It's news to no one that the stimulus passed by the exact same vote as last night's cloture. Ezra notes that Senator Johnny Isakson's silly house-flipping tax rebate is still part of the bill even though Isakson didn't vote to support the bill or even to end cloture; of the other three sponsors, Senators Joe Lieberman, Saxby Chambliss and Bob Corker, only Lieberman supported the overall bill -- seems like Mr. Not Being Reelected is running with a tough crowd these days. In any case, wouldn't a nice informal rule for the conference committee be that any amendment whose chief sponsor didn't support the bill gets stripped out? You don't get to muck around with legislation you're not going to support, fellas.
Of course, I realize this has little chance of happening -- note that the amendment passed by acclamation and there are plenty of senators of both parties who stand to benefit from telling their constituents they supported the provision. But if Isakson can't get support for his regressive tax rebate as a stand-alone bill, why should it be included in legislation he won't vote for? Find me one senator who voted for the stimulus who will oppose the conference bill if the Isakson amendment is removed -- I doubt Lieberman's support hinges on that one issue.
-- Tim Fernholz
