Today in Congress/Open Thread

post from Daily Kos on 29 September 2008 10:32:39 AM. © Daily Kos

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2008

House meets at 8:00 a.m. for Legislative Business
Last Vote Predicted: 12:30 - 1:00 p.m.

**Members are advised that votes are expected as early as 8 a.m.

Senate Amendments to H.R. 3997 - Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Rep. Frank – Financial Services/ Ways and Means) (Subject to a Rule)
Postponed Suspension Votes (10 Bills):
1) H.Res. 1224 - Commending the Tennessee Valley Authority on its 75th anniversary (Rep. Cramer - Transportation and Infrastructure)
2) H.R. 4131 - To designate a portion of California State Route 91 located in Los Angeles County, California, as the "Juanita Millender-McDonald Highway (Rep. Richardson – Transportation and Infrastructure)
3) S. 906 - Mercury Market Minimization Act of 2007 (Sen. Obama – Energy and Commerce)
4) H.R. 6600 - Medicare Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2008 (Rep. Doggett – Ways and Means)
5) H.R. 7175 - To amend the Small Business Act to improve the section 7(a) lending program (Rep. Velazquez – Small Business)
6) S. 3598 - The Drug Trafficking Vessel Interdiction Act of 2008 (Rep. Lundgren – Judiciary)
7) S. 3296 - A bill to extend the authority of the United States Supreme Court Police to protect court officials off the Supreme Court Grounds and change the title of the Administrative Assistant to the Chief Justice. (Sen. Leahy – Judiciary)
8) S. 2304 - Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2008 (Sen. Domenici - Judiciary)
9) H.R. 6669 - To provide that claims of the United States to certain documents relating to Franklin Delano Roosevelt shall be treated as waived and relinquished in certain circumstances (Rep. Gillibrand – Oversight and Government Reform)
10) S. 3536 - Air Carriage of International Mail Act (Sen. Carper – Oversight and Government Reform)
Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.

Motions to go to Conference should they become available.

Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Convenes: 11:00am

Morning Business until 12:00noon, with the time equally divided (10 minute limitations)

12:00noon proceed to House Message to accompany H.R.2095, Federal Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2007.

12:30pm cloture vote on the Motion to Concur on the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R.2095.

So this could be it for the 110th Congress. The House earlier today adopted a concurrent resolution allowing adjournment until January 3, 2009, and as you read this, debate on the bailout is already underway, and will continue for three more hours. Maybe some more dealings tomorrow depending on what the Senate plans are for the bailout, assuming its passage early in the day in the House. It's nice to end on a high note, with a $700 billion Wall Street bailout and everybody walking on contempt of Congress charges, isn't it? Gifts for everyone (who's a Republican) today!

Ah, life.

Anyway, if you're scratching your head about how the bailout legislation, which was conceived over the weekend, ends up numbered H.R. 3997 when they're already well into the 7000s with House bills already (they're numbered in order of their introduction), the answer is that they're going back to a trick we've seen them use before -- taking an old bill that has passed one House but not both, and hollowing it out and replacing that text with the new stuff.

So H.R. 3997, an old tax bill that passed the House, bounced back and forth a few times after being amended, but was never passed in the same form by both houses, which means it's still available as a legislative vehicle. That means that technically, what's under consideration in the House today is an amendment to the Senate amendment to the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 3997.

Seriously.

Why? Because pretending that the bailout package is just a new amendment (in the nature of a substitute) for what now stands as the old body of H.R. 3997 means they can get expedited consideration on the House floor, plus be protected from a Republican motion to recommit, a procedural move that has plagued the Democrats throughout the 110th Congress. It's something I recommend they rethink in the 111th.