Spending Bill Stalled in Senate

One-sided support

Harry Reid

A huge spending bill is making its way through Congress, but last week Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid postponed the vote. He didn’t think he would have enough votes to pass the bill because no Republican amendments have passed. The bill needs 60 votes to pass, so it must have at least some Republican support.

Senators argue over pay raise amendment

The Senate is scheduled to vote  on the bill today, but some senators are worried that a pay raise amendment will stall the bill further. Currently, Congress members get automatic pay raises each year. Although they have already elected to go without their pay raises for 2010, Republican Senator David Vitter has introduced an amendment that would require Congress to approve all pay raises in the future.

By the numbers

The spending bill totals $410 billion and includes thousands of earmarks. The earmarks alone total about $8 billion. Last night, John McCain proposed an amendment that stripped the bill of most of its earmarks, but that proposal was defeated.

Now or never

The bill’s main purpose is to shore up spending until September. Nancy Pelosi has warned that if the Senate changes the bill and sends it back to the House, she’ll scrap it. That would send spending back to current levels and prevent any new spending on programs.

Pay increase politics

Opponents of the amendment to require votes on pay raises say that members of Congress need those cost of living increases to be able to afford residences in Washington and their home states without needing payday loans. They argue that without yearly raises only the wealthy would be able to serve in Congress. They also accuse Vitter of playing a political game because pay raises have already been frozen next year.

What’s with the earmarks?

Peter Orszag

Other critics of the spending bill have called into question President Barack Obama’s promise to end wasteful spending. With so many earmarks, critics are saying Obama isn’t delivering the change he promised. However, Obama says that this bill was inherited from the previous administration and must be approved in order to keep programs funded and keep legislation moving along. The Obama team says this bill is just taking care of last year’s unfinished business.

“[Such bills] will not happen when the president has the full legislative and appropriations process in place,” said Peter Orszag, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.