There is a lot of equality in the senate. Most of what we do is under unanimous consent. Any one of the hundred of us could object and throw the place into a stupor. Every senator has some real clout. The majority leader has more clout in the ability to set the agenda and be recognized first, which gives you some tactical advantages. But the house always says we are like a pyramid. At the top, you have the speaker. The senate is more like a level Playing Field with the majority leader having a little more advantage than anyone else. But a strongwilled senator can frequently get his weight simply by a objecting. Susan James Wallner, you study the senate. In that interview that senator somewhat did, he downplays the leaders roll. You said Party Leaders are more powerful today than have been at any time in the Senate History . James we take leadership for granted. We think leaders are the most powerful and essential leaders in the United States senate. And if we did not have them, the sen
Democrats, 202 7488000. Independents, 202 7488002. If you want to post thoughts on us, and you can find us on facebook as well. Here are some headlines looking at last nights effort. Congress on the brink of tax overhaul, that is how the wall street journal laid it out this , and the gop tax rate for Corporate Tax now at 21 as part of that new package. Washington times, when bill, three wins for republicans. Not only highlighting the tax cut plan, but what it does for the individual mandate ends drilling in alaska. If you go to usa today, it describes where we are as of today when it comes to this glitch that extends the tax drama. Here to explain that and to talk about the process from yesterday is john mcardle. Good morning, pedro. Anion of what happened explanation of what happened yesterday just after 2 30 yesterday, the house passed its version of tax reform. 12 republicans voted no. That is one less republican that voted no back in november, when they voted on their version of ta
Amendments are the socalled grassley amendment which is popular supported by the white house and they also have the mccain agreement that is a more narrow agreement that would offer a path to citizenship and provide for some Border Security although not the money for the border wall. Then we have a placeholder by senator schumer that will likely be replaced by this bipartisan proposal that we so emerged today from the socalled common sense coalition. And who were some of the members of the coalition . Senator collins, republican of maine and joe manchin democrat from west virginia. That can get 60 votes for passage. They didnt come up with anything today, but they announced that they have more or less reached a deal today and that was looking like citizenship, 25 billion to the wall and then some changes to family migration though they seem to be only geared towards dreamers specifically not wholesale immigration changes. Let me ask a question this way. Do any of these basic approaches
Gathered in this little room off the Senate Chamber, and he came bustling in and sat down with us. For the next 30 to 40 minutes, we all talked with him about health care while literally a dozen members of the u. S. Senate at one point or another poked their head in. And in those kinds of conversations you have with people that you really know, abbreviated little, did you look after yeah, i am on that and did you take, yeah, i got that. Back and forth, back and forth between him and his colleagues in the u. S. Senate. And when we left that day, i thought to myself, in a business where it is so much easier to stop something from happening than it is to actually find your way to get something done, this is how this guy succeeds. Relationships, trust followthrough. It was all on display that day as a sidebar to the meeting that we were having about health care. In short, senator kennedy absolutely was the bigfoot from massachusetts in so many ways if you needed somebody to help you get so