34 Of 41 Senate Republicans Supported Passing Major Domestic Policy Legislation Through Reconciliation
34 Of 41 Senate Republicans Supported Passing Major Domestic Policy Legislation Through Reconciliation
As the outlook on passage of health reform improves, Republicans have shifted to a new obstructionist strategy: attacking the process of reconciliation. Republicans claim that reconciliation was only intended to be used for bills dealing closely with the budget. In fact, when Republicans were in power, GOP lawmakers used reconciliation numerous times to pass major domestic policy legislation, including the Bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 and important changes to health care policy. In fact, 34 of the 41 Senate Republicans have used reconciliation in the past to pass major pieces of domestic policy.
In 2005, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) famously defended reconciliation as “majority rules.” Think Progress has compiled a video of some of these 34 senators who have, in the past, defended reconciliation and railed against the filibuster. Some highlights:
– “If you’ve got 51 votes for your position, you win.” — Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), 3/15/05
– “For some time, I hoped that my colleagues who oppose reform would allow a majority in both bodies to prevail and do what the vast majority of the American public desires.” — Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), 10/15/99
– “It [the filibuster] is the product of a rule of the Senate passed many years after the ratification of the Constitution. This rule does not derive from the authority of the Constitution.” — Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO), 5/19/05
– “Filibusters are neither an idea of the founding fathers nor a historical tradition of the Senate.” — Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), 4/27/05
Watch it:
The full list of Senate Republicans who have used reconciliation to pass major domestic policy, as well as a list of those pieces of legislation can be found after the jump:
Major domestic policy legislation that these 34 Senators have voted for through reconciliation in the past 20 years: Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, Balanced Budget Act of 1995, Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, Taxpayer Refund and Relief Act of 1999, Marriage Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2000, Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007
| Senator | State | Senator | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar Alexander | Tennessee | Judd Gregg | New Hampshire |
| John Barrasso | Wyoming | Orrin Hatch | Utah |
| Robert Bennett | Utah | Kay Bailey Hutchison | Texas |
| Christopher Bond | Montana | James Inhofe | Oklahoma |
| Sam Brownback | Kansas | Johnny Isakson | Georgia |
| Jim Bunning | Kentucky | Jon Kyl | Arizona |
| Richard Burr | North Carolina | Richard Lugar | Indiana |
| Tom Coburn | Oklahoma | John McCain | Arizona |
| Susan Collins | Maine | Mitch McConnell | Kentucky |
| Bob Corker | Tennessee | Lisa Murkowski | Alaska |
| John Cornyn | Texas | Pat Roberts | Kansas |
| Mike Crapo | Idaho | Jeff Sessions | Alabama |
| James DeMint | Sourth Carolina | Richard Shelby | Alabama |
| John Ensign | Nevada | Olympia Snowe | Maine |
| Mike Enzi | Wyoming | John Thune | South Dakota |
| Lindsey Graham | South Carolina | David Vitter | Louisiana |
| Chuck Grassley | Iowa | George Voinovich | Ohio |
42 Responses to “34 Of 41 Senate Republicans Supported Passing Major Domestic Policy Legislation Through Reconciliation”
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it’s time the democrats in the senate show some spine, use reconcilliation with a full and robust public option and shove it right up the repukeliscum’s asses…sideways.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:05 pmYOU LIE!! (Thought I would beat them to it)
March 9th, 2010 at 4:05 pmHypocrisy, thy name is GOP.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:05 pmThey still have the guts to go on TV and lambast the Democrats
for doing it. Selective memory? Hypocrisy? Lying basterds?
The mindless masses still will believe their crap…Living in Central Texas is like living in a cult.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:07 pmI honestly don’t know why they haven’t gone ahead and passed it, unless they’re still working out details with the House. And to be honest, pass it without them and work on the details later, through reconciliation.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:07 pmmake them filibuster. let them filibuster. don’t allow them to get away with just threatening it. call their bluff. then everyone can see what spineless, heartless, corporation owned pigs the republican senators are. and yes, this is the height of hypocrisy. why don’t we see this on the nightly news?
mr. rove supports healthcare reform wholeheartedly. regardless of what i say on faux “news.”
March 9th, 2010 at 4:09 pmWhat? None of them are calling it the nuclear option? Fox???
Republics still believe they’re our ‘political parents’.
In other words, do as I say, not as I do.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:11 pmO/T: Apparently you can beat up foreigners in Florida if you just claim they tried to sexually assault you.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/mar/09/091559/reservist-accused-attacking-priest-wont-be-charged/
Another victor for Becky and Teabaggers.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:15 pm“Apparently you can beat up foreigners in Florida if you just claim they tried to sexually assault you.”
too bad because i’m sure bubba who hasn’t seen a piece of fresh ass in years would have showed this punk what “sexually assault” is.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:16 pm” Jasen Bruce has been working with Tampa law enforcement as a confidential informant, otherwise known as a snitch”
big surprise there, a cancervatard “snitch”. usually one one turns “snitch” it’s because they have bargained their way out of a conviction.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:19 pmooohhhhh, too bad, they looooooovveeeeee snitches in jail
What a list of outstanding Americans!? A team of “one eighty” filibusterers! What is the English translation of filibuster?….full-a-bull-sh**ers?
March 9th, 2010 at 4:22 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
What the press and public fail to understand is that there are separate set of rules for Democrats than there is for Republicans.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:23 pmSurely anyone with a single ounce of common sense knows all these “law makers” have been bought and paid for right??
Jess
March 9th, 2010 at 4:25 pmhttp://www.total-anonymity.us.tc
i have two words for you jdummy:
March 9th, 2010 at 4:25 pmtough tittie
This comment has been voted down. Click to read.
jdummy,
March 9th, 2010 at 4:28 pmyou do realize the “nuclear option” refers to changing senate rules midway through a session whereas reconcilliation is a legal, procedural matter right?
jdummy,
March 9th, 2010 at 4:30 pmas a resident of connecticut you do realize 1) the hartford examiner isn’t a real newspaper
and
2) you cite an opinion piece
jmunny, “there will be…back then”??? Is this the opposite of “there was…in the future”???
“Reconciliation” is NOT the same as the “nuclear option”. Of course, since you don’t understand the nature of time, I guess this lack of knowledge is understandable.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:30 pmjmunny, can you find a quote from a Democrat that there “will be back then” who was against reconciliation?
March 9th, 2010 at 4:32 pmDemocrats with big majority should not have to put up with Republicans ranting for months.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:35 pmRepublicans were passing all bills they wanted to pass for Bush to sign when they were majority.
I agree with #1 BOZO here that it is time for Democrats to show that hey have a spine.
If Democrats can’t do it now, it will never be done in the near future, and with divsion among themselves they are giving Republicans the final say on everything while Republicans are simply the minority now,but they were given the power of Red and Green lights buttons to push by Democrats in passing bills.
Democrats need to wake up and do what their base wants them to do,before it is too late.The base that gave them the majority.
Democrats are angering their own base with these endless and useless Byzantines arguments,that are futile and nonproductive.
Time for Democrats to call the shots..or they might not be the majority soon ,should they continue taking this path.
@4:
Unclear on the concept of the internets in general and YouTube in particular?
March 9th, 2010 at 4:38 pmI bet you the republicans are now for balancing the budget but didn’t seem to worry about that when they had the majority. No they had more important things to do like Terry Schiavo legislation.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:39 pmBozo The Neoclown says:
it’s time the democrats in the senate show some spine, use reconcilliation with a full and robust public option and shove it right up the repukeliscum’s asses…sideways.
Deserves to be repeated. That “spine” part though, I don’t think the Dems have any.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:40 pm“Reconciliation” is NOT the same as the “nuclear option”. Of course, since you don’t understand the nature of time, I guess this lack of knowledge is understandable.
And the guy he got it from is as clueless as he!
March 9th, 2010 at 4:40 pm@23
March 9th, 2010 at 4:40 pmWell duh…Sheesh they’re hypocrites!
My mom and dad weren’t too concerned about Bush’s spending spree, but now all of a sudden, because Obama is in the white house, they’re suddenly “concerned about the defecit”…
@24
March 9th, 2010 at 4:42 pmOh, I think they have a spine…They just think that using it will hurt their chances of winning in november because that’s what all the corporate media pundits say..
@22
March 9th, 2010 at 4:43 pmI don’t think any of them know how to use the internet, let alone YouTube.
Republiscum, conservatards and teabaggers are not “concerned about the deficit” – the are “concerned about that ni66er in the White House.”
March 9th, 2010 at 4:44 pmlinzloo08 @ 26,Not one re-puke was interested in being fiscally conservative during the Shrubs crime spree because he didn’t include either wars in his budget so it looked really good, then there is that whole Black Guy in the White House thingy…..
March 9th, 2010 at 4:48 pmFritz (God Told Me To Hate Conservatives) says:
——————————————————————————–
Republiscum, conservatards and teabaggers are not “concerned about the deficit” – the are “concerned about that ni66er in the White House.”
Ahh but you see, they’ll never admit that they don’t like having a ni66er in the white house..So they hide behind their cries of “He’s increasing the defecit!”.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:49 pmIt’s the same with the corporate right wing pundits, like Limpboob…
March 9th, 2010 at 4:50 pmThe Republicans continue to spew lies and disinformation. This is not exactly a new flash. Most of the MSM is letting them slide with their talking points despite the fact that the MSM has vast resources for fact checking. The media is afraid to challenge because these politicians will not appear on the shows. Ratings trump truth.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:51 pmlinzloo08 brought to you by I Want My Country Back, Inc.!! says:
Ahh but you see, they’ll never admit that they don’t like having a ni66er in the white house..So they hide behind their cries of “He’s increasing the defecit!”.
Exactly.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:52 pmI say reconcile health care so we can weed out Limpballs,keep chrches preaching for social justice so we can weed out Becky and so on……
March 9th, 2010 at 4:52 pmNot a peep from him about the defecit during the bush years, but now with a democrat as president, he’s all “Oh noes the sky is falling, the defecit’s increasing!”…
March 9th, 2010 at 4:53 pmi can summarize the GOP argument in three words:
I LOVE LAMP.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:53 pm@37
March 9th, 2010 at 4:54 pmHunh?
I don’t get it.
March 9th, 2010 at 4:56 pmNobody said it better than ex-governor of Vermont Howard Dean,and ex-chairman of the Democratic party who worked very hard to help Democrats to be the majorty in the Congress and Senate in last elections:
March 9th, 2010 at 5:39 pm“Why do we need majority if we can’t use it”, in reference to Democrats situation with regard to health care reform.
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WE have to help the Democrats in the Senate and the House have the courage to use reconciliation to pass Health Insurance Reform. Email your representatives! It’s easy! And it DOES count. They add up the Pro and Con emails on every issue. Just a quick sentence or two is all you ahve to write. The Right Wing is really good at getting the masses to write. We have to get better at this.
March 9th, 2010 at 11:48 pm