TPMDC’s update on the biggest legislative initiatives on the Hill:
- Health Care: On the House-side, a phantom CBO score, trumped up by Republicans, plagued Democrats for much of the afternoon, before it was conclusively revealed to be a fiction. In the Senate, as the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee completed marking up the long-term care provisions in its health care reform bill, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee began to tiptoe away from efforts at bipartisanship. An end-of-the-day report suggests that, with time running out to pass a bill before August recess, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid laid down the law and demanded an end to efforts to bring Republicans aboard.
- Climate Change: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing today on “moving America toward a clean energy economy.” In an embarrassing twist, though, a number of conservative cap-and-trade foes became convinced that the the Senate was voting on climate legislation and embarked on a brief but hilarious Twitter rampage urging all concerned to “LIGHT UP THE SWITCHBOARDS” on the Hill.
- Senate Politics: As reported, Sen. (!!!) Al Franken (D-MN) was sworn in today–the 60th member of the Democratic caucus.
