As noted here, after some huffing and puffing and a brief lament for cowboy poets, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) has called for Wednesday votes on both spending resolutions — the House GOP plan ($61 billion in spending cuts) and the Senate Democratic plan ($4.7 billion in cuts). Republicans did not object.
Reid has set a 60-vote threshold on both measures, neither of which has a chance of passing. And that’s the point. “We need to be able to show the American people where we are on these two measures,” Reid said. Each side is hoping the votes will encourage the other into making further concessions.
Both parties also have an interest in keeping their members in line on these votes. Democrats will — in all likelihood — unanimously reject the GOP plan, just as Republicans will unanimously reject the Democratic plan. However, look out for those who’ll reject their own party’s proposal — Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) for example.
On the Republican side, Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) said he will oppose the GOP House plan. “I won’t vote for anything that would give us a deficit of $1.5 trillion, I think it’s too much,” he told reporters. But moderates like Sens. Dick Lugar (R., Ind.) and Mark Kirk (R., Ill.) are on board.
Meanwhile, House Republicans are preparing a second short-term resolution to buy more time (and cut more spending), while a long-term solution is negotiated. The current resolution expires on March 18, which isn’t really enough time to draft and pass a long-term measure (through September 30) assuming congress can agree on one. Reid, however, says he doesn’t want any more short-term resolutions. Perhaps he’s taking the advice of the New York Times?