Senate Still Voting on Reconciliation at 1:00 am

By Jeralyn, Section Legislation
Posted on Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 12:02:05 AM EST
Tags: health care legislation (all tags)

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It's 1:00 a.m., do you know where your Senator is? Voting in the Senate to table the GOP amendments to the Reconciliation health care bill.

Watching on C-Span, it seems like they are all there. The latest defeat: The Bunning amendment, which would have allowed seniors to opt-out of Medicare Part A. 97 voted, it was killed 61 to 36.

If you have insomnia tonight, you can follow along on C-Span, they could be going all night. An "aye" vote is to kill (table) the Amendment.

On to the next one. Chuck Grassley. It wants to delay some provision by 30 days. Republicans are so silly. Max Baucus says it's designed to send the whole bill back to the House. Here comes the vote, all 100 names will be read out loud again.

The New York Times has a late report here.

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Senate Still Voting on Reconciliation at 1:00 am | 13 comments (13 topical)

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That's my translation (5.00 / 1) (#1)
by CoralGables on Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 12:30:34 AM EST

If any amendment passes the entire bill gets sent back to the House to be voted on again, so the GOP will keep throwing them up there hoping for a winner.

Mobile Mammography Federal Fuel... (none / 0) (#7)
by squeaky on Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 01:39:05 AM EST

Urging adoption of an amendment to exempt mobile mammography units from paying a federal fuel tax, Senator David Vitter, Republican of Louisiana, suggested that his party had found a parliamentary issue that would force Democrats to send the package of changes to their health care legislation back to the House for one more vote.
"This reconciliation bill is already going back to the House," Mr. Vitter said.

The alliteration amendment, as it is also known.. so catchy that is has to pass..


Failed (none / 0) (#9)
by CoralGables on Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 01:44:05 AM EST

: Wha? (none / 0) (#10)
by squeaky on Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 02:01:10 AM EST

Now if Vitter's Mobile Mammography amendment had only included a mobile masturbation mirror and included a fine for Pleonastic Prosthetics per Prostitute, it would have easily passed...

2AM (5.00 / 1) (#2)
by CoralGables on Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 01:11:09 AM EST

on the East Coast and they are still wobbling along. They can't keep this up much longer as some aren't even sure how they voted and have to ask.

While they are getting nowhere slowly, it's nice to see they can actually work even if it looks to be meaningless work.

They get through the 2 minute debate and the voting (and rejection) on each motion in about 25 minutes.

2:15 (5.00 / 2) (#3)
by CoralGables on Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 01:16:29 AM EST

and Al Franken takes the chair. We have some early morning life again. He's one of the few that look awake.

Taxpayers Money At Work (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by squeaky on Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 01:22:16 AM EST

Coburne erectile dysfunction bill killed...
Mr. Coburn, arguing for his amendment, said it was a step intended to save taxpayers' money. The proposal, he said, "creates a prohibition so that erectile dysfunction drugs are not paid for by the American taxpayers" for "convicted rapists" and "pedophiles in this country."...
...The Senate voted to kill the amendment, by 57 to 42. All 57 votes in favor of dismissing the amendment were by Democrats, while two Democrats joined 40 Republicans in supporting Mr. Coburn's proposal. They were Senators Evan Bayh of Indiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

Now if he only had the good sense to prohibit taxpayer money going to finger splints for those convicted of shootings, or dental work for those convicted of biting, and added language also excluding erectile dysfunction drugs for Congressmen caught in sex scandals with prostitutes, pages, or undercover police, he may have gotten enough Democrats to pass the amendment...

Shame on you (5.00 / 2) (#5)
by CoralGables on Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 01:25:04 AM EST

Some GOP Senator reading TL just got an idea for three more possible Amendments.


Well I Gots More (none / 0) (#6)
by squeaky on Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 01:32:52 AM EST

As digby says:

I hope Reid keeps them there all night. After listening to these idiots drone on and on about the horrors of abusing the rules of the Senate, this nonsense is just embarrassing.
They are clowns. Evil clowns.

A couple of them (none / 0) (#8)
by CoralGables on Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 01:43:02 AM EST

might be reasonably decent. But if they were sincere about them they would bring them up as a separate bill sometime rather than just using them as possible poison pills.

They are calling it quits for the night.


: TOo Bad (none / 0) (#11)
by squeaky on Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 02:04:40 AM EST

I was eager to see the Republicans making up amendments on the spot, with no sleep... would have been entertaining...

David Vitter would (none / 0) (#13)
by Socraticsilence on Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 01:36:05 PM EST

have made a strong principled and in no way self-serving stand to kill that last idea "for the good of America."


House has to vote again (none / 0) (#12)
by jbindc on Thu Mar 25, 2010 at 05:00:43 AM EST

Ended around 2:45 and they found two provisions that have to go back to the House. Going to reconvene at 9:45 and keep going.

But after hours, the Republicans found two minor provisions related to higher education that violate Senate procedure. These provisions have to be removed from bill, and then it has to be voted on by the House again, said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.