Tuesday, July 17, 2007

DeMint Putting Senate's Summer Vacation on "Hold"?

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) is apparently single-handedly holding up the Senate's lobbying and ethics reform bill with a hold keeping it from going to conference over a pet provision that he wants guaranteed will be included in the conference committee's final version.

Such guarantees are hard to come by, and sometimes harder to make stick. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) did the next best thing yesterday, offering to put DeMint on the conference committee. But DeMint scoffed at that: "The majority leader is trying to be clever, but I wasn't born yesterday... Everybody knows Democrats are going to control the conference, 4 to 3, and they will vote 4 to 3 to kill [it]." Majority rule can be a bear.

Spurned by DeMint, Reid warned GOP members today to work with Democrats to complete work on the bill "in a timely fashion," before the August recess starts. "Otherwise it will be finished in an untimely fashion . . . because we're going to finish this stuff before we have our August recess."

The principal DeMint believes he is defending stands a snowball's chance in August if he keeps the Senate from going on its summer vacation this year. Per The Hill: "You have to always be careful around here not to overplay your hand," [Sen. Trent] Lott warned.

Last week, the Washington Post and OMB Watch urged the Senate leadership to break the impasse. See:

• Get it Done: "Enough is enough. It's time to get this bill done. Neither the House nor the Senate measure is perfect, but either would effect significant improvements over the unacceptable status quo."
• OMB Watch Joins the Call to Move Lobby Reform Legislation Forward: "We strongly urge Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) to join with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in offering and supporting the cloture motions needed to get the lobbying and ethics reform bill to conference."