Remember, you can join me for an excruciatingly detailed look at all this and more on Daily Kos Radio each weekday morning, from 9-11 EDT. (Yes, podcasts will be available soon.) On Tuesday, I took some time to explain filling the amendment tree, and yesterday, I put a good hour and a half into explaining just how badly the filibuster can screw up relations between the two houses of Congress, and makes getting to an agreement in conference over differences between versions of a bill even more complicated, and a bonus discussion of motions to recommit. Think you can hack it? Click here or on the button below to listen. I'm telling you, you could listen to NPR forever and not get this. Though there may be a good reason for that. Hmm.
Recapping yesterday's action:
The House spent the bulk of its day on debate of and amendments to what they're calling the "Domestic Energy and Jobs Act," which is just the latest "Drill Baby, Drill!" bill, with the word "jobs" tacked onto the end of it. But they also shoehorned in the voice vote passage of the Senate FDA user fee bill.
The Senate's day was mostly given over to farm bill amendments, and they've now made their way through 63 of the 73 amendments originally permitted under their agreement (though I believe I saw that they may have added one or two to the total, by a separate agreement).
Looking ahead to today:
The House has 10 more amendments to consider to the current fake jobs bill, and then they'll launch into a marathon of voting, having postponed 11 roll call votes on amendments from yesterday. In addition to this bill, there are two more motions to instruct conferees on the seemingly stalled surface transportation bill, plus a vote on a third one postponed from yesterday.
I have to say, I've never seen so many motions to instruct on a single bill. And keep in mind that all such instructions are non-binding on the conferees, anyway. Transportation has been an absolute mess, from start to finish, in this Congress. Multiple, patchwork extensions of previous authorizations to hold them over until the new bill could be passed, and then having to split the new authorization bill into multiple parts, followed by this complete $#*t-storm of motions to instruct. It's no wonder people are saying this thing could die before ever getting out of conference. What a joke. You know things have gone to hell when you can't pass a bill that spreads cash out all over the country to put people to work building roads and bridges.
The Senate has eight more amendments to the farm bill to consider today, all of which will be subject to "painless filibusters," that is, a 60-vote requirement to pass. The same will be required for final passage of the bill.
One other vote is possible, apparently depending on reaching an agreement to bump the vote up to today, on invoking cloture on the motion to proceed to consideration of the flood insurance bill.
Today's floor and committee schedules appear below the fold.
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