TUNE IN to C-SPAN LIVE -- First Cloture Vote is Scheduled for 1:00 A.M. tonight

[rhombus]

First cloture vote on the manager’s amendment is scheduled for 1:00 A.M. tonight

http://www.c-span.org/Watch/C-SPAN2.aspx

[jenmito]

1. I'm watching it on C-Span 2. Sen. Harkin called their bluff earlier.

Did you see it? :rofl:

[gateley]

2. Could you give a recap? Thanks! nt

[Parker CA]

3. How did he call their bluff? Their bluff on what? Thanks! nt.

[jenmito]

5. A Repub. Senator said it's a shame that this vote has to be taken at 1am...

that Sen. Byrd has to be dragged in here in the middle of the night to vote on this bill, that it's a shame that the vote will be taken in the dead of night, when nobody's paying attention, so Harkin agreed and requested to have the vote at 9am tomorrow morning, with the 8 hours between 1am and 9am taken out of the 30 hours, and the Repubs. objected.

Harkin then said he guesses the Repubs. DON'T really care about dragging Byrd out in the middle of the night, but that they want to stall for as long as they can, that they'd be happy to stall for a DECADE if they can. But the bill WILL be voted on at 1am since they objected to it being tomorrow at 9am, in the DAYLIGHT. :D

[Parker CA]

9. Thanks.

[Egnever]

28. sweet sorry I missed that

hope that shows up on utube somewhere.

[jenmito]

4. The Repubs. sound like a broken record. SSDD...

"I don't know why the Dems. are trying to rush this vote through before Christmas (previously Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving,...) without anyone having a chance to read the bill. Why do they have to push this through in the middle of the night on this holiday weekend when nobody's paying attention? WHAT'S THE RUSH??"

Then, Tom Harkin gets up and explains how they've had months to read the bulk of this bill, and that the latest amendment was read out loud IN FULL yesterday, but he noticed not many Repubs. even stayed to listen to it. He then said the Repubs. just keep trying to stall the vote, and they'd be happy if it NEVER came up for a vote.

The Repubs.' talking point of this bill being "rushed" is losing its "punch." :rofl:

[jillan]

6. I'm watching it now - these repugs are giving me a headache.

Now Brownback is up talking about abortion. Jeez - leave it alone.

[jenmito]

8. I don't know why they can't just use the same exact language

that's in the Hyde Amendment. That would supposedly make everyone happy. :shrug:

[jillan]

11. Oh - I think it's a rallying cry for their wacko base.

What I want to know is how did the religious right get so much power?
Abortion, Gay rights... they are the extreme fringe of the right and yet they have a more powerful voice than the left.
How did this happen?

[jenmito]

12. Unfortunately,

we have too many DEMS. in Congress who feel the same way.

[Undercurrent]

14. Me either.

Dumb.

[Armstead]

7. I hate the thought that I can't stand the idea of watching this...Should have felt like victory

[jillan]

10. Finally - it's the Democrats turn.

My head feels a little better.

[DRoseDARs]

13. 1:00am? Senators Crabby Pants and Pissnmoan are going to be...

*insert punchine* *insert political lolcat picture* *insert series of :rofl:s*

[Clio the Leo]

15. Crazy that we're getting CNN and MSNBC coverage of an amendment cloture vote...

.... and let me just verify, that's still what this is right? This is not THE cloture vote?

(I was gone all day and slept part of the evening, making sure nothing's changed.)

[Clio the Leo]

16. Sen Harkin looking VERY festive tonight!

Red sweater vest and a Grinch-green tie. (perhaps not a good color metaphor but that's what color it is)

[Parker CA]

17. And a lavender shirt. Hahha. I just tuned in and thought the same thing.

I hate when they say "...my friends on the other side..." if they're your friends, I'm very sorry.

And now Joe Lieberman is grinning in the background. Ugh, can't stand him.

[Parker CA]

18. Delete. Dupe.

[jefferson_dem]

19. Secretary Sebelius, Health reform adviser DeParle and Vicki Kennedy in the Senate chamber

nt

[jillan]

21. Vicki's there? Awesome!! I just turned it back on...

unfortunately in time to listen to McConnell whine.

[Clio the Leo]

24. i'm jealous! NT

[BeyondGeography]

20. Senator Fried Chicken (R-KY) is whining

[Clio the Leo]

25. "we just need one of them to do the right thing!"

"one of the Demcorats to vote AGAINST the bill and save the GOP!" (lol paraphrased of course)

[O is 44]

27. Don't say that...

I don't trust traitor Joe one bit. I just want to get this thing moved on to conference.

[Parker CA]

29. Yep! He was over chumming it up with Dodd earlier with a ear to ear grin on his face. I think he's

happy with what he got and will vote for cloture, but nothing is certain.

[Clio the Leo]

34. I'm pretty sure that if that happened...

... one of Tony Rezko's thugs would take his knees out. (that's a joke!)

[O is 44]

41. One can only wish but the little

weasel just voted Aye.

[Parker CA]

22. Reid speaking now. Vote up next. nt.

[ccharles000]

23. k/r

[Clio the Leo]

26. lol @ Ezra Klein...

"McConnell now lauding bipartisanship on Social Security and Medicare. If there are 40 R's for Medicare-for-All, Dems can sub it in!"

http://twitter.com/ezraklein

[Parker CA]

30. Vote beginning now!!!

[Egnever]

31. Here we go!

[jillan]

32. I'm actually nervous. Such a close vote.

[Parker CA]

33. Yep. Burris is an aye. Lieberman and Nelson better hold to their word.

[Clio the Leo]

35. it's always so anticlimactic to me....

... and the clerk's voice gets on my nerves lol

(why cant they just use the electronic thing like the House does!)

[jefferson_dem]

36. No room for error.

I was happy to see Senator Byrd rolled in just now.

[Egnever]

37. me too!

[Clio the Leo]

38. Liberman votes yes.......

.... of course this is not THE cloture vote we've been talking about for weeks but he wouldn't vote for this one and not the next one ... lol theoretically.

[Parker CA]

39. Lieberman - AYE!

[Egnever]

40. Joementum Aye!

[Parker CA]

42. Nelson - AYE

[jillan]

43. Was hoping snowe would change - oh well....

[Clio the Leo]

52. Her "final answer" is no......

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/shes-a-no-snowe-confirms-opposition-to-health-care-bill.php?ref=fpblg

She's not happy about the rush to get it done by xmas. (or at least that's her excuse)

[jillan]

54. It wasn't too long ago when she said she didn't want to be on the wrong side of history -

FLIP-FLOPPER!

[Clio the Leo]

57. well, you know it's only historic if you're in agreement with it lol

how many tea baggers would call the last election "historic"?

[Parker CA]

44. Looking like they've got the 60. Big hurdle #1.

[Born_A_Truman]

45. Got it!

[Parker CA]

47. Yep. Many senators thanking Byrd right now. Late night in DC.

[Egnever]

49. Nice

and on t the next step! What do we get in the next version?

[grantcart]

46. 60 votes - great

[Egnever]

50. politics is great!

LOL theres no soap opera on the planet like this stuff!

[dave29]

55. forward we go.

:)

[BeyondGeography]

48. K&R

[Clio the Leo]

51. So what is the SECOND cloture vote for?

This was the first, the third one is THE cloture vote .... what's the second one about? Anyone know?

[Parker CA]

53. 2nd is for the cloture on the full bill, this was only manager's ammendments. Final vote is for

passage.

[Clio the Leo]

56. but TPM is calling it "the first of three cloture votes".....

(left side under 'editors blog')
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

[Parker CA]

58. Not sure what they mean. I understood it as this initial cloture vote, the cloture vote on the full

bill, and then a vote on final passage.

[SpartanDem]

60. Explanation from Congress Matters

The is second for substitute amendment the original bill filed by Reid now amended by this vote.

With the adoption of the manager's amendment, all of the changes made to the Senate's version of the bill in order to win the support of the 60 Senators necessary to clear these cloture hurdles will have been agreed to. But even once that's done, the amendments are sort of floating in space. They still need to be plugged into a House-originated bill.

Why? Remember Art. I, Sec. 7 of the Constitution:

All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

That means the Senate has to resort to one of its favorite tricks in order to chime in with its own original proposals for revenue measures. That is, they can write the provisions, but need a House-originated vehicle to move them in order to be in technical compliance with Art. I, Sec. 7. So what they usually do is take a dormant House-passed bill that's awaiting Senate action, call it up, strip out the entire text of it, and amend it by offering their own bill as a substitute. That gives them their preferred revenue text, but puts it in a House-passed bill as an "amendment," even though it gets rid of everything the House wrote into it. In this case, they have the actual House-passed health insurance reform bill to use as a vehicle, and amending it will give them two versions of the same bill, and thus the opportunity after passage to immediately seek a conference with the House.In this case, the Senate will be substituting everything from their version of the bill and the manager's amendment for the text of H.R. 3590, which started -- as its title reads -- as a bill "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the first-time homebuyers credit in the case of members of the Armed Forces and certain other Federal employees." And it'll do it with a motion to commit the bill to the Senate Finance Committee, with instructions to report back with an amendment (called the "substitute amendment") containing the text of their bill the way they've amended it to date (including the manager's amendment). In truth, with these kinds of motions to commit, the bill never leaves the floor, and the changes are made instantaneously.

But of course, that motion is subject to... the filibuster. Which means the second of the three expected cloture votes will be on the motion to commit regarding the substitute. Cloture was also filed on that on Saturday, so that vote will be "ripe" at 1 a.m. on Monday, too. But they can only vote on one thing at a time, and the manager's amendment needs to go first. Then, once they get cloture on the manager's amendment, they need to run the 30 hour clock. At the end of the 30 hours, they're free to vote on the manager's amendment and move on. And since the cloture motion on the substitute amendment has also ripened and been pending, it's eligible to come up right after the vote on adoption of the manager's amendment.

Once cloture is invoked on the substitute amendment, the 30 hour clock starts all over again, running out at around 1 p.m. on Wednesday, December 23, when we get to the vote on substitute amendment (that is, the motion to commit and report back the substitute text).

Next up, cloture on the entire bill, now containing all the changes made to it, and grafted onto the shell of a House bill in order to comply with the Art. 1, Sec. 7 requirements. That cloture motion is ripe at that point, having been filed on Saturday, December 19, so it can come to a vote right after adoption of the substitute amendment.

But remember, that's still just cloture on the bill. We still have to wait yet another 30 hours after that cloture motion is adopted before we get to the vote on final passage of the bill. That takes us to about 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 24.

http://www.congressmatters.com/storyonly/2009/12/21/1981/-This-Week-in-Congress

[Clio the Leo]

61. ah, I remember that now....

.... reading that he had submitted more than one amendment .... thanks

[Clio the Leo]

59. Dont you wish that instead of the chair saying, "the motion falls"...

..... whenever cloture is invoked, he or she would instead say..