Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!



Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups






















« "The Path To 9/11:" Hollywood Blows It? | Main | Interesting Article -- To Me, At Least -- About Bloggers Taking Vacations »
September 07, 2006

Earmark/Pork Transparency Bill In Bad Shape, Due To Democratic Obstructionism

Deep Stoat, who would know, tells me this:

All, at this point it appears as though S.2590 will not pass unanimously due to Democratic obstruction. Procedurally, this means that the fate of the bill is in the hands of Sen. Frist. While we’re quite encouraged by his numerous public commitments to get a vote on the bill before the end of the month, time is running out. Because of the shortened election year calendar, we will have only a week or two at most to pass the bill out of the Senate, resolve differences with the House, and get the bill signed into law.

As such, it is imperative that Sen. Frist set a date certain for an up-or-down vote on passage on S.2590 as soon as possible. If we could pass the bill by the end of next week, we would then have two weeks to resolve differences with the House and ultimately send a bill to the president before both chambers adjourn at the end of this month. Time is our biggest enemy right now. As always, let me know if you have any questions about the bill or about parliamentary procedure.

I've asked him a few questions about procedure. I'll update when he responds.


Update! Deep Stoat got back to me quickly. His answers to my questions about an override of the hold, and the importance of unanimity, are posted below the fold.


My questions were:

Thanks... can Frist overrule a secret hold? Do you think he will?

Why is unanimity important? Is it because without that the bill will be subject to slow-death by a hundred amendements designed to stall passage?

Here are the anwers:

Yes, Frist can absolutely overrule a hold, and he has publicly committed himself to doing just that by the end of the month. The only kicker is we can’t wait that long if we want the bill to become law.

Procedurally, a hold is nothing more than a Senator’s stated intention to filibuster the “motion to proceed” to a bill. If the bill is put on the floor, and that Senator follows through with his intention, then it will take a “cloture” vote, needing 60 votes, to end debate on the motion to proceed. At that point, the bill itself is the subject of debate. And if that same Senator still wants to filibuster, another cloture vote will be required to end debate. Once that cloture motion is agreed to, a final vote on passage can proceed.

In reality, though, holds are used because it’s rare that small, unimportant bills will ever get the floor time necessary to defeat a hold. Holds are almost always defeated by merely putting a bill on the floor, because no Senator wants to spend 60 hours filibustering a bill that nobody really cares about. And in the case of our bill, I will be shocked if anyone wants to filibuster or oppose it. Thus, by merely putting S.2590 on the floor, Senator Frist has a good chance of defeating the holds without ever needing a vote to end debate.

[U]nanimity is important because it precludes the possibility of prolonged debate, usually used to indefinitely prevent passage. After a cloture vote is agreed to, there must be 30 hours of debate unless that time is yielded back by unanimous consent. Thus, a Senator could force up to 60 hours of debate (effectively an entire week of the Senate’s time) on any given bill, assuming that there were 60 votes to support each cloture motion.


Is This Frist's Top Priority? He suggests it is, but then, he's also crazy-determined to have a vote on the all-important issue of internet gambling.

digg this
posted by Ace at 11:26 AM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
steevy: "The excuse they are using is "well Trump will hara ..."

garrett: ">>Posted by: weft cut-loop at December 03, 2024 05 ..."

Scarymary: "@236 Rogan is also on Youtube https://tinyurl.c ..."

weft cut-loop[/i][/b] [/s]: "Ah, nvermind. FOund it on YouScrewb ..."

Soothsayer: " Here are chris "thumb" cillizza and cuck todd ta ..."

bill in arkansas, not gonna comply with nuttin, waiting for the 0300 knock on the door : "Elon could buy MSNBC, and let the on air "talent" ..."

Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea, Radioactive Knight, Concertina Czar: "Bring Back the Fireside Chat. And use it to Declas ..."

[/i][/b]andycanuck (hovnC)[/s][/u]: "220 I would like to see a channel dedicated to Bum ..."

Ciampino - the perp walk - YES: "Who was it that got the 3 am wake up, leg irons an ..."

Mr Aspirin Factory, red heifer owner: "Make Test Patterns Great Again. ..."

People's Hippo Voice: "Patel has said he would reveal the Epstein/Diddy l ..."

weft cut-loop[/i][/b] [/s]: "[i]BTW - The Joe Rogan Podcast w/ Mike Benz is one ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64