Homeland Security funds are doled out to states.  Fifty votes needed to table the amendment.  The outcome:

Motion to table Feinstein Amdt. is agreed to, with 56 ayes


[17:04]
Feinstein (CA) and Leahy (VT) agree on who would win or lose under the Feinstein/Cornyn Homeland Security funding amendment.  Feinstein says a whole bunch of states will get more money than they currently do under her amendment; Leahy says a whole host of states will lose out.  She says her numbers came from the Congressional Research service.  Who knows.  She is arguing that money should be allocated based on threat.  That if the biggest threat is in Vermont, than Vermont should get the money, but that's not what the intelligence shows.


[16:56]
There are going to be three votes on amendments to the 9/11 Commissions Recommendations Bill starting at 17:30.  At least one will be on the Cornyn/Feinstein Amendment, another will be on the Leahy/Thomas Amendment.  Both amendments concern how Homeland Security funds are allocated.  The struggle is not red state/blue state but big state/small state.  Senator Craig Thomas (WY) earlier pointed out that Wyoming is the leading energy exporter in the lower 48 states; that it is not just a flyover for those taking trips to and from coastal states.  Senator Patrick Leahy (VT) is speaking right now to warn a long list of states that he says will lose or break even under the Cornyn/Feinstein amendment.

It has been a decent afternoon of action in the Senate.  Earlier, Jay Rockefeller (WV) made a unanimous consent request to call up for consideration and passage the FY 2007 Intelligence Authorization bill.  Note, this is an FY 2007 authorization; a bill the previous Senate did not get passed; FY 2007 ends in September.  The request was objected to by Senator Collins ON BEHALF of another senator, who remained nameless.  Rockefeller admitted that he was angry and dismayed that one senator, one senator would hold up passage of a badly needed authorization bill.  He was joined by Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Kit Bond (MO) who lamented the hold one senator had placed on the FY 2007 Intelligence authorization bill.  Anyone know who this nameless senator might be?  I figure if it was Collins that objected, a Republican, the senator must also be Republican.  And, Rockefeller talked about this senator's constituents as "his constituents, if it is a he."  So I figure it is a male Republican.  But that doesn't really narrow it down.  This whole business of blind holds is silly.


[12:48]
Senate is at recess; will be back at 14:30.


[12:07]
With news of Libby guilty verdicts breaking, the Senate is voting on the DeMint Amendment, which would remove from the bill language allowing federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees to organize for collective bargaining purposes.  The vote is on a motion to table.  Expect party line vote, with Dems voting "aye" to table and Repubs the opposite.

The motion is agreed to with 51 votes.  Someone crossed the party line but I missed who!  Otherwise, it sounded something like 50 Dems and 1 Repub.  This means that the bill, if passed, would give airport screeners the right to unionize.  This language could draw a Bush veto of the entire bill, according to DeMint.


[10:05]
One hour of morning business, the time equally divided.


[10:01]
Senate is in session.  At twelve e.s.t. a vote on a motion to table the DeMint argument regarding collective bargaining for TSA employees.  After that vote, recess until 14:30 for party lunches.  Tomorrow, King Abdullah of Jordan will address a joint session of Congress.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) speaking.  He listens to the news each morning, and heard this morning about nine U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq yesterday.  The current approach isn't working; we need to change course in Iraq; I yield the floor.

Now a period of morning business.