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Politics : Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator from New York? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: C Kahn who wrote (657)	7/28/1999 11:57:00 AM
From: Les H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3389

I was interjecting in the absurd comments between you and Fred.

To: C Kahn who wrote (657)	7/28/1999 2:41:00 PM
From: Les H	Respond to of 3389

Senate Dems vow GOP will regret Rule XVI decision hillnews.com By Robert Schlesinger In the wake of Monday's reinstatement of Senate Rule XVI, which prohibits non-germane amendments to appropriations bills, Senate Democrats vowed Tuesday to make their Republican counterparts regret their decision. "The first thing we're going to do is to give our Republican friends an opportunity to understand what they've done," said Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.). "We will have a learning process as we understand the rules change." Democrats warned that Senate business will bog down as the rule is enforced and authorizing legislation becomes the target of choice for Democratic amendments. They also made clear they plan to turn Rule XVI against the GOP, using it to call into question environmental riders Republicans have put in appropriations bills. "We're going to try to adjust to the new rules," said Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle (S.D.). Several Democrats said that the day's business had been delayed because of plans by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to make a point of order on an oil royalty amendment sponsored by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas). "We're amused, but we're standing by," Daschle said. "We will see just how this plays out." Another strategy Democrats will pursue will be to amend authorizing legislation. "You're going to see people a lot more stopping any bills that are coming through which are related to bills they want to do stuff on, and amend them" said one Democratic staffer. "It's just going to make passing noncontroversial things harder." In March 1995 Rule XVI was effectively overruled by the GOP in a party-line vote to protect an amendment introduced by Hutchison. Since then Democrats have used the precedent to force their votes on their agenda items by attempting to amend them to appropriations bills. Democrats will attempt to advance their agenda through a parliamentary maneuver known as defense of germaneness. If the companion appropriations bill in the House has any provisions that relate to the proposed amendment, a senator can counter a Rule XVI point of order with the germaneness defense. "If you have a hook at all in the bill, you can offer your amendments and raise the defense of germaneness, which is a 50-vote issue," a Democratic staffer observed. Some Democrats even plan to continue introducing legislative amendments to appropriations bills and force procedural votes. "This does not in any way prohibit the Senate from taking votes on many of these important issues," said another Democratic aide. "The Republicans are going to hide around this procedural maneuver, saying, 'We're not just voting against this minimum wage increase. We're just voting on this point of order.' That's disingenuous, to say the least." Democrats will have to communicate the significance of these votes, the aide noted. "It's just going to make it more incumbent on Democrats to make sure the public knows these procedural votes are in fact significant votes on significant, major issues." Durbin indicated that while he could not speak for other senators, it is a course he would pursue. "They may face procedural roll call [votes] as opposed to roll call [votes] on the merits," he said. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) plans to introduce the minimum wage increase on the tax bill this week, according to a staffer. Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) also said that he would pursue a similar strategy. "For 25 years people have put amendments on appropriations bills and they will continue to do so for the next 25 years," said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). One Democratic aide said that widespread caucus support is expected. "I don't expect to see any diminution of enthusiasm from Democrats in putting the Senate on record," the aide said. "There's no denying that there's significant interest in the caucus in trying to seize the agenda. ... If that's the hand we're dealt, so be it." Not all Democrats favored this approach, however. "If it's going to be ruled out of order, I would be looking for other ways to offer amendments," said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.). "The Senate has just ruled, and there is no point in trying to reverse a rule the Senate has just adopted."