I wrote yesterday about how proud I was when Charlie Grown Schumer finally kicked Lucy McConnell right in the ass as she held that football. That was long overdue. But I became even more proud when I heard not only Schumer, but also Richard Blumenthal and Cory Booker almost gleefully rubbing their hands about hw they were going to get things done for the American people, and the heck with McConnell and the GOP.
And this is critical, because the Democrats backs are against the wall. After four nightmare years under Trump, the Democrats fell in line behind Biden even if he wasn’t their top choice. Jim Clyburn personally vouched for Biden, and Biden made promises it’s time to cash. If Biden wants to maintain control for the second half of his first term, inactivity is not an option.
For most of the economic packages, including Covid relief and infrastructure, the Democrats are counting on using reconciliation. It is normally used to merge two bills dealing with similar issues into one. It isn’t used that often because it requires that the bills deal with spending or taxation, but not the deficit. Reconciliation is how Obama got the ACA done, as well as Trump’s tax boondoggle.
Very briefly. Nancy Pelosi basically passes the Covid relief bill as Biden wrote it, ramming it home on a straight party vote. Filibuster or no, that will never pass the Senate, so Schumer passes a Covid Lite bill, giving everybody their $1400, and extending federal unemployment assistance through September. That bill fails in the House.
Here comes reconciliation. Both sides in both chambers will appoint negotiators to go into a big conference room, with an industrial strength grinder, and make one clean sausage out of all of this mess. And here’s the important part. Because the Democrats control both the House and the Senate, they will have more members, breaking ties in their favor, and making sure that a whole lot more of what the Democrats want gets into the final bill.
The bill that comes out of that committee is a stand alone bill. While it can be debated and argued on the floor in both chambers, no amendments may be offered, and nothing may be deleted. It will be voted on as it came out of committee. And since an original bill passed the Senate, there is no cloture for reconciliation bills, meaning no filibuster. A simple majority is all that is needed to pass it through the Senate.
I gave this quick tutorial for a reason. By the time that His Lowness’ 2nd impeachment trial is over, Schumer will do something to reform the filibuster in the Senate, making it possible for the GOP to slow down, but not bury legislation with that tactic. And then, you’re going to see a whole shit load of reconciliation, so that Biden can quickly make good on as many of his promises as possible, showing that the Democrats can govern, and deliver on their promises. But legislation does not live on spending and taxes alone, and not every bill contains the requisite items for reconciliation. And I’ll deal with Schumer’s likely strategy for passing that stuff in part two.
If you enjoyed this article, you might also like to check out President Evil, and the sequel, President Evil II, A Clodwork Orange . They comprise a pretty much daily report from the front of the 2016 GOP primaries, as well as the general election
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Well, hope they don’t forgot about Post Office and its 75 year requirement for pension money. And have a “normal” time. Whatever that is. 10-15 years? Then, just see what that does for the Post Offices finances. That and getting rid of the board that recommended DeJoy for Postmaster General.
This would in effect be a step towards a return to what in the legislative process is called Regular Order. Of course, this would be Lite, or limited (or both) version because unless I’m mistaken there is a limit to the number of times the reconciliation process can be used in a given year. Or Congress (IOW two years) Maybe Schumer or someone else found a way around this and that’s what he told McConnell late in the day when that Maddow interview was going to air, and McConnell gulped (and cursed himself for not thinking of it!) and grabbed on (HARD) to at least having equal representation on committees (albeit with Democrats chairing them all) instead of always being outnumbered. That would at least allow a lot of bills to get modified more by the GOP in the committee process.
Here’s the thing though. In the late John McCain’s last address to the Congress he implored them to return to Regular Order. For those who have forgotten, that means the old-fashioned way of a bill being introduced in one chamber or the other, or simultaneously being introduced in both and that bill being sent to appropriate committees for review. And, just as importantly for the chamber’s RULES committees to set the terms for consideration and debate. That committee process includes hearings, and from one side at least (our of course) hearing from actual experts on the topic(s) the bill covers and interaction with the administration. If only one chamber passes a bill and sends it over to the other they will start with that bill but still go through the process. Inevitably there will be differences in the versions of the bill passed be each chamber and so a Conference Committee is formed to work out language that will be acceptable to both chambers and then each takes a vote on the bill the Conference Committee reports out.
It’s a time consuming process to be sure but history teaches us it yields better legislation more often than what’s become the norm. Nowdays a handful (and I mean very few people indeed – sometimes only a few) like the Speaker, Majority Leader (although Yertle abdicated last year) and either the President or his (someday her) designee agree on the main points, a massive bill is written up (which allows for all kinds of mischief) and the legislators have to vote on the thing without ever having any say on it. Sometimes they literally don’t even have time to read it (or have their staff do so). Hell, sometimes the ink isn’t even dry!
It’s not as though sometimes there aren’t emergencies where things have to move fast – light speed compared to Regular Order. But it’s hard to point out a situation where when a true emergency requires action on a national matter within days that the “Leaders work out a deal and stick it in front of the House and Senate” arises. Covid, a literal once in a century matter comes to mind where swift action on a wide range of things that had to be done & right away is I concede an exception. One could credibly argue the financial meltdown in 2008 was another. So I guess my original thought on this might not be so accurate but I WILL stand firm that even when circumstances require massive action on a massive problem and RIGHT NOW even when the main points are agreed upon by all that process of writing the actual bill gets screwed with behind the scenes and plenty of unsavory stuff gets written in. And passed into law. Because there wasn’t time for even the leaders who made the deal to have their staffs take various sections and comb through them to find the “what the hell is THIS shit so-and-so from the other side is trying to sneak by everyone!” stuff and yank it out.
Regular Order doesn’t stop this. But back in the day it more often than not forced those who wanted to hang some pork on to a bill to do a lot of horse trading to get their “rider” attached to a bill important enough that it would pass despite such things. That made legislators actually work together and build enough trust that they could count of favors being returned. Those days are gone and we need to get them back. Which brings me back to my original point which is that if Schumer has found and more importantly intends (as your article suggests) to USE it (and often) then it’s a step in the right direction back towards doing things they way they should be done.
In the meantime, given what we’ve had to put up with from McConnell I’m cool with Schumer proverbially slapping him upside the head with a big ole slimy fish. Or eel! Publicly. You know what? Their cowardice r.e. impeachment and conviction notwithstanding I’m guessing the bulk of the GOP caucus that could have secured a nice legacy in their home states (and maybe beyond) had McConnell not been so obstinate long before Trump (you know – passing stuff most people in the country wanted but with some extra goodies for their own constituents they could brag about) and even all the judges and that tax cut haven’t been worth what happened on Jan. 6. It wasn’t like they didn’t fear things might come to something like that some day. But “some day” has actually happened and they & in many cases some of their loved ones came perilously close to becoming victims of a riotous mob of domestic terrorists hell bent on insurrection. We’ll see how it all shakes out but my final thought is that if Schumer intends to go the reconciliation route and only gets to do so once this year then USE the fact that time is short and the problems are HUGE and wide ranging. And go WAY bigger than what’s currently being talked about.
Grea,t well considered comment Denis.
Bring in the Brute Squad.
THANKS MURF great tutorial.. it will be fun to watch.. We may need a scorecard.
PS LOVE THE NEW LOOK … saw the comment above about Troll . Will look for more info.. Haven’t read all pieces up today yet.
I’m getting a schoolhouse crush on Badass Biden