DREAM ACT GETS STALLED - DON'T ASK DON'T TELL IS REPEALED - JUDGES GET CONFIRMED - AND THE SENATE STARTS WORK ON PASSING THE NEW START TREATY

H.R. 5281, the Removal Clarification Act of 2010 became the vehicle for the DREAM Act when the House amended the bill on December 8th. Technically, that was on a motion to agree to two Senate amendments and that the House agree to the Senate amendment numbered 3 with an amendment, which was the DREAM Act.

Since leaving the House the bill has been the subject of debate in the Senate. Saturday the Senate rejected a Motion to Invoke Cloture on a Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment No. 3 to H.R. 5281- the DREAM Act.

South Carolina's Republican Senator Jim DeMint has proposed Senate Amendment 4844 to H.R. 5281. His response to the DREAM Act is to build the border fence. Specifically he wants a fence that works. His amendment says: "Fencing that does not effectively restrain pedestrian traffic (such as vehicle barriers and virtual fencing) may not be used to meet the 700-mile fence requirement under this subparagraph.''

Senator DeMint wants it done quickly. His amendment provides that: "not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the DREAM Act of 2010, complete the construction of all the reinforced fencing and the installation of the related equipment described in subparagraph (A).''

Senator Reid introduced a series of "Second Degree" Amendments that do not affect the substance of the legislation. They renumber certain sections in the bill.

The Senate failed to invoke cloture on Record Vote number 278.

On the next Record Vote, number 279, the Senate did Invoke Cloture, cutting off debate on the Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2965; SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2009.

That was the amendment of the Small Business Bill making it the Don't Ask Don't Tell Bill. Seven amendments were submitted by the Senate. The first two, Senate Amendments 4827 and 4828 by Senator Reid, were withdrawn. The next three, Senate Amendments 4829, 4830, and 4831 by Senator Reid, fell when cloture was invoked on the motion to agree to the House amendment to Senate amendment. Senator McCain submitted Senate Amendments 4837 and 4838, which were not acted upon. The repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell passed the Senate on Record Vote number 281 by a margin of 65 in favor to 31 opposed with 4 Senators not voting.

Among the not voting group was West Virginia's Democratic Senator Joe Manchin. All of the Senators opposed to the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell and the remaining three Senators who did not vote were Republicans. Eight Republican Senators voted with the Democrats to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell.

Two Judicial Nominations were confirmed by the Senate on Saturday and Sunday. The Senate Confirmed Ellen Lipton Hollander, of Maryland, to be a United States District Judge and Raymond Joseph Lohier, Jr., of New York, to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Hollander was confirmed on Record Vote number 280 and Judge Lohier was confirmed on Record Vote number 284.

The Senate finally took up the Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, signed in Prague on April 8, 2010, with Protocol.

Senator McCain and Senator Risch each had an amendment rejected by the Senate as deliberation of the New START Treaty began in earnest on Sunday. Senate Amendment 4814, by Senator McCain wanted to strike language from the preamble of the treaty. Specifically he wanted to strike: " Recognizing the existence of the interrelationship between strategic offensive arms and strategic defensive arms, that this interrelationship will become more important as strategic nuclear arms are reduced, and that current strategic defensive arms do not undermine the viability and effectiveness of the strategic offensive arms of the Parties." Senate Amendment 4814 was rejected on Record Vote 282 by a margin of 37 in favor to 59 opposed with 4 Senators not voting.

Senator Risch also wanted to amend the preamble of the treaty. Senate Amendment 4839 proposed inserting this language: "Acknowledging there is an interrelationship between non-strategic and strategic offensive arms, that as the number of strategic offensive arms is reduced this relationship becomes more pronounced and requires an even greater need for transparency and accountability, and that the disparity between the Parties' arsenals could undermine predictability and stability." Rejection of Senate Amendment 4839 came on Record Vote 283 by a margin of 32 in favor to 60 opposed with 8 Senators not voting.

Hits and Misses during the past week in the Lame Duck 111th Congress

The Senate had an idea, proposed by Delaware's Democratic Senator Tom Carper and Oklahoma's Republican Senator Tom Coburn, that the person running the Census Bureau should be qualified in running a large organization. They introduced S. 3167, the Census Oversight Efficiency and Management Reform Act of 2010.

Senator Lieberman, Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs reported the bill favorably with written report Number 111-351. S. 3167 passed the Senate by Unanimous Consent.

S. 3167 did not pass in the House despite receiving a majority of votes from the Members of the House. The bill was brought up on a Suspension of the Rules basis which means it needed a ⅔ majority to pass. The vote was on Roll Call 629 where 201 Members voted for S. 3167 and 167 Members voted against the measure. A ⅔ majority required 245 votes of those Members present and voting. If the Rules Committee submits a Rule for S. 3167 then it can be submitted for passage needing only a simple majority to pass.

H.R. 2965, the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell passed the House on Roll Call Vote 368 by a margin of 250 Members in favor to 175 opposed. The bill has been sent to the Senate where on a motion by Nevada's Democratic Senator, Harry Reid it was referred to the Senate Committee on Armed Services with the House message accompanying HR 2965, "with instructions to report back forthwith with amendment SA 4829 made in Senate".

Senate Amendment 4829 directs that at the end of the text the following is inserted: The Senate Armed Services Committee is requested to conduct a study on the impact of implementing these provisions on the family of military members. Senator Reid then proposed Senate Amendment 4830, an Amendment to Senate Amendment 4829 proposing that at the end of the text the following should be added: ” and that the study should focus attention on the dependent children''.

Meanwhile, Senator Liebermann [I-CT] introduced, together with 49 cosponsors, S. 4023, which is an exact duplicate of H.R. 2965. The Senate need not act directly on H.R. 2965 if it passes S. 4023 as drafted. Since the two are identical the legislation is considered to be enrolled and may be sent to the President.

Apparently a major disadvantage to hybrid and all electric motor vehicles is something Detroit has been selling as an advantage for years: a quiet ride. The new vehicles are so quiet that persons with disabilities of sight and hearing are put at risk. Normal cars and trucks, as quiet as automobile manufacturers have tried to make them, make enough noise so that a person with these disabilities is not likely to step out in front of them and be struck. Not so with these new ultra quiet vehicles.

That's why Massachusetts' Democratic Senator, John Kerry, introduced S. 841, the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010. This bill directs the Secretary of Transportation to study and report to Congress on the minimum level of sound that is necessary to be emitted from a motor vehicle, or some other method, to alert blind and other pedestrians of the presence of operating motor vehicles while traveling. It is expected the new standards will apply to vehicles operating at slow speeds and not be required at highway speeds.

S. 841 passed the Senate by Unanimous Consent. It sailed through the House, where it was brought up on a Suspension of the Rules motion requiring a ⅔ majority. S. 841 passed the House on Roll Call 640 with 379 Members voting in favor and 30 voting against the bill. The measure required 273 votes to pass.

S. 841 has been cleared to be sent to the White House for the President's signature.

S. 3447, the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010 has also been cleared to be sent to the White House for the President's signature. This bill is the first major overhaul of G.I. benefits since 9/11. S. 3447 was introduced by Hawaii's Democratic Senator Daniel Akaka, with 35 cosponsors. The bill passed the Senate by Unanimous Consent. Having been brought up in the House on a motion to Suspend the Rules, the bill needed a ⅔ majority for passage. There were 402 Members in favor and 3 opposed on Roll Call 642.

At the end of May the House passed H. R. 5136, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 by a margin of 229 to 186 on Roll Call 336. That bill went to the Senate, where it was buried. H.R. 6523 is the new incarnation of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011. This version passed the House by a much wider margin with 341 Members in favor and 48 opposed to the measure. A ⅔ majority of 260 votes was needed since the bill came up on a motion to Suspend the Rules.

H.R. 5136 , the CBO estimated ,would authorize appropriations totaling $726 billion for fiscal year 2011 for the military functions of the Department of Defense (DoD), for certain activities of the Department of Energy (DOE), and for other purposes. That total includes $159 billion for the cost of overseas contingency operations, primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill also would authorize an additional $34 billion for fiscal year 2010 for costs associated with those operations and for DoD relief efforts associated with the recent earthquake in Haiti. In addition, H.R. 5136 would prescribe personnel strengths for each active-duty and selected reserve component of the U.S. armed forces. CBO estimates that appropriation of the authorized amounts would result in outlays of $749 billion over the 2010-2015 period..

H.R. 6523, the CBO estimates, will have the same net increase in the budget as H.R. 5136 for fiscal year 2011. That is $3,973,000,000. For fiscal year 2012 H.R. 2136 had a larger deficit reduction impact than does H.R. 6523 by $40 million. Over the next decade H.R. 5136 would have reduced the deficit by $15 million compared to H.R. 6523, which the CBO projects will reduce the deficit by only $2 million.

H.R. 6523 moves on to the Senate in the waning days of the lame duck session.

H.R. 2142, the Government Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Performance Improvement Act of 2010 failed to get a ⅔ majority vote after being brought up on a Suspension of the Rules motion. H.R. 2142 originally passed the House on a voice vote, June 16, 2010. The Senate passed the bill with an Amendment by Unanimous Consent. The bill failed to get the requisite 229 votes of those Members present and voting.

The CBO report says that H.R. 2142 would amend the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), requiring federal agencies to define their missions and evaluate their performance. Specifically, the legislation would require federal agencies to expand their efforts to track and improve performance by: providing the Congress and the public with additional information on their current plans; incorporating their management goals and improvement plans into the GPRA performance evaluation process; and providing information on their performance via the Internet. In addition, the legislation would require training for employees who analyze and evaluate government programs, a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and a study by the Office of Personnel Management regarding the evaluation of government programs.

H.R. 5510, the Aiding Those Facing Foreclosure Act of 2010 failed to garner a ⅔ majority required because it was brought up on a motion to Suspend the Rules.

This bill Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to use otherwise unobligated amounts under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to enable nonprofit counseling intermediaries and nonprofit legal organizations to provide legal assistance to homeowners of owner-occupied homes consisting of from one to four dwelling units whose mortgages are in default or delinquency, in danger of default or delinquency, or subject to or at risk of foreclosure (including any deed in lieu of foreclosure or short sale).

Although the bill got a majority vote on Roll Call 655, 210 Members in favor and 145 Members opposed, it failed to get to the votes needed, in this case 237. Note: 78 Members did not vote!

Senator Barbara Boxer, [D-CA], introduced S. 3874, the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act. This bill passed the Senate by Unanimous Consent and managed to get the required ⅔ vote needed in the House when a bill is brought up on a motion to Suspend the Rules. On Roll Call 656 there were 226 Members in favor and 109 opposed. The magic number this time was 224.

This bill Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to exempt from prohibitions on the use or sale of lead pipes, solder, and flux: (1) pipes or pipe or plumbing fittings or fixtures, including backflow preventers, that are used exclusively for nonpotable services such as manufacturing, industrial processing, irrigation, outdoor watering or any other uses where the water is not anticipated to be used for human consumption; or (2) toilets, bidets, urinals, fill valves, flushometer valves, tub fillers, shower valves, service saddles, or water distribution main gate valves that are two inches in diameter or larger.

Redefines "lead free" under such Act to mean: (1) not containing more than 0.2% lead when used with respect to solder and flux (current law); and (2) not more than a weighted average of 0.25% lead when used with respect to the wetted surfaces of pipes and pipe and plumbing fittings and fixtures. Establishes a formula to calculate the weighted average lead content of a pipe or pipe or plumbing fitting or fixture.

Now if Senator Boxer could only manage to get the lead out of the Senate!

DON'T ASK DON'T TELL IS BACK IN THE HOUSE

H.R. 2965 is the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2009, while it began as legislation targeting small business investment in research and innovation it has become the vehicle for repealing the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy.

H.R. 2965 was introduced by Pennsylvania's Democratic Representative Jason Altmire on June 19, 2009. The bill was reported out of the House Committee on Small Business and the Committee on Science and Technology. A related bill in the Senate is S. 1233, introduced by Louisiana's Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu.

H.R. 2965 passed in the House on roll call vote 486 on July 8, 2009. The margin was 386 in favor to 41 against. On July 13, 2009 it passed the Senate in lieu of S. 1233 with an amendment. Action in the Senate was on July 13, 2009 by Unanimous Consent.

The Senate Amendment struck all the language in the bill following the Enactment Clause and substituted the language of S. 1233 as it had been amended. Senator Reid, the Democratic Majority Leader from Nevada introduced Senate Amendment 1502 for Oklahoma's Republican Senator Tom Coburn and Wisconsin's Democratic Senator Russ Feingold.

The Rules Committee is taking up H.R. 2905 today with an Amendment. This Amendment appears to be in the nature of a substitute. The new Short Title of the legislation is the ‘‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell 5 Repeal Act of 2010’’. To read the complete text of this amendment go to the Rules Committee website at: http://www.rules.house.gov/111/LegText/111_hrdadt.pdf.

The effective date of repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell under this amendment will be the latter date between 60 days after the Secretary of Defense has received the report on COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A REPEAL OF 10 U.S.C. 654, as required under a prior section of the amendment. Note: that report is in and may be accessed online at http://www.defense.gov/home/features/2010/0610_gatesdadt/DADTReport-SPI_FINAL_20101130(secure-hires).pdf.

The President has issued a statement to the public consistent with the terms of this proposed law. You can read the President's remarks at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/11/30/statement-president-obama-dod-report-don-t-ask-don-t-tell.

The second triggering event is a communication from the President to the Congressional Committees on Defense certifying that the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have considered the recommendations of the report and that they can proceed in a manner consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and the recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces.

This legislation does not confer any additional benefits such as recognizing marriage between same sex partners. No private causes of action are authorized by this amendment. That means no one gets a new right to sue anyone else.

The House previously passed similar legislation when it adopted House Amendment 672 to H.R. 5136, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011.  That measure passed the House on May 28, 2010, roll call vote 336, by a margin of 229 in favor and 186 opposed.  That bill is stalled in the Senate.