As the Senate on Tuesday blocked an amendment that would do away with ethanol fuel subsidies, it marked a shift for Senators - they are actually voting on some significant issues.
For much of the year, Democrats in the Senate have kept a lid on what amendments can come to the floor, in part trying to keep Republicans from forcing votes on a variety of issues, some of them politically contentious.
So far this year, little in the way of serious legislation has been on the Senate floor, and members of both parties have been expressing frustration in recent weeks, unable to force votes on the budget and much more.
The dam partially broke last week as Democrats brought up an economic development bill on the Senate floor, which quickly attracted a number of amendments, dealing with everything from increasing the debt limit to a plan to delay the Obama health reform law.
The first vote of significance last week was related to swipe fees on debit cards; yesterday brought the ethanol issue to the floor, which may return in a different form in coming days as well.
What other items might come up on this bill in the Senate? Check the list of amendments that are pending right now - they would put more than a few Senators on the record on some big issues.
- DeMint amendment to repeal the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. (#394)
- Paul amendment to increase the statutory debt limit by $2.406 trillion to $16.7 trillion. (#414)
- Cardin amendment to prohibit interest charges through the end of the month on FHA-insured loans that have been paid off earlier in the month. (#407)
- Merkley amendment to establish clear regulatory standards for mortgage servicers, and for other purposes. (#428)
- Kohl amendment to amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal. (#389)
- Hutchison amendment to delay the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act until there is resolution of related pending lawsuits. (#423)
- Portman amendment to apply the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act to independent regulatory agencies, excepting monetary policy. (#417)
- Portman amendment to amend the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act to strengthen the economic impact analyses for major rules, require agencies to analyze the impact of major rules on jobs and require adoption of the least burdensome regulatory means. (#418)
- McCain amendment to prohibit the use of Federal funds to construct ethanol blender pumps or ethanol storage facilities. (#411)
- McCain amendment to repeal Davis-Bacon wage requirements. (#412)
- Merkley amendment to require the Secretary of Energy to establish an Energy Efficiency Loan Program under which the Secretary shall make funds available to states to support financial assistance provided by qualified financing entities for making qualified energy efficiency or renewable efficiency improvements. (#440)
- Coburn amendment to repeal the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit. (#436, as modified)o McCain second-degree amendment to Coburn amendment #436, to prohibit the use of Federal funds to construct ethanol blender pumps or ethanol storage facilities. (#441)
- Brown (MA) amendment to repeal the 3 percent withholding on certain payments made to vendors by government entities, offset by rescission of unobligated funds. (#405)
- Inhofe amendment to reduce the annual authorized funding level for EDA from $500 million to $300 million. (#430)
- Inhofe amendment to provide for the establishment of a committee to assess the effects of certain Federal regulatory mandates. (#438)
