FMAP in Extenders Bill: Reid Withdraws Cloture Vote

Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-NV) withdrew his cloture motion Tuesday night, setting up several votes during the next couple of days, including one on an expected trimmed down Democratic substitute on a $140 billion tax extenders bill.  Senate Democrats didn't appear to have enough support through Tuesday to end debate on the bill. 

The Senate will begin the morning with resuming consideration of HR 4213, the “Tax Extenders” bill. At 10:45 a.m. Wednesday the Senate will vote to waive a budget point of order on the substitute amendment offered by Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT). If the motion doesn't get 60 votes, the amendment will be withdrawn. 

Next, the Senate will take up a Republican alternative offered by Senator Thune (D-SD) then hold a vote Thursday on the motion to waive the budget act. If the motion doesn't get 60 votes, the amendment will be withdrawn. Also under this agreement, at 10am on Thursday, June 16, there will be up to 2 hours for debate equally divided between Senators Baucus and Thune or their designees.

If either the Baucus or Thune amendments receive 60 votes they will remain pending. 

Meanwhile, Baucus is expected to piece together a trimmed down substitute that will probably cut the Medicare "doc fix" from 19 months to one year and possibly cut the extra $25 a week that has been included in unemployment benefits checks for past 18 months. The amendment is expected to include $24 billion in FMAP funding; however, ANCOR encourages its members to continue to call your Senators per last week’s Action Alert, as negotiations remain tenuous in the Senate.

As reported by ANCOR members contacting and visiting Senate offices, moderate Democrats and Republicans are having difficulty supporting a bill that included $84 billion in deficit spending. If you are represented by Nelson (D-NE), Collins (R-ME), Snowe (R-ME), Voinovich (R-OH), or Brown (R-MA), Feingold (D-WI), Bayh (D-IN), make sure you have pulled all the stops to contact their offices in support of including FMAP in HR 4213.  Lawmakers were trying to make several tweaks to the bill to garner enough support before the weekend.  The bill also includes a nearly $40 billion extension of unemployment benefits through November, which expired earlier this month.