Pelosi sours on Senate
By Mike Soraghan and Manu Raju
October 17, 2007
Frustrated by lack of legislative progress in the Senate, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is increasingly touting Democratic achievements in the House.
Her statements represent a significant shift from the stance she took six months ago. In March, the Speaker celebrated the first 100 days of the congressional majority by stating, “Democrats have brought the winds of change to the Capitol.”
These days, she’s confined to claiming those winds are blowing on her side of the building. In the minds of her caucus members, the Senate is in the doldrums and House members are paying the price for Senate inaction on Democratic priorities.
When pressed on the slow progress of spending bills during ABC’s Sunday morning talk show “This Week,” Pelosi passed the buck to the Senate, saying, “In the House we’ve passed every one of our bills.”
The change in talking points at the top reflects a deepening frustration among House Democrats, who are irritated with lack of progress in the Senate and are starting to publicly press their Senate counterparts to stop letting Republicans use procedural tactics and instead force Republicans to carry out a filibuster, if that’s what it takes.
Pelosi’s shift in rhetoric is also strategic. There are 61 House Democrats serving in districts that President Bush carried in 2004, and many will face challenging reelection races. Senate Democrats have less to worry about as only a couple of them are considered serious targets this cycle.
“I think it would be important for the American people to get a more concrete understanding of the lengths Republicans will go to in order to hold these things up,” said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
The comments also signal a growing unease within the House Democratic Caucus about the difficulty Senate Democrats are having in attracting sufficient GOP support for controversial bills. The Senate gridlock is undermining Democrats’ ability to tout the first Democratic-controlled Congress since 1994 and is playing a role in the public’s disapproval of the legislative branch.
“It seems like the only way to do things is the Senate way,” Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) said.
Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), said, “Sen. Reid understands their frustration, he’s frustrated as well.”
Manley said that Republicans have threatened 48 filibusters, which he added was on pace to break a 2-year record of 61.
House Democrats emphasize that they voted to bring troops home from Iraq, finished their spending bills on time and passed an ambitious children’s health insurance plan. The Senate not only failed to pass an Iraq withdrawal bill, it came up short in trying to win over Republicans to support a plan that would have given troops more training and rest time. And the realities of the Senate forced House Democrats to scale back their plans to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) from a nearly $50 billion-boost to the program to about a $35-billion increase over five years.
“Our leadership’s caution is dictated by the Senate,” said Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.).
Looking ahead, Democrats in the lower chamber see more unpalatable compromises on issues like tax policy, where they are disappointed to see their goals in the hands of cautious centrist Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.). House Democrats say on tax issues, they are constantly told that nothing can get off the ground unless nine or 10 Republican senators will agree to it.
“Everybody says, ‘What can we get in the Senate?’” explains Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.). “So we have to go over to Max Baucus with hat in hand.”
Senate Democrats claim they have made substantial progress, pointing to their ability to push through a sweeping package of ethics reforms, implementation of the 9/11 Commission recommendations and an increase to the minimum wage as well as plans to send at least one of the 12 annual appropriations bills to Bush as early as this week.
Also, Senate Democrats note they — unlike the House — have the votes to overturn Bush’s veto on the SCHIP legislation.
Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), who sits on the Finance Committee, said Senate Democrats were prepared to expand the SCHIP program further but recognized that it had to be trimmed in order to secure enough votes for passage.
“There are different rules and different chambers, and a different political reality that we have to deal with,” Salazar said. “I think what ends up happening is that we play a constraining force on the House of Representatives given our rules and traditions of the Senate.”
But Senate Democrats mostly complain that even on routine matters, such as proceeding to take up a bill, scheduling votes on amendments or naming senators to sit on conference committees, Republicans have objected and forced them to get the 60 votes needed to override objections – a tough task in a chamber where Democrats hold a 51-49 advantage.
“The fact is it’s been hard,” said Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who served in the House from 1980-92 and is now in his party’s leadership team as chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee. “The Republicans have been objecting even to motions to proceed of even to going to appropriations bills, so it’s not been an easy time for us. But we’re getting things done.”
Republicans reject that criticism, maintaining Democrats have been stymied because they are regularly overreaching instead of compromising.
“Let me get this straight: When they were in the minority, it was the majority’s fault when their agenda failed,” said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “And now that they’re in the majority, it’s the minority’s fault? Seriously?”
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) complained last month about a “Republican-controlled Senate” and hasn’t backed down since. He agrees that Senate Democrats should force votes, rather than simply backing down when Republican senators use procedural maneuvers to block legislation.
“If we don’t go to conference, there’s really no need to legislate anyway,” Rangel said. “I do believe if you let them have a couple of filibusters, instead of these agreements, you’d at least know the people’s House is in business.”
But the sentiment is not universal. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) says he’s frustrated with the Senate, too. Yet, he added, “The Senate rules are the Senate’s rules.”
During their 12-year reign from 1995-2006, House Republicans repeatedly criticized the Senate. But now confined to the minority, they have expressed admiration for the Senate GOP’s defensive maneuvers.
Most of the anger that exists in the Democratic Caucus boils down to Iraq. Recognizing the Senate is far short of the 60 votes needed to bring troops home from the war, some House Democrats complain that even on measures that would chip away at Bush’s Iraq strategy, the Senate has been slow to act. For instance, when the House passed a bipartisan bill by a 377-46 vote, ordering Bush to report on his Iraq withdrawal plans, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) signaled he was in no hurry to bring that bill to the floor.
The House overwhelmingly passed legislation in July that would ban permanent bases in Iraq, and roughly three months later, there has been scant action in the Senate on the issue. Similar language is included in the House’s defense spending bill, which is undergoing bicameral talks.
Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) dismissed the House Democrats’ concerns, arguing that had it not been for House opposition in the past, there would already be a law on the books governing security outfits like Blackwater USA, which has come under withering criticism for a recent controversy involving shootings on Iraqi civilians. The House has since followed course, overwhelmingly approving a bill this month to provide more accountability for contractors.
“We’ve been kind of ahead of the curve on that,” Levin said.
thehill.com |
