Tuesday, January 16, 2007

S. 1 UPDATE: A Byrd Rule for Earmarks?

Debate on S. 1 has resumed on the Senate floor, with votes today expected on:

• a technical correction, to be offered by Sen. Durbin, to last week's DeMint amendment
• the DeMint amendment itself, as corrected
• a Reid amendment to require senators to pay charter rates to fly on private jets (Reid is said to be trying to address the issues of senators who have their own planes and those who live in rural states with limited air service)

All three items are expected to pass with overwhelming majorities.

Following a cloture vote, non-germane amendments will fall away, with debate and votes on some of the remaining amendments before a vote on the bill's passage by week's end.

Among these is DeMint Amendment No. 12, Sen. DeMint's resuscitation of a far-reaching Lott-Feinstein amendment in last year's lobbying and ethics bill, which would:

• require 60 Senators to waive a point of order against earmarks in conference reports that were not included in either the House or Senate versions of the underlying legislation, and
• thereupon, send the revised legislation back to the House, rather than killing it

While it raises questions about how the conference would proceed from that point, this amendment would end the pernicious practice of “air-dropping” items into legislation on the verge of being cleared for the president’s signature.