Recapping Last Week in Congress We were out on another recess last week, during which much of the traditional media world caught up with us in realizing that this Republican-dominated 112th Congress has accomplished next to nothing, not to mention the fact that the Republicans doing the dominating are nuttier by far than they've ever been before.
This Week in Congress
It's back to work, but with the routinely slow start. In the House, that means suspension bills on Monday, with votes delayed until after 6:30 pm. Nothing particularly controversial for today, though the John F. Kennedy Center Reauthorization Act might make Rick Santorum want to throw up. Tuesday also begins with suspension bills, and I wonder if Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA-07) wouldn't be politically pleased to see his "United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act" defeated under suspension of the rules, leaving him free to pin the "anti-Israel" label on House Dems.
Things really start rolling in the House toward the end of the week, with the consideration of the first of the year's regular appropriations bills. After that, though, things start to get wacky, as Budget Chair Paul Ryan (R-WI-01) pulls his next two tricks out of his hat, the "Sequester Replacement Act," and a related reconciliation bill.
You will, of course, recall that Republicans believe reconciliation is evil, unconstitutional, Satanic, socialmalismist, and possibly Kenyan in origin. But this is the good kind of evil, unconstitutional, Satanic, socialmalismist, possibly Kenyan-in-origin kind, you see. That is, it's theirs. Which means it comes with extra Freedom Sauce.
Not that I'm not aware that before the Republicans were saying it about Democrats three years ago, Democrats had said it about Republicans four years prior. But it's still funny. Huge surprise. Never saw it coming.
And what's the "Sequester Replacement Act," exactly? Hopefully we'll get a better look at it as the week progresses, but the basic idea of it is that it's the bill that's supposed to reverse those "guaranteed, across-the-board cuts" from last year's debt ceiling/budget deal as they apply to defense spending. Huge surprise. Never saw it coming.
The Senate starts off with a return to the motion to proceed to S.2343, the "Stop Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act." Cloture was filed on the motion to proceed before the break, and there's a unanimous consent agreement in place that'll bring it to a vote tomorrow. In the meantime, they'll debate whether or not to end debate on beginning debate on the student loan bill, even though they've already agreed to vote on it tomorrow.
To relieve the excruciating idiocy of it all, they'll take a brief break in the middle of the day to debate and vote on three more judicial nominations, representing the final installment on the deal cut back in mid-March to clear 14 of a slate of 17 nominations Senate Dems were trying to push through.
After that, well, uh... all we have is the previously mentioned excruciating idiocy. So, happy Monday.
Full floor and committee schedules are below the fold.
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