TWICFEB2

The 109th Congress failed for the first time in recent history to pass all appropriation bills prior to adjournment in December 2006 although the House of Representatives passed all spending measures with the exception of the one for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education.

The Senate completed work on three bills, Defense Appropriations and Authorizations, Homeland Security and Military Construction all of which were signed into law by the president with the exception of the Construction bill that never progressed to the House-Senate conference over details.

Senate committees marked up the remaining 9 bills but, after the November 2006 elections, the 109th leadership decided not to use the remaining seven weeks until January 1, 2007 to pass the rest. The 109th leadership returned after the elections for about one week and then retired the 109th Congress on December 8, 2006. Members passed a continuing resolution that would fund the federal government at the previous fiscal year 2006 levels passed in 2005. That continuing resolution, HJR 102, was set to expire on February 17, 2007. HJR 102 also froze the congressional pay raise.

This Continuing Resolution does three things: it sets spending until the end of the current fiscal year, September 30, 2007 at levels approved in 2005 for fiscal year 2006, the most recent year Congress passed all spending bills; it removes earmark funding placed in the bills by the 109th Congress and it increases and decreases spending on specific programs.

{Earmarks in the 109th Congress were defined as targeted spending for non-government entities. Although the 109th voted to identify and report on earmarks in bills, that rule did not apply to appropriation bills such as the ones being continued by this resolution. The 110th Congress does not specify non-government recipients but targets funds delivered to an entity outside of the competitive process or outside a formula-driven process. Consequently, the House assertion that it removed earmarks from this 109th Congress bill is true by 109th Congress definitions of earmarks. But by 110th definitions it allows for some earmarks by switching some competitive grants to land-grant universities for agricultural research to a 'special' grant status, Ed.}

Dates, actions and votes on the FY 2007 spending and authorization bills that did pass can be read....here.

The full report on this continuing resolution and links to reports on details of the 2005 spending bills now continued can be read here....HJR 20

IRAQ TROOP SURGE RESOLUTIONS MOUNT

UPDATE

CLOTURE VOTE FAILS IN FEBRUARY 6TH VOTE.

S470 is Set Aside for Lack of Support.

Sixty votes were required to prevent a filibuster against the bill. The cloture vote received 50 votes after which the Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) changed his vote, a procedural action that allows him to bring the bill back for vote at a later date. Lieberman (I-CT) sided with all Republicans and opposed cloture. Sanders (I-VT) sided with Democrats and supported cloture.

How They Voted...Here

Budget Office Calculates Cost of the Surge: $9 to $49 Billion

Senator Biden Resolution, SCR 2, Sidelined;

Senator Warner Revises SCR 4-Resolution that May Be Open to Amendments

In an effort to weed out numerous Senate resolutions and bills in opposition to the President's troop surge in Iraq the Majority Leader proposed on Wednesday that Senator Joe Biden's resolution be set aside and in its place would be an actual bill from Senator Levin that could be debated and amended. (S 470)

Senator Warner

The bill, if passed, would then have to be sent to the President for signature. Anticipating the President's reaction to such a bill Senate Leaders discussed a new resolution introduced by Senator Warner and the possibility of opening that resolution to amendments. S-470 will be considered for a cloture vote on Monday, Feb. 5th.

Senator Warner's new resolution (SCR 7) would parallel his SCR 4 by expressing opposition to the troop level increase but would also express Congress's determination not to limit funding for the troops and only suggests withdrawal as Iraqi forces take charge. Nor does the Warner resolution express that the president's efforts are contrary to national interest domestically and internationally as the Biden resolution does. Senator Biden

The Senate Thursday voted 0 to 96 on invoking cloture and ending debate on the Biden amendment effectively clearing the way for consideration of Senator Warner's new resolution and / or the promised bill from Senator Levin. If debate is not curtailed on a bill or resolution the matter can go on under debate indefinitely.

The Senate will lead the way on this effort beginning with debates on February 5th and the House has pledged to follow suit although there has been some conversation from the House that its version of a resolution will address troop redeployment. Speaker Pelosi said in a recent National Public Radio interview that Iraq Prime Minister al-Maliki said 50,000 US troops could be redeployed in half a year or less as Iraqis take more charge of their own security.

The Congressional Budget Office reported Thursday that the cost of sending 20,000 additional troops to Iraq by May 2007 is between $9 billion and $13 billion over the regular costs of the war. A two year deployment could cost as high as $49 billion in addition to current spending for the war.

For a complete list of Iraq troop surge-related bills....HERE.

CLOTURE VOTE FAILS IN FEBRUARY 6TH VOTE.

S470 is set aside for lack of support.

How They Voted...Here

UPDATE ON TROOP SURGE STORY

CBO REPORT ON COST OF TROOP SURGE

SENATE

SENATE COMPLETES MINIMUM WAGE BILL

Amendments Ease Impact on Small Business with $8.3 Billion in Tax Breaks

The Senate agreed to the House-passed minimum wage increase bill after extensive amendment activity that aimed through tax break provisions to switch the cost of the measure from small businesses impacted by the bill to, essentially, the US taxpayers.

The CBO calculates that the bill will have little impact on the Federal budget (around $900 million over the next five years) but the impact on small business employers is estimated at $300 million in FY 2007 and rising to a five year total of $16.3 billion by 2011.

The underlying bill would raise the minimum hourly wage from the current $5.15 per hour to $7.25 within two years bringing an added expense to small business employers. The tax provisions would reduce tax revenues from small business by an estimated $8.3 billion over five years.

The primary amendment was Amendment. 100 by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT). Amendment 100 increases or expands business expensing; expands benefits relating to capital expenses and leasing; allows for more simplistic accounting methods; extends tax breaks for hiring welfare recipients, qualified veterans and high-risk youth. Other amendments added other benefits. For example, Businesses will find some assistance in complying with government regulations, a paperwork and time saving measure. The Baucus Amendment accounts for most of the tax break totals. But the Baucus amendment went into great detail in the areas of accounting and tax liabilities for small businesses and some individuals such as expatriate Americans living abroad. Increases in fines for a variety of tax liabilities is included. Small businesses are those that earn up to $10 million yearly.

The amendment takes a shot at increasing the amount of extreme executive payouts that are denied tax deduction status.

The modified Line Item Veto amendment failed. The LIV would have allowed the president to return a bill to Congress with suggestions for rescissions. Opposition to that amendment held that it allows a president to hold onto a bill for 365 days causing some major delays in the legislative process and the potential for political extortion.

The House did not allow for amendments to the bill and is not expected to accept the Senate amendments.

(Report here with amendments explained...HR2)

Full Text of the Bill With Indexes