Tensions have reportedly grown between senators on both sides of the aisle who are negotiating the bipartisan infrastructure package. The group is still struggling to reach a deal a week after the Senate procedural vote to open debate on the bill failed.
Nope. Canāt take Repugnicant concerns about deficit spending seriously after they added $7.8T to the national debt. Take your clown show up the road, MFers.
When we played our charade
We were like children posing
Playing at games, acting out names
Guessing the parts we played
Yepā¦
The GQP no longer serve as legislators; they make no laws, other than those devoted to voter suppression and outlawing abortion. They are now paid employees of the dark money forces that keep getting them elected. Yes, surely some Democrats are corrupt, but I will wager they are in the minority and the party itself is dedicated to passing laws and bettering the country.
Schumer said on the Senate floor that there has been progress made on both infrastructure tracks, which suggests that the Dems are closer to finalizing the budget resolution for the reconciliation bill, which will be one of the most impactful bills the Dems have ever done.
Welp. TPM is reporting on what it knows, so this isnāt a complaint but an observation:
Left hands not knowing what the right hands are doing, in combination with Schumerās saying to get ready for a vote on the whole bill as soon as tonight = the Senateās procedural opacity that Josh has posted about a couple of times.
Hereās hoping that weāre closer rather than not, but right now thereās no way to know.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told Anthony Adragna and Annie Snider that the agreement included $15 billion in funding to remove lead pipes from drinking water systems ā something the White House wanted, but with a $45 billion price tag to replace all lead lines across the country.
So, Mittās gonna voluntarily move to one of those locales with lead drinking water pipes?
Didnāt think so.
So many Lucys, so many footballsā¦
Reassuring at least, that Schumer promised staying through the recess if necessary.
Wait for it: Having demanded to have the full, written text of the final bipartisan mini-bill in front of them before they would even consider opening debate, the Senate Republicans now whine that āitās too long to read!!ā
And far too many Charlie Browns.
FIFY.
WORK: something thatās alleged to lead to your or my moral improvement and may provide wages sufficient for our sustenance.
It is not part of any reactionary congress critterās job description.
At this point, 15 billion is far more than has been spent on replacing lead water pipes to date.
Iāll take what I can get as long as Flint is the first recipient of the funds.
After the 1/6 select committee hearing yesterday, and the clown show and tantrums exhibited by several Republican House members, I guess a few Republican senators thought theyād better do something, you know, responsible to change the subject for awhile.
You know? I had the same thought - we might actually get this passed because the GQP is seeing the handwriting on the wall about 6 Jan. This is one possible way to deflect from the repercussions.
At least until the next set of facts is revealed in the next hearingā¦
Yesāto get both packages done (and the voting rights bill, too, or am I mis-remembering that?)
No matter: saying to just about any group of people that they might lose their vacation time if they donāt buckle down is a time-honored way to get them to buckle down.
Iām certainly not going to insist on rejecting an improvement because itās not perfect.
Still, only finding funds to do 33% of the toxic pipes seems problematic, particularly when we donāt know when itāll be possible to finish the rest of the job.
Itās like, how many neurologically damaged children are considered acceptable?
Iām sure that, if it were the Romney family, the answer would be ā0.ā
I always think of Maynard Krebbās WORK?! yelp when I see this. Also Junior Bushās āitās HARD WORK!ā
No, donāt ask me how old I am. Maybe I just watch a lot of historical Youtube. It could happen.
I hope things got worked out on the 80-20 apportionment of highway/public transit funds such that they moved a bit more in favor of transit.