This Week in the People's House8/15/2010
By Bobby Frederick
No one liked having their recess cut short in grade school and the same can be said for the men and women we elect to represent us in Washington.
Many lawmakers cut family vacations short, rescheduled town hall meetings and took a rain check on previously scheduled events to come back to the Nation's Capital to do the job they were elected to do. The most significant vote this week was on the question of whether or not to extend $26.1 billion in state aid that would bolster Medicaid coffers and prevent teacher layoffs.
Convening briefly on Monday, August 9th (first vote at 12:39 p.m. on 8/10) and adjourning on Tuesday, August 10th (last vote at 3:26 p.m.), the House registered 4 votes for the week. For the fifth legislative week in a row, Democrat's cancelled session for Friday. The House was in session for exactly 6 hours.
Current Balance of the House is 433 members: 255 Democrats, 178 Republicans and 2 vacancies (NY-29 & IN-3).
Rule Bills
H.R. 1586- The FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act introduced by Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY)
Don't be fooled by the title, the Senate merely used H.R. 1586 (there is no FAA language in it) as a vehicle for the $26.1 billion Medicaid and teachers funding. They passed this legislation on August 5th, setting the stage for the House to return and act. In a cosmetic embarrassment, leadership forgot to give the bill an actual name.
Quick Summary: Medicaid- $16.1 billion goes towards helping states administer Medicaid. Many governors reportedly had figured in this extra-federal assistance into their budgets and would therefore be forced to cut essential services (i.e. public safety) if the federal government did not step in.
Before the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (popularly referred to as "the stimulus") the minimum federal dollar match for Medicaid programs was 50%. The stimulus raised the minimum to 56% through the end of 2010 and H.R. 1586 would provide for increased rates through June of 2011.
Teacher's Funding- Within 45 days of this bill becoming law, the Department of Education could provide $10 billion to prevent teachers from being laid off.
How do you pay for all of this?: Democrats created a tough policy choice for lawmakers by paying for this new Medicaid and teachers funding through a $11.9 billion cut in the food stamp program and almost $11 billion in tax policy changes, including one often utilized by U.S. based multinational companies. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) ruled that this legislation would reduce the deficit by $1.37 billion over a 10-year period.
The Arguments: During debate, Democrats argued that his funding was necessary to stave of state budget shortfalls and protect the jobs of 160,000 teachers.
Meanwhile,Republicans painted this as a payoff to the teachers unions, an endorsement of a failed stimulus and yet another bailout that prompts the question, "Where will it all end?"
The Vote: The House comfortably passed the Senate Amendments to H.R. 1586 by a vote of 247-161 (Voting YES- 245 D's & 2 R's : Voting NO- 3 D's & 158 R's (25 not voting)). President Obama signed this measure into law just a few hours after House passage.
LAME DUCK
Because Democrats are projected to experience losses in both the House and Senate, chatter has turned to whether or not the Congress will engage in a substantial post-midterm-election lame duck session as a last ditch effort to push through stalled aspects of President Obama's agenda (i.e. an administration official indicated there was the potential to consider climate change in a lame duck session).
Republican Tom Price of Georgia offered a resolution seeking to prevent a lame duck unless a "sudden emergency" occurred, requiring action by Congress. However, this resolution was disposed of by a vote of 236-163 (Voting YES- 235 D's & 1 R : Voting NO- 6 D's & 157 R's (33 not voting)).
Border Funding Suspension
The House passedH.R. 6080, making $600 million in emergency appropriations for border security, introduced by Congressman David Price (D-NC). The measure provides funding for 1,500 border patrol agents and communications equipment with the goal of stifling illegal immigration. The measure passed by voice-vote in the House on August 10th, 1 Senator came back to Washington to usher this through the Senate on August 12th, and President Obama signed the funding into law on August 13th.
The People's House Political Extra!!! (79 days until the 2010 Midterm Elections)
1) This week, the editor in me was forced to think back to the teachings of my old high school football coach who always touted the virtue of sticking together. A sure sign of a team in disarray and fixing to lose, he argued, is a team that fights amongst themselves. If football imitates politics, a number of stories this week spell trouble for Congressional Democrats.
- August 8th, Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) talks about the inevitability of losing seats in the House and points the finger at conservative Democrats- "I think a lot of the House seats we’re going to lose are those who have been the toughest for the Democrats to pull into line — the Democrats that have been the most difficult.”
-August 10th, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs lashes out at the "professional left" -liberals who are critical of President Obama. Gibbs said, "They will be satisfied when we have Canadian healthcare and we've eliminated the pentagon. That's not reality."
-August 14th- Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) urges liberals to take on conservative Democrats in future primaries (if they are in safe districts).
2) Ethics troubles can be fatal to the party in power - just ask Republicans from 2006.
-Facing ethics charges, Democrat Congressman Charles Rangel took to the House floor to defend himself. During the 30 minute appearance (courtesy of our friends at C-SPAN) Rangel remarked, "If I was you I may want me to go away too. I am not going away. I am here." Speaker Nancy Pelosi had reportedly tried to talk Rangel out of the floor appearance.
-Another Democrat facing ethical heat, Maxine Waters (D-CA), gave a 1 hour and 15 minute press conference defending herself against accusations that she used her position to steer TARP money to a bank where her husband owned stock.
3) The Economy, Democrats who've given themselves a chance and the mosque controversy:
-Latest WSJ/NBC poll shows pessimism on the economy and political leaders.
-A look at three conservative democrats who have bettered their chances at re-election by opposing big ticket items on the President's agenda. How do you run in a climate that makes it hard to tout your party's achievements?
-An issue that once was only big among DC and NY pundits jumped to the national forefront on Friday night as President Obama, speaking at a White House Ramadan dinner, defended the right for Muslims to build a Mosque near ground zero. On Saturday, the President appeared to walk-back these comments.
Note: The People's House is in recess until September 14th. However, this People's House will be back at it again next week.
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