This week Congress returns from its weeklong spring recess prepared to convene committee meetings to ask questions about the presidents policies in Libya.
The House speaker, Congressman John Boehner, R-Ohio, stated in a letter to the president dated March 23 that he hopes the president will provide a clear and robust assessment of the mission and how it will be achieved. Similar questions are popping up on the Senate side with foreign relations' ranking member, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., calling on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to hold hearings.
Meanwhile, on the Senate side of the Capitol, another letter went to the president, only this one deals with issues here at home in the United States. Senators Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Mike Johanns, R-Neb,, sent a letter Friday, March 18, asking the president to engage in true deficit reduction talks that include entitlement changes and tax reform.
The letter goes on to say: By approaching these negotiations comprehensively, with a strong signal of support from you, we believe that we can achieve consensus on these important fiscal issues. This would send a powerful message to Americans that Washington can work together to tackle this critical issue.
While both of these issues are critical to our nations health and well-being, this writer believes most of the media will be focused on the Libyan situation -- specifically who will testify in the various committee hearings and how they will play out. However, the Bennet/Johanns deficit reduction letter actually has more promise to move the president toward real deficit reduction. The reason is simple: The letter contains the signatures of 64 U.S. senators --32 Democrats and 32 Republicans. This fact is huge in the world of Senate procedure and the rules that govern the U.S. Senate.
This week the Senate will be debating the small-business innovation bill. This bill has been debated on the floor for over a week but procedurally it is open for any senator to offer an amendment. If an amendment similar to the sentiment expressed in the letter were to be offered and debated, any senator wanting to block a vote on this amendment would presumably fail in this effort.
You see, rule 22 of the Senate rules allows for the debate to be brought to a close if at least 60 senators agree. Therefore, this letter, with 64 signatures, has much promise to actually help get our deficit under control, if used properly.
Finally, while the TV cameras may be focused on the Libyan hearings, and the Senate may be debating the small-business innovation bill, the behind-the-scenes story will be the negotiations taking place between the president, the speaker of the House and the Senate leaders dealing with the federal government spending for the remainder of this fiscal year, which expires Sept. 30. They need to resolve this impasse before Friday, April 8, to avoid a government shutdown of our federal government agencies.
Stay tuned to see if the weight of the Bennet/Johanns letter is thrown around during these upcoming negotiations on the federal government spending or will the media overshadow the deficit letter with Libyan hearings.
Elizabeth B. Letchworth is a retired, elected United States Senate secretary for the majority and minority. Currently she is a senior legislative adviser for Covington & Burling, LLC and is the founder of GradeGov.com
