Congress: Bubba's message
Posted: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 9:14 AM by Mark Murray
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Congress
Per The Hill, here was Bill Clinton’s message to Senate Democrats yesterday: "The worst thing we can do is nothing." More: "Clinton called on Democrats to be ready to compromise, something his administration was criticized for not doing in 1993 and 1994. By contrast, Obama has been flexible -- some critics say too flexible -- on the ingredients of the bill he hopes to sign into law."
More from the New York Times: “‘It’s not important to be perfect here,’ Mr. Clinton said, recounting his comments to reporters after the lunch. ‘It’s important to act, to move, to start the ball rolling, to claim the evident advantages that all these plans agree with, and whatever they can get the votes for I’m going to support.’ He added, ‘I think it is good politics to pass this and to pass it as soon as they can.’”
Meanwhile, "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) got the ball rolling on the health care reform debate Tuesday night by starting the process for putting the House-passed bill on the official Senate calendar," Roll Call says.
The Wall Street Journal looks at how Republicans overall have become more conservative on abortion, by virtue of having fewer moderates in its caucus. In May 2001, President George W. Bush signed an executive order banning U.S. foreign assistance to overseas groups that performed abortions or supported abortion rights. “Thirty-three Republicans in 2001 broke with their party to oppose the overseas ban. On Saturday, by comparison, no Republicans crossed the aisle on the abortion vote. The difference? Of the 33 Republicans who opposed the ban in 2001, 26 have since retired or been ousted from office. Nearly all were replaced by Democrats, with the heaviest shift coming in states like New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.”
Sen. Chris Dodd is not just rolling over for the White House on regulatory reform; perhaps he's got an eye toward a certain date in November 2010, election, er, re-election day? "The plan by Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) would shatter the existing regulatory structure, installing a new federal banking authority to take the place of four agencies, a bold step the Obama administration declined to take."
More: "But Dodd's decision to offer a plan significantly different from legislation moving through the House further complicates White House efforts to pass an overhaul by year's end, efforts already hampered by Republican opposition. It also promises to ratchet up the intense lobbying on Capitol Hill over the most far-reaching changes to financial rules since the Great Depression.
The AP says the bill proposes stripping “the Federal Reserve of its supervisory powers and creating instead three federal agencies to police banks, protect consumers, and dismantle failing institutions. The 1,136-page bill … would represent a significant shift in power in federal oversight of the US market. The Fed has been a dominant figure in managing the economy, although many lawmakers blame the central bank for not doing enough to prevent last year’s crisis."
The Washington Post gets into the legislative maneuvering. "If he can persuade a majority of Senate Democrats to sign on to his proposal, his vision for regulatory reform could prove tough to derail. While the House is also considering a bill on financial regulation, the Senate debate could be decisive because its final version would be more difficult to change given the challenge of garnering the necessary votes there."
A second stimulus? "Senate Democrats will take up a new job-creation bill in the wake of the 10.2 percent unemployment rate, Majority Leader Harry Reid told his colleagues Tuesday. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) told The Hill that Reid (D-Nev.) made the announcement about a new jobs bill at the Senate Democrats’ weekly lunch."
