|
|
|
 |
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
|
|
Posted on 01/15/2003 6:26:41 PM PST by RCW2001
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, January 15, 2003; 9:16 PM
WASHINGTON –– Senate leaders reached agreement Wednesday on how the two parties will divide up committee funding, ending an impasse that had deflected the Senate from its legislative business and clouded the debut of new Majority Leader Bill Frist.
With the deal on committee organization, coming eight days after the 108th Congress opened, committee chairmanships will finally be turned over to the new Republican majority and 11 Senate freshmen will get their promised seats on the 20 Senate committees.
Frist, R-Tenn., said the deal was fair to both sides, and, with it done, the Senate can begin to "accomplish what we are all about, which is to proceed with the nation's business."
The completion of that normally routine housekeeping chore removes a distraction that had postponed hearings still nominally under Democratic chairmen and delayed action on a $385 billion catchall spending bill for the fiscal year starting last Oct. 1. The last Congress failed to act on the legislation to fund non-defense federal agencies.
The dispute made for a contentious start to the new session and its new leader, Frist, with Democrats claiming they were being treated unfairly and Republicans accusing Democrats of ignoring the results of last November's election that put the GOP back in the majority.
There was never a problem with numbers: In the last Congress, Democrats held a one-seat advantage on committees and in this session, Republicans will gain a one-seat edge.
But Democrats said that traditional committee funding ratios, where the minority got as little as one-third of the money going to each committee, was no longer relevant in light of the last Congress when the funds were divided nearly equally.
The 107th Congress began in a 50-50 tie, and the parties agreed to a formula of near parity in seats, funds and space. There were only minor changes in the funding ratio when Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt., left the Republicans and shifted power to the Democrats.
Under the agreement outlined in a joint leadership letter, committee budgets will reflect the current ratio of the Senate, where Republicans have 51 seats and the Democrats, with Jeffords, have 49. An additional 10 percent will be given to the Republican chairman of each committee for administrative expenses.
Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota said the agreement was "the mirror image of the resolution we passed in the 107th Congress," when Democrats were up by 51-49. "We are very pleased with the outcome of the negotiations." Daschle said he hoped the precedent of committee structures being proportionate to Senate seats would continue in the future.
As in the past, individual committees will still be able to make adjustments in the formula.
|
|
|
|
|
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
|
|
Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota said the agreement was "the mirror image of the resolution we passed in the 107th Congress," when Democrats were up by 51-49. "We are very pleased with the outcome of the negotiations." Daschle said he hoped the precedent of committee structures being proportionate to Senate seats would continue in the future.
110%? Or is it 0.51*90% + 10% = 55.9% for Republicans and thus 44.1% for RATS?
The author of this article is clearly an idiot. What the heck is the split?!
Regardless, a major cave-in on the part of Republicans.
Giving the Left a victory is hardly "fair to both sides."
The Democrats asked for 50% of staff and budget, were entitled to 33%, and settled for 40%. That's like pump-faking to a reciever open downfield and settling for a 7 yard gain on the ground.
When will the GOP stop playing prevent defense?
51 + 49 + 10 =100 ?
Is this an AlGoreRhythm?
Boolean $hit
If this piece of chit is pleased than Frist is starting as a failure
Divided Senate Resolves Opening Round Dispute
Wed January 15, 2003 09:32 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A week after convening, the Republican-led U.S. Senate resolved an opening round battle on Wednesday, forcing Democrats to surrender their gavels at last to new Republican committee chairs.
Yet Democrats, having swapped a number of proposals and heated exchanges with Republicans, managed to get largely what they wanted in their share of committee funding.
The accord makes the Senate fully operational and allows it to move open throttle to a number of issues -- from spending bills to President Bush's proposed tax cuts.
"I believe this understanding ... is fair to both sides," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee. "We are now able to proceed ... with the nation's business."
Without the new committee organizational agreement, the Senate resorted to the committee structure of last year's Democratic-led chamber. That meant Democratic chairs. And Republicans had been reluctant to allow committees to do much, if any, business until there was a change in command.
The chief sticking point had been how Democrats and Republicans would divvy up funds for each committee.
With Republicans controlling the Senate 51-49, Democrats demanded that the money be about evenly split -- like it was when they controlled the chamber last year, 51-49.
But Republicans objected, saying the arrangement stemmed from an unprecedented 50-50 Senate at the start of the 107th Congress in January 2001.
Republicans favored switching back to the traditional two-to-one funding ratio, with the new majority getting the bigger share.
In the end, Republicans basically agreed to the Democratic proposed ratio, though Republicans could get up to an additional 10 percent for administrative expenses -- just as in last year's arrangements.
"This is a fair resolution," said Sen. Tom Daschle, the Democratic leader from South Dakota.
Perhaps when its about an issue that is really important. Compromise on the little things, stand firm on the big ones. Maybe I'm missing something, but is the division of committee funding really that important? About the only thing I can think of where it would make much of a difference is in the amount of staff available to assist in issue research. But with all the think tanks, activist groups(on both sides) and the speed of information these days, that really shouldn't make much of a difference.
Let the Dems get their choice of what radio station they want to listen to, as long as we stay in the driver's seat and determine where the car actually goes.
When the Senate GOP starts caving on policy I'll start complaining
I'm afraid my wait will not be long.
we won
They lost
Let`s go get Saddammnn
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.