BREAKING: Bunning’s Roadblock Broken
UPDATE, WaPo, 9:14 PM, “The Senate approved the measure 78 to 19.”
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AP reports that Kentucky Republican Sen. Jim Bunning has relented. The vote on 30 day stopgap legislation to extend help for the jobless and get federal highway dollars flowing again will come tonight. Roll Call:
In the end Bunning agreed to a deal allowing him one vote on an amendment to pay for the bill’s $10 billion cost. That proposal was offered by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) last Thursday at the start of his filibuster, but Bunning rejected it because he feared his amendment would not pass.
Reid has also agreed to give Bunning two votes on amendments to a larger, one-year extension bill that is currently under consideration in the Senate. … To ensure the deal is enforced, Bunning has placed a hold on all the items included in the nightly “wrap up,” which normally entails a unanimous consent agreement to pass noncontroversial nominations and bills, a GOP aide said. Once the votes have taken place that hold would be lifted, the aide explained.
Bunning’s office released a statement:
“I hope Senate Democrats tonight vote for their own pay-fors and show Americans that they are committed to fiscal discipline. I will be watching them closely and checking off the hypocrites one by one.”
A final vote is scheduled to begin at 8:30 PM EST.
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8 Responses to “BREAKING: Bunning’s Roadblock Broken”
I just heard on Rachel Maddow, the final vote happened. The extension was passed by a huge margin.
Probably best not to give the natives a reason to get restless.
Don't keep us in suspense…did they decide to follow the PAYGO rules or not?
Bunning voted against the PayGo legislation.
Is it better to vote for PAYGO and then ignore it, or to vote against it and then ask that it be adhered to?
The justification is that PAYGO can be broken in an emergency. They think unemployment this high and recession = emergency. It is a defensible point. Claiming to be a fiscal conservative and then voting against PAYGO is not.
“I will be watching them closely and checking off the hypocrites one by one.”
I'll bet Bunning neglected to put a check by his own name.
A reasonable compromise. No matter which way the vote goes it will be public record.