Senate Democrats

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Senate Dems Push to Pass 100 Bills in One Go

Reid seeks filibuster-proof measures for public lands, water

(Newser) - With time running out in the lame-duck session, Democrats are working hard to push through some 100 environmental bills, Politico reports. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is calling on party leaders to compile a list of public lands and water measures Republicans won’t kill with a filibuster. On the...

Schumer Turns Attack Dog for Dems
 Schumer Turns 
 Attack Dog 
 for Dems 
analysis
Dec 5, 2010 9:45 AM CST

Schumer Turns Attack Dog for Dems

No more 'throwing up our hands,' says NY sen.

(Newser) - Sen. Charles Schumer has been quiet the past few years, with the onetime attack dog turning to bipartisan dealmaking. Now he’s among the Democratic Senate leadership—and as Congress wages war over taxes, he’s resumed his old role as a firebrand, writes Manu Raju for Politico . Over the...

Tax Cut Showdown: Dems' Two Options

Must win centrists as Bush cuts expire

(Newser) - When it comes to tax cuts, the Democrats’ options are few. Politically speaking, it’s too late to force the expiration of Bush cuts on those earning more than $250,000. But Dems have two notable choices, writes David Leonhardt in the New York Times : one, to let the Bush...

Senate GOP to Dems: We'll Block All Bills
Senate GOP to Dems: We'll Block All Bills
UPDATED
Dec 1, 2010 9:00 AM CST

Senate GOP to Dems: We'll Block All Bills

All 42 say they won't budge til tax cuts, gov't funding addressed

(Newser) - All 42 Senate Republicans have signed a letter pledging to block all legislation during the lame-duck session until the Senate addresses the Bush-era tax cuts and funding the government—the latter of which must pass in order to prevent a shutdown of the government, MSNBC reports. This could spell disaster...

Public-Employees Union No. 1 Election Spender

1.6-million member AFSCME spends $87.5M on campaign

(Newser) - The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees has become the biggest outside donor to the midterm elections, thanks to a last-minute push of funds to Democrats that brings its total election spending to $87.5 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. The organization, which boasts 1.6 million...

Senate Democrats Postpone Fight Over Tax Cuts

No vote until after the November election

(Newser) - Senate Democrats have decided to delay a vote on the volatile issue of the Bush tax cuts until after the November election, the Washington Post reports. The move avoids a pre-election showdown in the chamber between Republicans, who want to extend all the expiring cuts, and Democrats, who want to...

Brown, Snowe Give Dems 60 Votes to Pass Wall Street Bill

GOP yeas mean they don't need Byrd replacement

(Newser) - With New England Republicans Olympia Snowe and Scott Brown on board, Senate Democrats appear to have the 60 votes they need to pass the Wall Street reform bill. The move by Snowe and Brown means Dems won't have to wait for the appointment of a successor to the late Sen....

Robert Byrd Hospitalized; Senator, 92, 'Seriously Ill'

West Virginia lawmaker is longest-serving member of Congress

(Newser) - Robert Byrd, the Democratic senator from West Virginia who last fall became the longest-serving member of Congress, is hospitalized and in serious condition, his office tells MSNBC . The 92-year-old was admitted last week with what was believed to be a heat-related illness, but "other conditions have developed which has...

Democrats Defy Reid, Keep Financial Debate Going

They want tougher amendments

(Newser) - Harry Reid had to fight with Republicans to begin debate on financial reform, and now he's got to fight fellow Democrats to end it. He called a vote today to move toward final passage ("We've got to put this thing to rest"), only to have Democrats such as...

Obama Signs Health Reform Law (Yes, Again)

Final version of legislation enacted along with student loan overhaul

(Newser) - Finalizing two major pieces of his agenda, a beaming President Obama today signed legislation sealing his health care overhaul and making the government the primary lender to students by cutting banks out of the process. Both domestic priorities came in one bill, pushed through by Democrats in the House and...

Senate Faces Another Fight on Extending Benefits

Starring Tom Coburn as Jim Bunning

(Newser) - With the Senate scheduled for a two-week recess after tomorrow, there’s another showdown brewing over unemployment benefits—and this time, the Republicans have introduced a bill of their own in an apparent effort to avoid the negative publicity that came with Sen. Jim Bunning’s one-man filibuster earlier this...

Senators Fight to Keep Sending Pork Home

Upper chamber unlikely to follow House's lead on earmarks

(Newser) - House members may be pushing earmark reform, but many of their Senate colleagues refuse to let go without a fight—in fact, Politico notes, it may be the one issue on which senators from both parties can agree on. Lawmakers from both sides argue that the money would be spent...

Reconciliation Will Make Senate Less Human
 Reconciliation Will Make Senate Less Human
DAVID BROOKS
Mar 16, 2010 4:50 AM CDT

Reconciliation Will Make Senate Less Human

Partisan reconciliation will turn Senate into House, predicts David Brooks

(Newser) - Using reconciliation to push health care through will turn the Senate into a crude, partisan arena much like the House, argues David Brooks. Once a place where alliances were formed between individual lawmakers, the Senate used to reflect the human sympathy seen in one-on-one relationships; a party-line vote will reduce...

Obama: Cut Pork From Health Bill. Senate: Say What?

Prez gets pushback from senators looking to hang on to pet projects

(Newser) - There's $600 million in Medicaid payments to Vermont, $100 million for a Connecticut hospital, and the infamous "Cornhusker Kickback," among others, and President Obama wants to yank those porky projects from the health care bill. Democratic senators, being senators, beg to differ. "We're going to do what...

GOP: Obama Must Sign Health Measure Before Reconciliation
GOP: Obama Must Sign Health Measure Before Reconciliation
PER PARLIAMENTARIAN
Mar 11, 2010 8:17 PM CST

GOP: Obama Must Sign Health Measure Before Reconciliation

And Senate's bill, which House Dems dislike

(Newser) - There looks to be a pretty substantial wrinkle in congressional Democrats’ plans to pass health-care reform via the simple-majority processes of reconciliation: President Obama would have to sign the Senate version of the bill into law before the House and Senate versions could be reconciled into one. That’s the...

Bunning Cuts Deal, Ends Jobless Filibuster
Bunning Cuts Deal, Ends Jobless Filibuster
UPDATED
Mar 2, 2010 8:54 PM CST

Bunning Cuts Deal, Ends Jobless Filibuster

Benefits will be extended a month; senator can offer amendment

(Newser) - Republican Jim Bunning has agreed to end the one-man filibuster that’s cut unemployment and other benefits to thousands of workers, making a deal with the Senate leaders of both parties tonight. Roll Call reports that Bunning will support a one-month extension of the benefits in return for the Senate...

Obama Will OK Use of Reconciliation on Health Bill

Wants GOP help but will do what's needed

(Newser) - President Obama will tell Democrats tomorrow to use reconciliation to get health-care reform passed if Senate Republicans won’t cooperate, White House sources tell ABC News tonight. That option would allow a previously passed bill to be “fixed” with 51 votes (which the Democrats have) and not a filibuster-proof...

Democrats Lead the Way in Voter Registration
Democrats Lead the Way in Voter Registration
Analysis
Mar 2, 2010 9:39 AM CST

Democrats Lead the Way in Voter Registration

Obama's 2008 effort gives party an edge in 2010 Senate races

(Newser) - Senate Democrats have a silver lining heading into the 2010 election: their party’s made huge gains in voter registration. The last time this crop of senators was on the ballot was 2004, when George W. Bush’s field operation, then the most sophisticated ever, was registering hordes of Republicans....

Ford Won't Run for NY Senate Seat After All

Tenn. transplant changes mind on challenge to Gillibrand

(Newser) - Harold Ford Jr., the former congressman and political commentator who’s been making waves in New York political circles since moving from Tennessee, won’t challenge fellow Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand for her US Senate seat after all. “I heard from Harold Ford and he has decided not to run,...

Score One for Jim Bunning
Score One for Jim Bunning
ANALYSIS
Feb 26, 2010 9:35 PM CST

Score One for Jim Bunning

Solo filibuster works: Senate Dems adjourn without extending jobless benefits

(Newser) - Republican Jim Bunning’s one-man filibuster, intended to force Democrats to account for the money that would extend by 30 days unemployment benefits for 1.2 million, looks to have worked, with the Senate adjourning for the weekend without passing the extension. Jobless and COBRA payments thus expire Sunday, Chris...

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