House Kicks Off Its Waiting Game

That’sthe scenario House Democratic leaders have seemingly followed all year— rush to get bills through, only to wait for the Senate to act.

TheHouse blitzed through all of its fiscal 2010 appropriations bills andthe climate change bill before the August recess and finally passed its$1.2 trillion health care overhaul before the Veterans Day break.

“We have done an incredible amount of work in previous months that is now over in the Senate,” one senior Democratic aide said.

“We’vestruggled for years with the Senate’s lack of productivity,” added aDemocratic leadership aide, who lamented that attaining afilibuster-proof 60-vote Democratic Senate majority hasn’t been allthey had hoped for. “There doesn’t seem to be much of a differencebetween 51 and 60 in terms of Senate productivity.”

Withfour full weeks left on the House schedule this year, leaders will meettoday to figure out what to put on the floor while they wait for theSenate to catch up. The Senate has yet to pass four of the 12 spendingbills, has yet to take up climate change legislation and plans to spendmuch of the rest of the year tackling its version of health carereform.

HouseDemocrats insist that while they have plowed through many of theirbig-ticket items already, they will find ways to keep busy. At leastone major item remains firmly on the House agenda — a sweepingfinancial regulatory overhaul crafted by Financial Services ChairmanBarney Frank (D-Mass.) that should pass after Thanksgiving.

“We’re not going to be twiddling our thumbs,” the senior aide said.

Butnumerous question marks remain. For instance, House Democraticleadership must decide whether they will have the appetite to pushforward with a $500 billion transportation bill — or perhaps a smallerpackage that nonetheless jump-starts job-creating constructionprojects.

Anextension of the transportation construction bill expires at the end ofthe year, and many top Democrats have been urging passage of the largerbill paid for by a new tax on financial transactions, so that WallStreet literally pays to rebuild Main Street.

Democraticleadership aides also note they plan to pass a stand-alone “doc fix” toprevent a 21 percent pay cut to doctors under Medicare at a cost ofabout $245 billion. An estate tax package with a similar price tag alsoappears likely. That package would ensure the tax continues at currentlaw rates. The estate tax is scheduled to disappear in 2010 beforesnapping back to 55 percent in 2011 unless Congress acts. The Senatewould have to go along with both measures, however, and an earliereffort to pass the doc fix as a stand-alone bill failed on the Senatefloor. Getting a deal on either is complicated by a demand by SpeakerNancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) thatany measures be accompanied by statutory pay-as-you-go legislation andby a renewed focus by the White House on long-term deficit reduction,given that both bills would widen the deficit.

HouseDemocratic leaders are also looking at the possibility of passing somesmaller jobs-focused measures, potentially including extensions ofvarious pieces of the $787 billion stimulus package.

However,Senate Democratic leaders have talked about a jobs package as apriority for early 2010, and President Barack Obama’s jobs summitscheduled for December could pre-empt the House as well.

Appropriations conference reports are also on tap — with Democrats expecting the Commerce, Justice and science bill this week.

Congresswill also have to act by Dec. 18 to pass an omnibus spending bill or anextension to the continuing resolution to keep the governmentoperating, and Hoyer has already signaled the House could be in as lateas Dec. 22 for votes. Likewise, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid(D-Nev.) has warned of Christmastime sessions.

Therealso are housekeeping items to take care of: the government is bumpingup against the debt limit and needs another increase. Some Senatorshave talked about creating a fiscal commission to look at debt issuesas part of a bill, noting the recent failure to pass the doc fix, andHoyer has repeatedly endorsed the commission idea.

ButPelosi has remained opposed, reiterating before the Veterans Day breakthat she believes the existing committees in Congress are best able todeal with the deficit.

HouseDemocrats are also looking to extend some expiring provisions of theUSA PATRIOT Act, including roving wiretaps for suspected terrorists,but they face a dispute with the administration and Republicans overplans to curtail some of the extraordinary powers granted by the law.

MichaelSteel, spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio),suggested that Democrats work with Republicans on the economy: “Ratherthan twiddling their thumbs and waiting to see what the Senate doeswith Speaker Pelosi’s trillion-dollar government takeover of healthcare, Democratic leaders should scrap that job-killing boondoggle andwork with Republicans to help the American people, who continue to ask,‘Where are the jobs?’”