Grab and Keel

Today’s installment of the continuing saga of H.R. 3950.

We left off on the 8^th with the tabling of the Nelson amendment. In fact,  three additional events occurred on the 8th. The first two items were introduced to the floor but have not been acted upon. They are: The Dorgan modified amendment and a motion by Senator Crapo to commit the bill to the Committee on Finance. The third item was acted upon, and a unanimous agreement was reached to devote a specified time to debate.

(As it reads below, the “Pending” Reid amendment refers to the approved amendment, which ordered  H.R. 3950 to lie on the table and changed it from the home ownership bill to the health reform bill. It is now the bill around which all action is occurring.)

On December 8^th the Daily Digest reported the following:

Pending:

Reid Amendment No. 2786, in the nature of a substitute.

Page S12648

Dorgan Modified Amendment No. 2793 (to Amendment No. 2786), to provide for the importation of prescription drugs.

Pages S12685-88

Crapo motion to commit the bill to the Committee on Finance, with instructions.

Page S12685

A unanimous-consent-time agreement was reached providing for further consideration of the bill at approximately 9:30 a.m., on Wednesday, December 9, 2009, and that following any remarks of the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Finance, or their designees, for up to 10 minutes each, the next two hours be for debate only, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each; the Republicans controlling the first 30 minutes, and the Majority controlling the second 30 minutes; with the remaining time equally divided and used in alternating fashion; provided further, that no amendments are in order during this time.

Page S12742

Measures Considered:

Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act–Agreement: Senate continued consideration of H.R. 3590, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the first-time homebuyers credit in the case of members of the Armed Forces and certain other Federal employees, taking action on the following amendments proposed thereto:

Pages S12745-99

On December 9^th the Daily Digest reported the following:

Pending:

Reid Amendment No. 2786, in the nature of a substitute.

Page S12745

Dorgan Modified Amendment No. 2793 (to Amendment No. 2786), to provide for the importation of prescription drugs.

Pages S12745, S12753-99

Crapo motion to commit the bill to the Committee on Finance, with instructions.

Page S12745

A unanimous-consent-time agreement was reached providing for further consideration of the bill at approximately 10 a.m., on Thursday, December 10, 2009, that following Leader remarks the time until 1 p.m., be for debate only and equally divided, with the time until 11 a.m. controlled between the two Leaders, or their designees; with the remaining time until 1 p.m. controlled in alternating 30-minute blocks of time with the Majority controlling the first block and the Republicans controlling the next block.

Page S12833

As you may have figured out these two days look pretty much identical, except the page numbers are different. That’s where all the rhetoric in the Senate Chamber is occurring. The Daily Digest is recording them. It truly is remarkable that so many mostly men can spend so much time exhorting, day in and day out.

If you want to see what they are saying go HERE.

Look to the right under Floor Schedule and click on the link that says Daily Digest. Scroll down to the part that says:

[Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act–Agreement:  Senate continued consideration of H.R. 3590, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the first-time homebuyers credit in the case of members of the Armed Forces and certain other Federal employees, taking action on the following amendments proposed thereto:

Pages S12745-99]

Click on “Pages s12745-99”.

That takes you to:

Pages S12745-S12799

1 . HEALTH CARE: IMPACT ON SMALL BUSINESS — (Senate – December 09, 2009)

2 . RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME — (Senate – December 09, 2009)

3 . SERVICE MEMBERS HOME OWNERSHIP TAX ACT OF 2009 — (Senate – December 09, 2009)

4 . RECESS — (Senate – December 09, 2009)

5 . SERVICEMEMBERS HOME OWNERSHIP TAX ACT OF 2009–Continued — (Senate – December 09, 2009)

6 . MORNING BUSINESS — (Senate – December 09, 2009)

7 . CLIMATE CHANGE — (Senate – December 09, 2009)

#1, 3 and 5 are the debate indexes. Check them out. For example Senator Graham is on page s12791, and talks about Obama’s mandate to have the debate on C-Span for transparency. He does some finger pointing at Senator Reid’s announcement that Democrats have been working off camera to reach the “broad Consensus” reported yesterday in the media.

Senator McConnell, earlier in the day on page s12744, essentially threatens the Democrats with the recent election in New Jersey:

There is a new development. Just yesterday–just yesterday in my home State–there was a special election for the State senate. Why would that be worthy of commentary on the Senate floor? Let me describe the situation. It is a 3-to-1 Democratic district. Because of State issues, the Democratic State administration was intensely interested in winning that seat. They spent $1 million cumulatively–the candidate, the Democratic State party, and an outside interest group–in support of the Democrat–$1 million on one side of a State senate race in a rural area of my State.

On the other side was a Republican candidate, who was outspent 5 to 1–outspent 5 to 1 in a 3-to-1 Democratic district. The Republican candidate for the State senate won by 12 points. How did that happen? He had one message–one message: oppose the Reid bill, oppose what PELOSI is doing, oppose what the Democrats in Washington are doing.

And on it goes. By the way, the number of proposed amendments to this bill now submitted for review is up to THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY SEVEN!!!

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