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The Senate Finally Votes

by BooMan
Mon Jan 12th, 2009 at 01:42:54 AM EST

Our new senators have conducted their first vote. Surprisingly, the vote occurred on a Sunday, and it was a cloture vote on a package of legislation that had been held up in the last Congress by Tom Coburn's extensive use of filibusters. The legislation is informally named the Coburn Omnibus Bill, and it is mainly concerned with Land Use issues. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) explains:

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, however, defended the merits of the legislation.
Bingaman has noted that the omnibus contains an equal mix of Democratic and Republican bills and has bipartisan sponsors.
“Collectively, the bill is one of the most sweeping conservation laws considered by the Senate in recent years. It will designate over 2 million acres of wilderness in nine different states,” said Bingaman in a statement.
“It would establish three new units of the National Park System, a new National Monument and three new National Conservation Areas, and codify the Save America’s Treasures and Preserve America historic preservation programs,” Bingaman added.

It isn't exactly a sexy bit of law, but it is all stuff that could not get through the last Congress and is going to pass in this one. Based on Harry Reid's statement, I think the legislation includes the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Reid told The Hill that he needed to pass a cloture motion to end debate and proceed to the bill because he wanted to pass the lands bill and The Lilly Ledbetter Act, which would reverse a Supreme Court decision on wage discrimination lawsuits, before President-elect Obama’s inauguration.
“I’m trying to work to get as much done before the inauguration [as possible],” said Reid. “I’m trying to get Lilly Ledbetter done before the holiday.”

The Lilly Ledbetter Act protects women against wage discrimination. So, it's good to see that some progress is being made right out of the gate.

The Senate Finally Votes | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: The Senate Finally Votes (none / 0)

I'd like to know a bit more about the methodology and the rules by which various pieces of legislation get packaged together and voted on as one piece. It's always seemed a dubious practice to me, as some poison pills are usually part of the mix, and often our representatives in Congress find themselves having to hold their nose and vote 'yea' because they like some of it, but not all. Is it just too inefficient to vote on bills separately?

Sincerely,

Naive in the hinterlands....

by eagleye on Mon Jan 12th, 2009 at 02:23:17 AM EST

Re: Great Lakes (none / 0)

Amazing how this bill left one of the planet's greatest treasures out in the cold . Toxin's, invasive species, and syphoning are real threats to them, but apparently, who cares.

by dkmich on Mon Jan 12th, 2009 at 06:37:17 AM EST

Freeform stream of consciousness leads me to: (none / 0)

Lilly Ledbetter?

Huddie Ledbetter's (Leadbelly's) last wife. (Don't bother looking it up. It's a joke. YOU know...like the Senate?)

I'm sorry...I can't help it. These lames know so little about the real history of America...its cultural history...that their position as unconscious straight men in a vast joke approaches being almost tragically sad.

If it wasn't so goddamned funny, of course.

And now back to the scheduled program...

Humph!!! Harrumph!!! We will now vote on a bill that will not be adequately enforced because the entire system is rotted right down to the core. This is IMPORTANT STUFF!!! Hottest thing ever. Until the next thing. Humph harumph.

Nevermind...

Yore friend,

Emily Litella (aka Lilly Ledbetter)

Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.-Mae West

by Arthur Gilroy (arthurgilroy<at>earthlink.net) on Mon Jan 12th, 2009 at 08:41:56 AM EST

The Senate Finally Votes | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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