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April 1st, 2008 - Nearly All Accomplishments Are A Result Of Cooperation After Initial Effort By Senate Democrats To Shut Republicans Out
STIMULUS
Democrats Initially Abandoned The Bipartisan Agreement To Push A Partisan Finance Committee Stimulus Bill
REPUBLICAN LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “[I]n an apparent jolt of nostalgia for last year, Senate Democrats decided to co-op a bipartisan proposal produced by the House to put together a carefully crafted political document coming out of the Finance Committee.” (“McConnell Calls for Quick Passage of Bipartisan Economic Growth Package,” Press Release, 02/06/08)
REPUBLICANS OFFER A WAY FORWARD
REPUBLICAN LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “So the way forward is clear, let's defeat the proposal that we know will not be accepted by the House, that we know will not be signed by the President. Modify the House bill. We can call it the Reid-Clinton-Obama bill as far as I’m concerned. Get it back over the to House. We have the assurance that they will take it up, pass it, send it to the President for signature. (“McConnell Calls for Quick Passage of Bipartisan Economic Growth Package,” Press Release, 02/06/08)
DEMOCRATS COMPROMISE AND ABANDON PARTISAN FINANCE COMMITTEE STIMULUS BILL
2007 IN REVIEW
Lobbying Legislation
Democrats Initially Refused To Hold A Vote On Sen. Gregg’s Amendment
SENATOR JUDD GREGG (R-NH): “…Why don't we just vote on this [Gregg] amendment and get it over with? I presume the good leader from the Democratic Party, who is an exceptional leader and does a great job, will probably beat me on this amendment. It will be over in 15 minutes, because he has kept the votes to 15 minutes. And we can wrap this baby up.” (Sen. Gregg, Congressional Record, 01/17/07)
REPUBLICANS OFFER A WAY FORWARD
SENATOR JUDD GREGG (R-NH): “Further, I understand the Majority Leader is aware that I have agreed to withdraw my amendment on this bill, the lobby reform bill, and I will be here Monday to offer my language to the minimum wage bill.” (Sen. Gregg, Congressional Record, 01/18/07)
SENATOR HARRY REID (D-NV): “That is my understanding. The Senator absolutely has that right.” (Sen. Harry Reid, Congressional Record, 01/18/07)
SENATOR JUDD GREGG (R-NH): “Further reserving the right to object, I understand that the majority leader will be unable to reach consent for a time agreement to vote on my amendment; therefore, it is likely that a cloture motion will be filed on my language on Monday. I expect my language to be the first amendment to the bill.” (Sen. Gregg, Congressional Record, 01/18/07)
DEMOCRATS COMPROMISE BY OFFERING TO HOLD VOTE ON GREGG AMENDMENT
SENATOR HARRY REID (D-NV): “It may not be the first, but we have an agreement that it would be following my recognition, the offering of the substitute, and the minority leader, who would be recognized.” (Sen. Harry Reid, Congressional Record, 01/18/07)
Increasing The Federal Minimum Wage
Democrats Initially Refused To Allow A Vote On A Bipartisan Amendment To Provide Tax Relief For Small Business
SENATOR MIKE ENZI (R-WY): “Madam President, for those who have been listening for the last 2 days, the argument has not been about whether we would raise the minimum wage. There seems to be agreement to raise the minimum wage. The difficulty has been how do we take care of some of the impact to small business that will result.” … “This bill could have happened earlier if we had some assurance that there was going to be this tax package.” (Sen. Enzi, Congressional Record, 1/24/07)
REPUBLICANS OFFER A WAY FORWARD
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “The President and the Republican Congress were clear on the need to couple an increase in the minimum wage with small-business tax relief, and this legislation does just that.” (Sen. McConnell, Congressional Record, S.1511, 02/01/07)
DEMOCRATS COMPROMISE BY ADDING TAX RELIEF PACKAGE TO THE BILL
Implementing The Remaining 9/11 Recommendations
Democrats Initially Refused To Eliminate A Dangerous TSA Union Provision From 9/11 Bill
9/11 BILL LANGUISHES IN CONFERENCE FROM FEBRUARY UNTIL JULY
REPUBLICANS OFFER A WAY FORWARD
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “We are not going to let big labor compromise national security. The president has said he will veto a 9/11 bill if it includes collective bargaining. We have the votes to sustain that veto.” (Sen. McConnell, Congressional Record, S.2661, 03/06/07)
DEMOCRATS COMPROMISE BY STRIPPING TSA PROVISION FROM THE BILL
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): “I Further Ask Consent That It Not Be In Order To Consider The Conference Report If It Contains Collective Bargaining Provisions Which I Have Committed To Drop.” (Sen. Reid, Congressional Record, 07/09/07)
Military Supplemental
Democrats Initially Refused To Eliminate A Timetable For Withdrawal From Iraq
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: “[M]embers of the House and the Senate passed a bill that substitutes the opinions of politicians for the judgment of our military commanders. So a few minutes ago, I vetoed this bill.” (Remarks by President George W. Bush, May 1, 2007)
PRESIDENT BUSH VETOES SUPPLEMENTAL WITH WITHDRAWAL DATE
REPUBLICANS OFFER A WAY FORWARD
LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “We need to move past debating a surrender date, pass a bill the President can sign, and get these funds to our troops by Memorial Day.” (Leader McConnell, Press Release, 05/18/07)
DEMOCRATS COMPROMISE BY STRIPPING WITHDRAWAL DATE FROM THE BILL
DES MOINES REGISTER: “The Measure Passed With Bipartisan Support After Language Calling For A Timetable For Troop Withdrawal Was Removed.” (Beaumont Thomas, “Biden Faults Rivals On Iraq Funding,” Des Moines Register, 05/30/07)
Energy Bill
Democrats Initially Attempted To Push Through Tax Increases On Energy Bill
REPUBLICANS OFFER A WAY FORWARD
LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “If the twin millstones are removed, this important bill can pass the Congress this week and be signed into law. But voting for this bill, as written, is a vote for a bill that will not become law. Worse than that, it’s a vote to block the rest of the energy bill. It’s a vote to block historic increases in fuel economy, and an increase in renewable fuels. (Leader McConnell, Congressional Record, 12/13/07)
DEMOCRATS COMPROMISE BY STRIPPING RPS AND TAX INCREASES FROM ENERGY PACKAGE
POLITICO: “Top Republicans, not surprisingly, had a different take. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), said Thursday that the "House bill couldn’t pass the Senate and wouldn’t be signed into law. So we fixed it.” (Martin Kady II, “Dems Take Credit For Energy Bill, Quiet On Dumped Tax Provisions”, Politico, 12/14/07)
Farm Bill
Democrats Initially Prevented Republicans From Offering Amendments
REPUBLICANS OFFER A WAY FORWARD
LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “Now, we all know, I’m sure anybody who's followed the Senate at all knows we're going to pass a farm bill. No question about that. The farm bill is not going to be killed. The issue is whether we're going to have any kind of reasonable process for going forward. And I think getting an amendment list is the first step. I was hoping that we could do that, but apparently that is not the case and I regret that we are where we are. But let me reassure everyone, I don't think there's anybody in the country who thinks we aren't going to pass a farm bill and nobody is going to kill the farm bill. But we’re going to insist on a reasonable procedure for going forward, and with that I yield the floor.” (Leader McConnell, Congressional Record, 11/14/07)
DEMOCRATS COMPROMISE AND AGREE TO 20 AMENDMENTS PER SIDE
LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “Unless we find a common-sense, bipartisan path forward on legislation, we all end up empty handed. But today, we will not have done that. And that, I think, is a good very thing.” (Leader McConnell, Congressional Record, 12/14/07)
Funding Bills
Democrats Initially Attempted To Use The Budget To Defund Troops And Increase Domestic Spending
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: “Congress returns today to face a pile of unfinished work, little time and many White House veto threats. With the budget process at risk of collapsing for the second time in as many years, there is a sense that lawmakers are back to where they started after the 2006 election: divided by Iraq but chasing the dream of a political center from which to govern.” (“Old Tensions Test Congress,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/03/07)
REPUBLICANS OFFER A WAY FORWARD
LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “We need to evaluate this omnibus, and make sure it’s written in a form the President will sign. That means funding for our forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, no excess spending — and no poison pills in the form of politically-motivated policy riders.” (Press Release, 12/17/07)
DEMOCRATS COMPROMISE AND DROP SPENDING AND POLICY RIDERS FROM OMNIBUS
POLITICO: “This much is clear: Democrats in Congress buckled under pressure from the White House to hold spending near the administration’s specified limit, and they’re poised to give the president more war money with no strings attached. But the buckling didn’t stop there. Democratic policy priorities that liberals hoped would be included in the omnibus spending legislation were also left on the cutting-room floor.” (“Liberals lose bigtime in budget battle,” Politico, 12/18/07)
AMT
Democrats Initially Attempted To Push Through Tax Increases
McCLATCHY: “For the first time since 2001, it’s not clear that Congress will pass an annual temporary ‘patch’ in time to prevent the creeping Alternative Minimum Tax from forcing up tax payments for millions of unsuspecting middle-class taxpayers.” (Kevin G. Hall, “Congress Running Out Of Time To Patch The AMT,” McClatchy Newspapers, 11/06/07)
REPUBLICANS OFFER A WAY FORWARD
LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL: “And let me be very clear to my colleagues across the aisle: Republicans will not raise taxes in exchange for blocking a tax that was never meant to be. Our position has never been a secret. Democrats have known it all year.” (Sen. Mitch McConnell, Remarks on the Senate floor, 12/06/07)
DEMOCRATS COMPROMISE BY STRIPPING TAX INCREASES FROM AMT PATCH
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: “Nancy Pelosi and her fellow House Democrats surrendered to reality yesterday, grudgingly handing President Bush and taxpayers another victory. They finally passed a one-year "patch" that will prevent the Alternative Minimum Tax from hitting some 22 million middle-class Americans when they file their 2007 tax returns next year.” (Editorial, "Another Bush Tax Cut," The Wall Street Journal, 12/20/07)
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