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Senate May Cancel July 4 Recess
June 29, 2011 3:23 P.M.
By Andrew Stiles
President Obama's apparent determination to blame Congress for the lack of progress on a deal to raise the debt ceiling may force the Senate to forgo a scheduled recess next week. "If by the end of this week, we have not seen substantial progress, then I think members of Congress need to understand, we are going to, you know, start having to cancel things and stay here until we get it done," the president told reporters at a press conference Wednesday.
How dare Congress look to the White House for leadership, Obama suggested. "I've been here," he said. "They're in one week, they're out one week, and they're saying 'Obama's got to step in.'" (Which he did do ultimately, albeit just last week, and only after Republicans walked out on negotiations led by Vice President Joe Biden.)
If peer pressure from the president does not suffice, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, has once again threatened to block the Senate from adjourning for recess. "Until we work on the budget, on the debt limit, on the people's business we don't have a right to go home and adjourn," said Sessions from the Senate floor. "To do so would be to fail the public once again."
Sessions posed a similar challenge to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) prior to the Memorial Day break, vowing to force members to cast an uncomfortable vote to go on recess. Reid, however, circumvented the challenge by keeping the Senate in pro forma sessions during the break. He could always repeat this course of action, but might think twice now that President Obama has basically deferred all responsibility to Congress when it comes to negotiating a deal on the debt ceiling.
And can you really blame the president for wanting Congress to stick around? As Rep. James Clyburn (D., S.C.) has said, Obama has much better things to do with his time than negotiate a solution to the debt crisis. Like, for example, go on vacation."
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