The Senate will try again this week to move forward on a bill that extends long term jobless benefits, as a small group of GOP Senators demands changes to pay for the plan and Democrats struggle to figure out their best way forward on the measure.
The initial Democratic strategy seemed to be one of blaming the GOP for blocking an extension of long term jobless benefits - but when six Senate Republicans joined with Democrats last week to advance the bill for debate, there was no gridlock, just talk about reaching a deal.
Then on Thursday, Senate Majority Harry Reid grabbed headlines as he handed Republicans a take-it-or-leave-it extension of one year - in which the GOP had no input - and then blocked Republican amendments, leading to a series of sour exchanges on the Senate floor.
"We get nowhere with dueling amendments," Reid bluntly told several GOP Senators who seemed ready to help him get a deal on the jobless benefits bill.
But if Reid and Democrats thought that Republicans would fold, they were wrong, as the small band of Republicans who voted to start work on the bill said that unless Reid would allow GOP changes, the jobless plan was going nowhere.
"I am representing the people of Indiana and their voice is shut down," Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN) complained to Reid on the Senate floor after being blocked from offering an amendment to the bill.
By Friday afternoon, Reid was already engaged in telephone diplomacy with the GOP, as his spokesman issued a statement saying the Senate leader "is absolutely willing for the Senate to consider a reasonable number of relevant amendments from Republicans."
While Democrats have harped for several years about GOP filibusters, not as much attention has been paid to how Reid has repeatedly stifled Republican efforts to amend bills on the Senate floor, using a parliamentary technique known as "filling the tree" to shut out any issues he doesn't want the Senate to deal with.
Reid's tight control of the Senate floor hasn't just blocked Republicans from forcing votes, as it has also restricted the work of both parties; since last July, only eight amendments have received a vote on the Senate floor - four from each party.
What was interesting about this latest spat on the Senate floor was how it the story was told - instead of headlines about another GOP filibuster, it was Reid who was in the top paragraph of a New York Times story, which highlighted his "iron-fisted control" of the Senate.
Reid's plan from last week would extend benefits until just past the November elections, and pay for it two ways - with just over a billion dollars in savings by putting some limits on people who are wrongly getting both jobless benefits and Social Security Disability Insurance, and by extending the sequester on mandatory spending.
But that second piece - while it would save $18.1 billion - that wouldn't happen until 2024-2025.
Republicans say the disability/jobless benefits plan can save almost $6 billion if it is set up correctly; they also want to stop non-citizens from claiming a child tax credit, a plan that Reid has denounced.
We'll see if any GOP amendments get voted on this week, and whether Reid can get a deal before lawmakers take off next week.
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