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Archive: 2010 December
Senate Ratifies New START Treaty
By a vote of 71 to 26, the Senate has ratified the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) during its current lame-duck session. All 58 Democrats voted for the treaty, in addition to 13 Republicans (three Republicans were not present for the vote). While the outcome had been in doubt for weeks, if not months, in the end Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was able to get more than the 67 votes necessary to ensure passage.
President Signs Tax Cut Deal
On December 17, President Obama signed legislation extending the Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans for two years and emergency unemployment insurance for 18 months. Although the agreement struck by President Obama and the Republican congressional leaders initially met with substantial criticism, primarily from House Democrats, the legislation ultimately passed easily, 81 to 19 in the Senate and 277 to 148 in the House. The January 2011 Congressional Digest covers the debate leading up to these votes, during which Congress considered proposals to let the tax cuts expire only for the highest-income taxpayers.
In his remarks at the signing ceremony, the President said, “Over the course of 2011, 155 million workers will receive tax relief from the new payroll tax cut included in this bill — about $1,000 for the average family … real money that’s going to make a real difference in people’s lives.” The White House posted a summary of the new law’s provisions on its website.
Although the issue is settled for now, the provisions of the package — including a Social Security tax “holiday,” estate tax cuts, and various business tax incentives — are temporary, so there will be ample opportunity for Congress to rehash the pros and cons of the agreement over the next two years. The President has signaled his intent to propose a broad overhaul of the tax code next year — in which case that debate may come sooner rather than later.
Update on 2010 Legislative Topics
Congressional Digest covered 10 important domestic issues in 2010, from consumer financial protection to child nutrition. Some of those topics – such as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the DREAM Act immigration bill – are still being hotly debated during the final days of the session. Here’s an update on all these issues as the 111th Conngress winds down.
Obama signs new bill banning crush videos
Last April, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 1999 Federal law banning the creation, sale, or possession of depictions of animal cruelty as a violation of the constitutional right to free speech. Shortly after the decision, the original law’s main advocate, Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA), pledged to quickly introduce a new, more narrowly crafted measure. In July, the House passed his new bill by vote of 416 to 3. In November, the Senate unanimously approved it. Last Thursday, with Gallegly at his side, President Obama signed the Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Animal Crush Videos Act of 2010 into law.
Child Nutrition Bill Goes to President’s Desk
One of the first bills to pass the lame-duck session of Congress was S. 3307, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, reauthorizing and expanding child nutrition programs. With the House agreeing to the Senate-passed bill, the measure now goes to the White House for the President’s signature. Although it passed the Senate unanimously in August and the House by a substantial margin (264-157) on December 2, the legislation was not without controversy, especially with regard to funding (see “Child Nutrition,” Congressional Digest, December 2010).
Pentagon Releases “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Report
On November 30, the Defense Department released its long-awaited Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Issues Associated with a Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The report details the results of a survey of service members about their attitudes toward changing the current Pentagon policy on homosexuals serving in the armed forces (see “Gays in the Military,” Congressional Digest, April 2010).