Tag Archives: Senate

Clinton in New Zealand / Help for Haiti / The World’s Small Farms

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton continues her Asia Pacific trip, stopping in New Zealand. The U.S. is helping Haiti deal with nature’s latest onslaught. We’ve got two reports on the U.S. congressional elections, one looking at the balance of power in the Senate and another at its impact on President Obama’s agenda. On the eve of President Obama’s trip to India, there is a call for a renewed U.S.-India partnership. Indonesia has become a test bed for entrepreneurship. And finally, in agriculture, there is a focus on small farms.

U.S., New Zealand Sign Accord
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray Stuart McCully signed The Wellington Declaration to enhance the partnership between the nations. The agreement is designed to address a variety of issues including nuclear nonproliferation, counterterrorism and climate change. “This Wellington Declaration makes it clear that we want to cooperate across the board in every aspect of our civilian efforts and our military as well,” says Clinton.

U.S. to Provide Storm Relief in Haiti
The United States has supported the Haitian government’s response to Tropical Storm Tomas by prepositioning relief supplies for 125,000. An official said U.S. relief supplies are stockpiled in several areas of the country and they are able to get these supplies out quickly to those in need.

Democrats Keep Senate Gavel
The results of U.S. midterm elections will shift the composition of the Senate a bit to the right as Republicans gain seats, but Democrats will retain control of the chamber when the next Congress convenes. The Democrats will control at least 53 of the Senate’s 100 seats, with the outcome of the race in Alaska yet to be determined.

After Election, No Shift in U.S. Foreign Policy
Republican gains in the November 2 congressional elections will present new challenges for President Obama and his legislative agenda, but his foreign policy objectives are not expected to change.

McCain: Expand U.S.-India Ties
Senator John McCain says the U.S.-India strategic partnership, substantial though it is, should be expanded greatly in coming years for the benefit of both countries and the Asia-Pacific region. “The potential to expand our partnership is immense,” McCain said on the eve of President Obama’s state visit to India.

Indonesia’s Entrepreneurs
As Indonesia gets ready to welcome President Obama November 9, the country already has become a test bed for his administration’s efforts to promote entrepreneurship. Indonesian entrepreneurs have formed the Global Enterprise Program Indonesia, which launches in Jakarta in mid-November as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week.

New Tools Boost Small Farms
Agribusinesses are designing tools to help smallholder farmers in countries seeking to produce more food. Such measures may slow down a predicted food shortage in years ahead, as the world’s population continues to grow, especially in regions like Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. At right, an Indian farmer heads to work on a tractor designed for use on small plots.

Laws and Sausages

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U.S. Capitol BuildingWho knew the U.S. Congress was so exciting? This is my initial reaction after following news coverage of health care reform’s laborious march from the Senate and House to President Obama’s desk, back to the Capitol Hill and then back again to the White House for another presidential signature. The run-up to the March 20 vote in the House contained nearly as many cliffhangers as a decent novel. Will the Democratic House members get the magic 216 votes needed to pass the bill? Who is twisting whose arm and what, if anything is being promised behind closed doors? Will Republican amendments sidetrack the legislation or create a inescapable deadlock? What does “deem and pass” mean anyway? And did you know the U.S. Senate has a parliamentarian?

So which analogy for Congressional procedure seems more apt: a sports contest or a well choreographed dance?

Another fascinating example I just learned about: the “two hour” rule (number 26 in the Standing Rules of the Senate), which can cause Senate committee activity to effectively shut down after two hours based upon the objection of just one member. In their anger at the passage of health care reform, Republican members employed rule 26 in order to force the cancellation of scheduled committee hearings for two days.

Democratic Senator Carl Levin appeared to be pleading as he tried to convene the Senate Arms Services Committee to discuss North Korea on March 24. “We have three commanders scheduled to testify this afternoon. They’ve been scheduled for a long time. They’ve come a long, long distance,” Levin said, from posts as far away as Korea and Hawaii. “I would, therefore, ask unanimous consent that the previously scheduled and currently scheduled hearing … be allowed to proceed.” Fellow committee member and Republican Senator Richard Burr replied that while he had “no personal objection” to continuing the planned hearing, “there is objection on our side of the aisle. Therefore, I would have to object.”

And with that, afternoon work ground to a halt. Also canceled: an oversight hearing on police training contracts in Afghanistan, a hearing on the cause of western U.S. forest fires, two judicial nominations, and a hearing on medical prescriptions for nursing home patients.

As I discover new intricacies to the American legislative process, I am coming to the conclusion that the key to being a good Member of Congress must be an encyclopedic knowledge of the rule books so one is as well armed as they can be with strategies and tactics to move legislation forward or block it, depending upon the ultimate goal.

Do these little known rules make our legislative process too complex or subject to pettiness? Or do they provide individual Senators and Representatives with necessary tools to make more of a personal impact in the process, rather than just being counted in a “yea” or “nay” vote tally?

As 19th century German statesman Otto von Bismarck reportedly said, “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.”

Obama welcomes newest Senator

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More than seven months after Election Day, a disputed Senate contest in Minnesota has been settled. After months of recounts and legal challenges, the state’s supreme court has ruled that Democrat Al Franken won the election. His opponent, Norm Coleman has conceded.

Franken’s arrival in the Senate will mean Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents will hold 60 of the 100 Senate seats. Sixty votes are needed to break a filibuster, a parliamentary procedure that allows senators to continue a debate indefinitely and block or delay a vote on a measure or nomination. While some presidential supporters may hope that sixty Senate votes will allow Obama to get more of his legislation passed, the reality is that all sixty senators do not often hold the same views nor do they all vote the same way.

In a statement, President Obama said he looks “forward to working with Senator-Elect Franken to build a new foundation for growth and prosperity by lowering health care costs and investing in the kind of clean energy jobs and industries that will help America lead in the 21st century.”