Debate LoungeRSS Feed
Author: congress
Congressional Digest in Print
Celebrating 90 years of the Pros and Cons of Congressional debates.
The Next Fiscal Showdown: Raising the Debt Ceiling
With little time to recover from the eleventh-hour budget agreement that averted a government shutdown, Congress will soon be forced backed to the bargaining table as the Nation comes closer to its statutory debt ceiling of $14.3 trillion – the current legal limit on how much money the United States can borrow.
House Votes Against “Net Neutrality”
Overshadowed by the suspense over keeping the government running beyond the April 8 continuing resolution deadline was a House vote that same day on “net neutrality.”
Senate Preserves the Filibuster
Perhaps wary that they might soon find themselves back in the minority, most Democratic senators opted against major reforms in the filibuster rules, settling instead for modest changes in the way the chamber conducts its business. Senate leaders also fashioned a “gentlemen’s agreement” designed to avoid some of the procedural battles that have caused legislative gridlock in recent years.
Obama Nominates a New Solicitor General
On Monday, President Barack Obama nominated White House Deputy Counsel Donald Verrilli Jr. to be U.S. solicitor general. If confirmed by the Senate, Verrilli would take over for Neal Katyal, who is principal deputy solicitor general and has been acting solicitor general since Elena Kagan vacated the office on May 17, 2010, to become a U.S. Supreme Court associate justice.
Westboro Baptist Church Back in the News
Westboro Baptist Church, which has made a name for itself with its controversial high-profile protests of military funerals and a subsequent lawsuit that has reached the U.S. Supreme Court, is once again making headlines. This time, the small Kansas-based church led by Fred W. Phelps, Sr., has threatened to protest the funerals of victims of Tucson, Arizona, gunman Jared Loughner. A last-minute compromise, however, has avoided demonstrations during the first two of the six funerals. Instead, representatives for Westboro church will be given time on two radio talk shows, one based in Phoenix and one nationally syndicated.
February Digest to Examine Filibuster Reform
Democratic and Republican Senate leaders are currently engaged in negotiations regarding proposed changes in Senate rules that would decrease the threat of filibusters and promote bipartisan cooperation. In the wake of the Tucson shootings and the President’s call for more civil discourse, will these negotiations result in changes that are acceptable to both sides and might help alleviate legislative gridlock? The upcoming issue of Congressional Digest will discuss the history and use of the filibuster, and whether or not it should be reformed.
When Will Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Change?
In remarks delivered the December 22 signing ceremony repealing the Defense Department’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, President Obama said that the new law “will strengthen our national security and uphold the ideals that our fighting men and women risk their lives to defend.” The event was the culmination of a 17-year campaign to eliminate the Pentagon’s policy banning homosexuals from serving openly in the military (see “Gays in the Military,” Congressional Digest, April 2010). But when will the policy actually be phased out?
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.