The Senate leaders coup that blocked public debate on Omnibus budget bill

There are plenty of blogs out there that will give you the horrendous details that are starting to be revealed in the soon to be passed Ryan budget bill. So let me give you the coup that went down with McConnell at the helm to make sure we will never ever have a recorded vote on any amendments nor hear a word on the Senate floor in debate.That there would be not one Senator available to object. Here we go:

With a mere 68 seconds of almost incomprehensible Senate legalese, the two top Republican and Democratic leaders together blocked any budget amendments, televised debate and roll-call votes over the myriad unpopular or popular, effective, dysfunctional or counterproductive measures in the $1.1 trillion 2016 omnibus spending plan.

On Friday morning, likely at 10.00 a.m., $1.1 trillion in spending will be swept through the Senate in only a few minutes, without debate, public observation, record-keeping, cheering and especially without dramatic amendments and unpopular roll-call votes that would be tracked, counted, measured and replayed over and over again in 2016 attack ads.

The leaders’ surprise coup can be seen here, at 1.01 p.m, or 3.02:00 into this C-SPAN video, when Majority Leader Minority Leader, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) jointly, quickly and quietly walked onto the Senate floor while a few other Senators were delivering minor speeches sought by their constituents or lobbyists.

“I see that the [GOP] Majority Leader and the Democratic leader are on the Senate floor and I believe it would be appropriate for me to yield to them,” said Maine Republican, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

“I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate receives a message from the House to accompany H.R. 2029, the Majority Leader be recognized to make a motion to concur on the House amendments, further that if a cloture motion is filed on that motion, that notwithstanding Rule 22, the Senate immediately vote on the motion to invoke cloture, that if cloture is invoked, all post-cloture time be yielded back, the Majority Leader or his Designate be recognized to make a motion to table the first House amendment, that following the disposition of that motion, and if a budget point of order is raised, the Majority Leader is designated to be recognized to make a motion to waive the point of order, and that following disposition of that motion and the Senate the vote on motion to concur on the House amendments with no further motions or amendments in order, unless the motion to table is successful, or the budget point of order is sustained, and with two minutes of debate, equally divided, in the usual form, prior to each vote.”

Is there…” asked the Senator presiding over the event, Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE , Republican from Nebraska.

She was trying to ask if any Senator present objected to McConnell’s plan.

The leaders’ “unanimous consent” no-amendment, no-debate plan would fail if even one determined Senator was on the floor, and ready to withhold consent — perhaps

“No objection,” quickly responded Reid, off-camera, before Fischer could even finish her sentence, and before any other Senator rushed through the doors to stop the entire process with a single objection.

“No objection, so ordered,” Fischer said.

That was it.

H/T:Breitbart

Filed under: Government Tagged: Budget Bill, Congress, McConnell, Omnibus, Reid, senate