Congressional_Climate_logo
Lobbyit.com Logo
Table of Contents
DEBATE OVER SPENDING LEADS TO HEALTHCARE FIGHT
LAWMAKERS SEEK PUBLIC INPUT ON CLEAN ENERGY
MCCASKILL SEAT IN DANGER
Congressional 
Climate Bill Tracking 
Keyhole Image H.R.658 - FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011
Keyhole Image H.R.164 - Damaged Vehicle Information Act
Keyhole Image H.R.514 - FISA Sunsets Extension Act of 2011
Keyhole Image H.R.1 - Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2011
Keyhole ImageH.R.4 - Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011
Keyhole Image H.R.96 - Internet Freedom Act
Keyhole Image H.R.605 - Patients' Freedom to Choose Act
Keyhole Image S.244 - State Health Care Choice Act

Video Of The Day

US warplane crashes in Libya
US warplane crashes in Libya
  
Join Our Mailing List
Follow us on Twitter
Find us on Facebook
View our profile on LinkedIn
 
2010 constant contact allstar

 
Greetings!  
Please enjoy today's issue of the Congressional Climate newsletter, brought to you by Lobbyit.com!
Today's Hill Action: 

 

THE SENATE:

 

No meetings scheduled for today.
 
SENATE COMMITTEES:

 

No meetings scheduled for today.
 
THE HOUSE: 

 

No meetings scheduled for today.

 

HOUSE COMMITTEES:
 
No meetings scheduled for today.

Spending Negotiations to Revive Health Care Fight

 

3-22 healthcare

Republicans have recently been focusing most of their attention on pressuring Democrats to slash spending, but they haven't completely taken their eyes off their goal of blocking the health care overhaul law.

 

The next test for GOP leaders will come in a few weeks, when they must decide how hard to push to defund parts of the law through a long-term continuing resolution, while trying to avoid a government shutdown.

 

In the weeks since Senate Democrats voted en masse on Feb. 2 to block a health care repeal amendment, Republican leaders have trained most of their muscle on President Barack Obama's unwillingness to embrace big spending cuts despite enormous deficits. Spending is an area where Republicans have Democrats on the run and expect to keep piling up victories, while Democrats and the president are dug in deep on health care, which appears to be headed for more battles in the courts and at the ballot box in 2012.

 

Sen. John Cornyn acknowledged in a short interview last week that health care hasn't been the dominant subject of late, but the Texas Republican said that shouldn't be interpreted as a lack of commitment.

 

"There's so much going on," Cornyn said. But he added, "We're going to look for every bit of leverage, every opportunity we can to stop this," including defunding.

 

Repeal and defunding efforts have made headway in the House, but they have been blocked by the Democratic majority in the Senate. Conservative Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Steve King (R-Iowa) have criticized House leadership for not pushing harder by attaching a partial repeal to short-term continuing resolutions that have been enacted to avoid a government shutdown.

 

Conservative Sen. Jim DeMint said he expects GOP leaders to stand firm on defunding the health care law as the House and Senate negotiate a continuing resolution that would cover the remainder of the fiscal year, even if Democrats vow not to support it and a partial shutdown ensues.

 

"I think you'll see in the permanent CR for the balance of the year that Republican leaders will hold firm on no funding for Obamacare," the South Carolina Republican said. "We haven't won the battle obviously, and as long as it's law, we're playing on his turf."

 

DeMint said a shutdown threat, which he dismissed as a "slowdown," shouldn't deter the GOP.

 

"My opinion is that we should not be so afraid of a government slowdown that we vote for bad policy or too much spending, so that's a decision everybody's going to have to make in the next couple of weeks," he said.

 

If Obama threatens to veto a bill that defunds his signature health care law, "then he shuts down the government," Cornyn said. "Do you think the president would really do that? The president would have to be pretty brazen to do that in a fit of pique."

 

Other Republicans said a shutdown isn't in the cards.

 

"I don't think anybody's talking about a government shutdown over health care," Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said at a news conference last week to mark the upcoming anniversary of the health care law, which was enacted March 23, 2010. Hatch, who voted last week against the current short-term CR because he said it contained too much spending, noted that he has been a leading backer of court efforts to overturn the health care law as unconstitutional.

 

House Republicans are working on legislation to replace the law with their own language. In addition, they are holding numerous oversight hearings to highlight the costs and regulations created by the law, as well as the numerous waivers that are being given out by the Obama administration.

 

They're also going on the road, with the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health heading to Harrisburg, Pa., on Wednesday for a hearing on the costs of the law.

 

"The House has passed a full repeal of Washington Democrats' job-destroying health care law, as well as numerous provisions to restrict and defund it in the continuing resolution for the remainder of the year," said Michael Steel, spokesman for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). "We will continue to do everything we can to protect the American people from it."

 

But Democrats are starting to sense that Republicans are getting defensive about the repeal effort, and the Democrats insist it is going nowhere.

 

"Republicans aren't talking much about health care because their efforts keep failing, while Democrats have largely remained unified," one senior Democratic aide said. "First they tried to repeal it, and they faced pushing forward a bill that increases the deficit by a whopping $1 trillion. Then they tried to defund it, and they found out it would kill their own program - Medicare Advantage. They know they can't try to take away all the new benefits and protections in the law, so they are pretty much stuck."

Lawmakers turn to public on Obama clean energy plan

 

3-22cleanenergy

The leadership of the Senate Energy Committee is seeking public input on how to fashion a bill creating the White House's national standard for generating more U.S. electricity from clean energy sources, delaying the bill's arrival in Congress.

 

Back in January, President Barack Obama told Congress in his State of the Union address that by 2035 he wanted 80 percent of U.S. electricity to be generated by clean energy sources, including nuclear power.

 

The chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Senator Jeff Bingaman, and his staff have been in discussions with the White House for almost two months on the clean energy standard legislation.

 

Bingaman and the top Republican on the energy panel, Senator Lisa Murkowski, issued a "white paper" on Monday seeking comment from the public on what the clean energy standard should look like.

 

While the president said he wanted to include nuclear power in the standard, Bingaman and Murkowski asked in their white paper what energy sources should qualify as clean energy, and if Japan's nuclear crisis "may affect the potential growth" in the U.S. nuclear generating capacity.

 

It's fairly unusual for legislation to be written this way, especially for something that is a top priority of the White House.

 

A Bingaman aide stressed the white paper did not mean the bill was in trouble. "We're just trying to make sure that enough members of the committee to pass the bill out are on board and agree that we have it structured properly," the aide said.

 

The lawmakers also asked if all electric utilities should be subject to a clean energy standard.

 

They noted that in similar legislation passed by the Senate energy committee in the last Congress, only utilities selling more than four million megawatt hours of power in a calendar year would be subject to a clean energy mandate. Obama's plan doesn't have such a threshold.

 

In addition, Hawaii was exempted from the Senate bill that required utilities to generate 15 percent of their power from renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, by 2021. Obama did not mention excluding any states from his plan.

 

Public comments are due April 11.


3-22mccaskill

The number of Republicans running against Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, who is widely considered among the most vulnerable Democrats up for re-election in 2012, could soon double as she looks to move past recent ethics questions.

 

Two Republicans are already in, and two more are taking serious looks at the race, which the GOP sees as increasingly winnable. Former Ambassador to Luxembourg Ann Wagner met with the National Republican Senatorial Committee last week to discuss her interest, and Rep. Todd Akin is actively exploring a bid.

 

The entrance of the former state party chairwoman and the six-term Congressman would further crowd a field that already includes former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman and 2010 House candidate Ed Martin.

 

As the most highly recognizable name among the four and likely able to raise the most money, Akin, who received a perfect score for the second consecutive year in the American Conservative Union vote ratings, would likely jump to the front of the pack should he decide to run.

 

"If Todd Akin gets in the race, he owns the field," a Missouri-based Republican strategist said. "He's got 100 percent name ID in the most expensive media market. ... He's the most conservative candidate. You can't get to the right of him."

 

Akin, who represents the 2nd district, Wagner and Martin are all from the St. Louis area.

 

Wagner told Roll Call that she is keeping her options open and that Akin's decision will have an effect on what she decides to do. "Running for Senate is my preference," she said, but added that she could be open to running for Akin's seat.

 

While in Washington, D.C., last week, Wagner attended a Crossroads GPS event at Johnny's Half Shell, as did Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (Texas).

 

"Claire McCaskill is beatable and out of step with Missourians," said Wagner, who served as President George W. Bush's ambassador to Luxembourg. "The NRSC and much of our Republican leadership feels the same way."

 

McCaskill faced an uphill challenge even before her Senate office said she would repay $88,000 spent on charter flights through a company her family partly owns. She barely won her seat in 2006, ousting Republican Sen. Jim Talent, who took a pass at a rematch in 2012. Missouri Democrats have seen their ranks depleted in recent elections, and the 2010 Democratic Senate candidate was trounced by now-Sen. Roy Blunt. (Wagner was chairwoman of Blunt's campaign.)

 

Democrats say not to underestimate McCaskill, but Republicans have been more positive about the race than ever since the charter issue surfaced.

 

Republicans in Missouri and Washington, D.C., quickly jumped on the news, which was first reported by Politico, to knock the first-term Senator, whom they believe to be in increasing political peril.

 

"Republicans have long believed that Sen. McCaskill's unabashed support for the Obama spending agenda made her uniquely vulnerable, but interest in this race has only grown as McCaskill's ethics problems have mounted in recent days," NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh said.

 

"There are several strong Republican candidates and potential candidates looking at the Missouri Senate race, and as with everywhere else, we're happy to meet with them," Walsh added.

 

Democrats defend McCaskill as one of the strongest advocates for good government and say re-election prospects will not take a hit by the report.

 

"No one has fought harder to protect taxpayers and hold government accountable than Claire," said Matt Canter, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "National Republicans know that they have a very bloody primary brewing in Missouri with a number of deeply flawed candidates, and the only thing they can do is to try and distract from that."

 

"I don't think it's going to be a make-or-break moment for the U.S. Senator," one Democratic operative in Missouri said. "Even in what could be a tough year, I think Claire is in a good position given who is going to run against her."

 

In 2010, Martin nearly beat Rep. Russ Carnahan (D) in a St. Louis-area district that President Barack Obama won two years earlier with 60 percent of the vote. He launched a new website - AirClaire.com - six hours after the news first broke about McCaskill's charter plane issue. He said it has already paid off with several checks from donors.

 

Martin told Roll Call that Missourians are looking for a "new wave of conservatives" who are not interested in becoming career politicians. He said he is running because of the support that he received following his House bid last year, but Martin conceded that McCaskill would most likely outspend him and receive extensive third-party support.

 

"Claire is going to have as much money as she needs, and she already has public-sector unions running radio ads in Missouri saying she's great," Martin said. "The kitchen sink will be thrown in here to save a Democratic seat. Although she's wounded politically, I don't have any illusions that Claire is going to be easy to beat here."

 

A poll released last week by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling found Steelman leading a four-way primary with 31 percent, followed by Akin with 24 percent, Martin with 9 percent and Wagner with 2 percent. The same firm, in a poll conducted before news broke of McCaskill's charter plane use, found each Republican within single digits of the Senator.

 

Messages left with the Steelman campaign and Akin's Congressional office were not returned by press time.

 

Republican operatives in the state said the map has changed since 2008, when Obama barely lost Missouri despite spending significant resources on the former bellwether state. They predicted his numbers will not likely improve from that performance.

 

An early March PPP poll found Obama with a 43 percent approval rating in Missouri, lower than his national average.

 

McCaskill has sought to highlight her independence from the national party, but Republicans will continue to bring up her votes in favor of big-ticket items such as the economic stimulus and health care.

 

"Obama is clearly going to lose Missouri, regardless of who his opponent is," one GOP strategist said. "For her to overcome him - she's got a ceiling now against almost any Republican." 
Until tomorrow,


Lobbyit.com