Ezra Klein

In response to the Great Amendment Hunt of Ought-Nine, commenter Badger asked, “These are pretty silly, but isn’t the House going to make mincemeat out of these things once it goes to conference/reconciliation/de-crazifying committee?” Probably. Most of these amendments were meant to “instruct” the budget conferees. They will be duly ignored. They exist more to […]

Ben Nelson has been carving out an interesting career niche for himself lately. What Joe Lieberman was to foreign policy, he’s decided to become to domestic policy. And so you have odd spectacles like Nelson threatening to vote against Obama’s pro-choice legal nominees and playing a key role in shrinking the stimulus and swearing to […]

By now, you’ve all heard of conference committee: that magical land were a couple powerbrokers from the House and a couple poobahs from the Senate meet to decide what the final budget will look like. Yesterday, the representatives from both chambers were named. They are: Senate: Kent Conrad, Judd Gregg, and Patty Murray. House: John […]

We know a deal was struck on reconciliation. And we know what that looks like on the reconciliation side. But what did it take to get that? Cohn suggests Obama made a firmer commitment to paygo rules. Which is strange, as his commitment to them was pretty firm already. Congressional Quarterly has a more worrying […]

First, a bit of background: Awhile ago, we talked about the three types of reconciliation possible on health care. The first type was a simple reconciliation process. The second type was a timed process where reconciliation would begin if the Congress didn’t pass a bill by “X” date. And the third type was a threat […]

Most of the amendments I’ve put up here today have been a bit galling. This one, however, is a pleasant surprise. David Vitter offered an amendment “to require States to implement drug testing programs for applicants for and recipients of assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which would encourage healthy, drug-free […]

Everything I’m hearing suggests that amendment 735, Mike Johanns effort “to prohibit the use of reconciliation in the Senate for climate change legislation involving a cap and trade system,” will remain in the final legislation. It passed with 67 votes. More on reconciliation soon.

Reader Myrtle finds a gem from Wyoming’s John Barasso. Amendment 765 demands that “climate change legislation decrease greenhouse gas emissions without regulating carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, water vapor, or methane emissions from biological processes associated with livestock production. In other words, stay away from cow farts. This isn’t just quixotic. Livestock production is a major […]

I elided this earlier, but what the Senate passed last night were not binding amendments. They were, in general, instructions to conferees. Put simply, the Senate is building its budget. The House is building its budget. Eventually, representatives from both bodies will have to go to conference and make the two budgets the same. When […]

They say that an important fact needs a striking number. So here’s a striking number: $1.7 trillion. That’s what people on the Hill are telling me they think health care reform will cost over 10 years. It’s a tremendous sum. Larger by far than anything the candidates admitted during the campaign. Larger by far than […]