Gop Filibuster

After months of keeping a low profile on healthcare, there was Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) on the Don Imus radio show this week, warning that Democrats better not take his vote for granted. Sen. Roland W. Burris, the scandal-plagued freshman Democrat from Illinois, blasted out a news release declaring that he had "emerged as a key player in the healthcare debate." Even Sen. Ben Nelson, the centrist Democrat from Nebraska who has enjoyed months of White House wooing, made a point of reminding a scrum of reporters in the Capitol that he was still uncommitted.

WASHINGTON -- The political battle over President Obama's plan to keep student loan interest rates from skyrocketing escalated as Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic proposal to tax wealthier earners to pay for it. Republicans stopped the effort with a filibuster, even as some in the GOP view this as a politically risky move at a time when middle-class families continue to struggle to afford college. Rates for 7 million new undergraduate student loans are set to double to 6.8% on July 1 if Congress fails to act. The vote was 52-45, failing to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome the GOP filibuster.

Laying out a possible path to approving healthcare legislation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said Wednesday that the House should pass the Senate's version and then use a process known as "budget reconciliation" to make the changes some lawmakers are demanding. The politically fraught strategy might allow Democrats to salvage a version of the overhaul that senior lawmakers pushed through the House and Senate late last year. Because budget reconciliation requires only a simple majority in the Senate, it could enable Democrats to circumvent a threatened GOP filibuster.

After stumbling last week, the effort to end the policy banning gay troops from serving openly in the military received a boost Wednesday, as the House approved a measure repealing the policy in an effort to force the Senate to do the same before lawmakers go home for the holidays. The House vote on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy -- essentially a repeat of a similar vote in May -- puts fresh pressure on the Senate leaders to prioritize the repeal as they struggle to schedule votes on a handful of last-chance priorities for Democrats.

WASHINGTON -- The political battle over President Obama's plan to keep student loan interest rates from skyrocketing escalated as Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic proposal to tax wealthier earners to pay for it. Republicans stopped the effort with a filibuster, even as some in the GOP view this as a politically risky move at a time when middle-class families continue to struggle to afford college. Rates for 7 million new undergraduate student loans are set to double to 6.8% on July 1 if Congress fails to act. The vote was 52-45, failing to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome the GOP filibuster.

Senate leaders withdrew legislation that would have mandated major cuts in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions after falling a dozen votes shy of ending a GOP filibuster. Although the bill enjoyed bipartisan support, the weeklong floor debate devolved into partisan bickering over which party was most responsive to the plight of Americans trying to cope with rising gas prices. The bill would have cut greenhouse gas emissions 18% below 2005 levels by 2020 and nearly 70% by midcentury.

After stumbling last week, the effort to end the policy banning gay troops from serving openly in the military received a boost Wednesday, as the House approved a measure repealing the policy in an effort to force the Senate to do the same before lawmakers go home for the holidays. The House vote on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy -- essentially a repeat of a similar vote in May -- puts fresh pressure on the Senate leaders to prioritize the repeal as they struggle to schedule votes on a handful of last-chance priorities for Democrats.

In response to "The Republicans' Filibuster Lie," Commentary, May 3: Missing from David Greenberg's otherwise excellent analysis of the Republican lie on judicial filibusters is perhaps the ultimate in delicious irony: Bush nominee Richard Allen Griffin, whose ascent to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has been blocked by Democrats, is the son of Republican Sen. Robert P. Griffin, the former Michigan lawmaker who in 1968 led the GOP filibuster opposing...

With the votes in hand to break a GOP filibuster against an extension of jobless benefits, President Obama stepped up pressure Monday on Republicans in an attack that has become a staple of his midterm election political strategy. The Senate plans to vote Tuesday to overcome Republican refusal to vote on new aid to an estimated 2.5 million unemployed Americans whose jobless benefits have lapsed because of the length of time they have been out of work. Once Senate passage of $33.9 billion in extra funds is also approved by the House, a step expected this week, money will begin flowing to jobless workers across the country.

President Obama swooped into Massachusetts on Sunday on a mission to rescue his party's struggling U.S. Senate candidate and prevent the collapse of the Democrats' healthcare overhaul. "Understand what's at stake here," Obama told a spirited crowd of about 1,500 people assembled in a small arena at Northeastern University. "It's whether we're going forwards or going backwards." Massachusetts, which has not elected a Republican to the Senate since the Nixon administration, may have been the last place Obama expected to show up this month.

The Senate on Tuesday advanced the Obama administration's aid package for small business but failed to relieve millions of companies from onerous new tax filings, accelerating the election year debate over which party is most responsible for gridlock in Washington and lost jobs on Main Street. Two Republicans joined Democrats in the vote to move the bill, which includes a $30-billion loan fund and other tax breaks for small businesses. But lawmakers could not reach agreement on a way to spare small businesses from a new requirement to notify the Internal Revenue Service of every purchase of goods worth more than $600.

With the votes in hand to break a GOP filibuster against an extension of jobless benefits, President Obama stepped up pressure Monday on Republicans in an attack that has become a staple of his midterm election political strategy. The Senate plans to vote Tuesday to overcome Republican refusal to vote on new aid to an estimated 2.5 million unemployed Americans whose jobless benefits have lapsed because of the length of time they have been out of work. Once Senate passage of $33.9 billion in extra funds is also approved by the House, a step expected this week, money will begin flowing to jobless workers across the country.

The U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday 60-40 to end a Republican-led filibuster of legislation that would extend unemployment benefits for an estimated 2.5 million Americans. The procedural move sets the stage for a final Senate vote, possibly later Tuesday, and approval in the House on Wednesday. The Senate had failed to pass the extension on three previous attempts since June. Most Republicans have argued that the $33.9 billion measure should be paid for with funds from the Recovery Act. The seating of Carte Goodwin as the new Democratic senator from West Virginia just before the vote supplied the necessary votes to overcome a key procedural hurdle.

On the eve of President Obama's planned healthcare summit, Democratic lawmakers are increasingly confident that they can resurrect their sweeping overhaul legislation after weeks of uncertainty about whether they could overcome the unified opposition of Republicans. Democratic leaders, who have struggled to find a way to unify their own ranks, have settled on a strategy to avoid a Republican filibuster by convincing wary House Democrats to pass unchanged the healthcare bill approved by the Senate last year and send it directly to Obama for his signature.

President Obama and the Democrats relinquished a crucial Senate seat Thursday as Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts was sworn in to replace the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Republicans gleefully welcomed Brown, whose presence as the 41st GOP vote will make it much easier for them to delay or alter initiatives they oppose -- including the healthcare overhaul that has stalled ever since his upset victory last month. "This was a high-profile election," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.

Laying out a possible path to approving healthcare legislation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said Wednesday that the House should pass the Senate's version and then use a process known as "budget reconciliation" to make the changes some lawmakers are demanding. The politically fraught strategy might allow Democrats to salvage a version of the overhaul that senior lawmakers pushed through the House and Senate late last year. Because budget reconciliation requires only a simple majority in the Senate, it could enable Democrats to circumvent a threatened GOP filibuster.

The Senate on Tuesday advanced the Obama administration's aid package for small business but failed to relieve millions of companies from onerous new tax filings, accelerating the election year debate over which party is most responsible for gridlock in Washington and lost jobs on Main Street. Two Republicans joined Democrats in the vote to move the bill, which includes a $30-billion loan fund and other tax breaks for small businesses. But lawmakers could not reach agreement on a way to spare small businesses from a new requirement to notify the Internal Revenue Service of every purchase of goods worth more than $600.

Senate Republicans mounted a filibuster today to block a vote on a humanitarian aid package for the Contras, and Senate Democratic leader Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia retaliated by threatening to cut short Congress' summer vacation.

President Obama swooped into Massachusetts on Sunday on a mission to rescue his party's struggling U.S. Senate candidate and prevent the collapse of the Democrats' healthcare overhaul. "Understand what's at stake here," Obama told a spirited crowd of about 1,500 people assembled in a small arena at Northeastern University. "It's whether we're going forwards or going backwards." Massachusetts, which has not elected a Republican to the Senate since the Nixon administration, may have been the last place Obama expected to show up this month.

After a dramatic month of sometimes round-the-clock negotiating and deal-making, Senate Democrats came together Saturday behind sweeping healthcare legislation, providing a powerful boost for President Obama's top domestic policy goal. The breakthrough came after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and his lieutenants engineered a delicately crafted compromise to prevent federal funding of abortions, the same issue that nearly stopped the House from passing its healthcare bill six weeks ago. With the deal, Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, a strong opponent of abortion, became the 60th and crucial last member of the Democratic caucus to line up behind the healthcare legislation.