by Congressional Quarterly

emocratic leaders are expanding their tax cut plans for a planned economic stimulus package — and slowing their timetable — as they prepare to usher in the 111th Congress on Tuesday. Both moves may attract more Republican support for the measure as President-elect Barack Obama makes the rounds on Capitol Hill Monday and meets with leaders of both parties. Obama met first with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., for about an hour. He next meets with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., before sitting down with a larger bipartisan group from both chambers that includes Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky., and House Minority Leader John A. Boehner , R-Ohio. Obama and Democratic leaders have been discussing a stimulus package totaling $700 billion to $1 trillion that would include individual and business tax cuts, funding for infrastructure projects and aid to states for Medicaid costs. But Democratic leaders are retreating from their earlier vows to have the economic package ready for Obama to sign shortly after he is sworn in Jan. 20. Republican leaders in both chambers had repeatedly protested that timetable, saying it did not allow sufficient time for public hearings and committee consideration of the giant package. The tax portion of the stimulus plan is growing, with the Obama team now working with Democratic leaders to fashion a $300 billion package of tax cuts targeting businesses as well as the middle- and lower-income Americans Obama promised to help during his campaign. A transition team source said the package is expected to include a payroll tax credit, a key part of Obama’s campaign platform; tax incentives for companies that hire new workers and avoid layoffs; and a net operating loss carryback provision that would allow businesses to use losses from 2008 or 2009 to offset taxable income from five prior years and receive an immediate refund. Currently, the carryback loss provision applies to two years’ prior taxable income.

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   by Congressional Quarterly

Senate Democratic leaders say they will block Illinois Democrat Roland W. Burris from taking his seat next week, but how they will do it is still up in the air. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, are formulating a strategy to keep Minnesota Democrat Al Franken from being seated if the state’s Canvassing Board ultimately declares him the winner over incumbent GOP Sen. Norm Coleman . Burris, a former state comptroller and attorney general, was appointed Tuesday by Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich to serve the remaining two years of the Senate term of President-elect Barack Obama . Senate Democratic leaders say they will not seat anyone appointed by Blagojevich, who was arrested Dec. 9 on federal corruption charges, including allegations he tried to auction Obama’s seat to the highest bidder. How the Senate keeps Burris from being seated will depend in part on the validity of the documents that certify his appointment. On Tuesday, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White refused to sign Burris’s credentials — a move that could prevent the appointment from ever becoming the Senate’s business. However, it is unclear if White’s signature is legally necessary. If Blagojevich’s appointment is valid without it, or if there is a court challenge and White is forced to sign the papers, the decision on whether to recognize the appointment and seat Burris will fall to the Senate, said one Democratic aide. In that case, there would likely be a vote to prevent Burris from being seated while the Senate Rules and Administration Committee investigates the matter. That would buy time for the Illinois legislature to impeach Blagojevich and presumably remove him from office. Democratic Lt. Gov. Patrick J. Quinn would succeed Blagojevich and could announce an alternative pick for Obama’s seat — or name Burris himself, in a bid to avoid further legal battles. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are girding to keep Franken from being seated as Minnesota’s junior senator if he is ruled the winner over Coleman. GOP leaders said that legal issues in connection with the ballot-counting process must be resolved before anyone is certified the winner and seated

Blagojevich Defies Senate Leaders, Moves To Appoint Burris to Obama’s Seat

December 30, 2008

   by Congressional Quarterly

Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich will appoint Roland W. Burris, a former state attorney general, to the U.S. Senate seat that federal prosecutors say the governor unlawfully offered up to enrich himself. The announcement by Blagojevich, which he planned to make at a press conference in Chicago at 3 p.m. EST, creates new uncertainty about the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama . Senate Democratic leaders renewed their vow to refuse to seat anyone appointed to the seat by the scandal-marred Blagojevich, who is fighting impeachment proceedings and federal criminal charges. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., said that decision “is not about Mr. Burris; it is about the integrity of a governor accused of attempting to sell this United States Senate seat. Under these circumstances, anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus.” Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 by federal authorities and charged with soliciting bribes and conspiracy to commit mail fraud in a wide-ranging “pay-to-play” corruption scandal. Burris did not figure prominently in the earlier speculation over who might be selected to succeed Obama. Burris, 71, was the first African American elected statewide in Illinois. He served as state comptroller from 1979 to 1991 and as Illinois attorney general from 1991 to 1995. He has been thwarted in numerous bids for higher office, including losses in Democratic primaries for the Senate in 1984 and for governor in 1994, 1998 and 2002, when he lost out to Blagojevich. Burris also ran for mayor of Chicago in 1995, losing to incumbent Democrat Richard M. Daley. Whoever takes the Senate seat would serve at least two years, through the end of 2010. At that point, the incumbent could run for a full six-year term, beginning with a primary election in March.

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