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This Week in Congress
Sunday, January 24, 2010
6:30 PM

The Senate this week continues debate on a measure (H.J.Res. 45) that would raise the public debt limit by $1.9 trillion to $14.29 trillion, a hike that could provide the Treasury Department with enough borrowing authority to last through 2010. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) offered the $1.9 trillion increase as a substitute amendment to the House-passed proposal to raise the ceiling to $13.029 trillion -- a $635 billion increase over the current debt limit -- that likely would force lawmakers to revisit the politically unpopular issue before the November elections.

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Momentum is building behind a proposal to the Reid substitute drafted by Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Ranking Member Judd Gregg (R-NH) that would establish an 18-member fiscal task force comprised of ten Democrats and eight Republicans charged with reviewing all aspects of the current and long-term financial condition of the federal government. The commission's recommendations for reducing the deficit would be submitted to Congress soon after the 2010 elections, followed by expedited consideration in both chambers with no amendments in order. The final votes on the recommendations would require 60-percent supermajorities in both the House and Senate.

"So the commission is made up of a balanced and fair approach," said Gregg during a floor statement last week. "And when it reports, 14 of the 18 people have to vote for it... Neither side can game the other side because the majority of both sides have to be for whatever the report is."

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) has offered language that would prohibit the Conrad-Gregg Commission from including cuts to Social Security as part of its overall deficit reduction proposal. "Social Security is not the cause of our deficit problem," Baucus argued. "Social Security is running surpluses."

Under an agreement reached in December, the Conrad-Gregg and Baucus proposals -- along with other amendments offered to H.J. Res. 45 -- will need 60 votes to pass or otherwise be withdrawn. The resolution itself also will be subject to a 60-vote threshold in the Senate.

Republicans have lined up a series of amendments targeting government spending, including a proposal by Sen. John Thune (R-SD) to immediately end the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and reduce the debt ceiling by any funds repaid through TARP assistance. Thune's amendment could not garner the 60 votes required for adoption last week, so it was subsequently withdrawn. Other GOP proposals include an amendment by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) aimed at eliminating duplicative programs, and an amendment by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) that would place a cap on discretionary spending through fiscal year 2014.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on the Baucus amendment at around 11:30 AM on Tuesday, followed by a vote on the Conrad-Gregg proposal. A final vote on the Reid substitute amendment could occur by week's end.

The House this week is scheduled to take up draft legislation providing for an additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and a draft bill called the "Emergency Aid to American Survivors of the Haiti Earthquake Act."

In addition, the House is slated to vote on two "suspension" bills this week that failed to garner the required two-thirds majority to pass last week under suspension of the rules:

Idaho Wilderness Water Facilities Act (H.R. 4474) - Would authorize the continued use of certain water diversions located on National Forest System land in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in Idaho.
Castle Nugent National Historic Site Establishment Act (H.R. 3726) - Would establish Castle Nugent on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands as a unit of the National Park System.

The House will meet at approximately 8:35 PM in a joint session with the Senate to receive President Obama's State of the Union address.