Posted on 12/18/2010 7:35:51 AM PST by Red Steel
The Senate will act on two important pieces of President Obama's progressive legislative agenda today: the DREAM Act and the repeal of the military's ban on openly gay servicemembers. By the end of the day, the path to final passage is expected to be set for DADT repeal, while DREAM is expected to languish for another Congress to pass.
Starting at around 10:30 this morning, the Senate will take up a cloture vote on DREAM. Cloture -- voted in by a 60-senator super majority -- is required to cut off debate and move a bill to final passage in the Senate. DREAM, which would provide legal status for illegal immigrants who serve in the military or earn college degrees, is not expected to hit that mark, effectively scrapping the bill for the time being.
That will set the stage for a cloture vote on a standalone DADT repeal bill, which proponents say is destined for passage. That will be the first step toward ending the nearly two-decade practice of allowing gays and lesbians to serve in the military, but not if anyone who works with them knows they're gay. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who has been the driving force behind lining up the votes for DADT repeal, says he has the 60 he needs and most observers expect there to be little drama today.
Lieberman and his allies in the Democratic caucus are expected to get help repealing DADT from at least four Republicans -- Sens. Scott Brown (MA), Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Olympia Snowe (ME). Most of the rest of the GOP caucus is expected to vote against it, though Lieberman said yesterday that the bill may pick up support from the GOP as it heads toward final passage.
On the Democratic side, Sen. Joe Manchin (WV) has not said whether he'll support the standalone bill -- and he voted against repeal the last time it came up, as part of a defense spending bill last week. Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), who voted for cloture on the spending bill, has also not said how he'll vote. Proponents of repeal say they don't need either vote to win today.
Supposing cloture is reached (which, again, is all but a foregone conclusion according to supporters of repeal), a final vote on the bill to end DADT could come as early as today. More likely than not, however, 30 hours of final debate on the measure will be kicked off by the cloture vote. That puts a final repeal vote sometime late Sunday.
The House already passed its version of the standalone DADT repeal (as well as DREAM, for what it's worth) which means that if the Senate passes the repeal this weekend it will go straight to the president's desk for likely signature.
Stay tuned throughout the day for live updates on the happenings here on Capitol Hill.
“The Army will become a disgusting perverted joke.”
...that will only motivate our enemies even more than they already are. They will be inspired not only to fight the ‘infidels’ but to also crush sexual behavior that is anathema to their religion.
LUGAR better be defeated in 2012!!!
Hoping my health holds out, etc, but if Scott Brown votes for DADT or DREAM I will definitely contribute what I can to his Republican opponent in the primary of 2012.
Can this be repealed or amended next session if this passes?
We will/are going to be like Europe... Eventually there is going to be such moral vacum that will be over come by radical muslims
They just called a NO vote for Snowe.
Not likely. Barry would just veto the repeal even if there were enough votes to pass it in both houses of Congress.
They called out a NO vote for Brown.
Pryor (d), Tester (d), Nelson (d) all NO.
(WP report from the Republican 2006 LAME-duck...compare and contrast)
***
Congress will convene on Tuesday for what some fear will be the lamest of lame-duck sessions, and GOP leaders have decided to take a minimalist approach before turning over the reins of power to the Democrats. Rather than a final surge of legislative activity, Congress will probably wrap up things after a single, short week of work. They have even decided to punt decisions on annual government spending measures to the Democrats next year.
“There is a lot of battle fatigue among members, probably on both sides of the aisle,” said Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), usually a reliable conservative firebrand. “Contrary to popular belief, members of Congress are human beings. They have a certain shelf life and a certain amount of energy to be drawn on. We’re tired.”
Anguished over the Democrats’ victory on Nov. 7 and the tumult that has followed, GOP lawmakers want to get out of town. One senior Senate Republican aide called hopes for substantive legislation “delusional.”
Much of the problem is as prosaic as office space, GOP aides said. Lawmakers were forced to vacate their offices on Friday, and few of them want to hang around Washington with no place to sit. Retiring House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) got angry during a meeting of committee chairmen, demanding to know how he was supposed to complete work on the business tax extension bill without an office, according to one GOP aide present in the meeting.
Listening now. DREAM Act won’t get 60 as pubbies appear to be holding across the board.
HUGE surprise!!
Snowe, Lincoln, and Brown voted no on DREAM cloture.
These guys could be splitting their votes 50/50 on DADT v DREAM.
“I want absolutely no damned mercy in the next congress. I want repeal after repeal tied to government appropriations bills.”
Absolutely right. We must take the offensive. Compromise isn’t going to get us the reforms that are essential to our national survival.
So far, I think the only GOP member to screw us is Lugar from Indiana.
>> the Dems Conrad and Manchin vote no on DADT <<
Manchin probably figures he’s gotta support the ‘Pubs on this one, plus a lot of the other hot-button issues, or else he loses in 2012.
But I think Conrad’s smart enough to know he’s already dead meat for the 2012 election, regardless of how he votes today. So he’ll probably just go with the other libs.
And Blanche Lincoln? Who knew she was still around!
Maine Girls come through!!
Does anybody believe when DADT passes that we will win the war in Afganistan? I bet even all our of gains in IRAQ will be lost also.. This country is in such deep deep trouble...
Woo hoo! Maine flips! Thanks be to God!!
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