Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The New York Times - July 14, 2008
Carl Hulse
Mr. DeMint, a Republican from South Carolina, forced the Senate last week to take a rare Friday evening procedural vote in order to begin debate on the legislation that seeks to step up AIDS treatment and prevention efforts in Africa, Asia and elsewhere. He then missed the vote he had instigated, provoking scattered boos from the floor - an occurrence more typical of the House than the Senate.
In one of the chief challenges to the AIDS bill, Mr. DeMint is scheduled to offer a proposal to reduce the five-year cost of the legislation to $35 billion. He has complained that Democrats were unfairly trying to limit efforts to change the bill. Given that both Republicans and Democrats were very unhappy with his decision to force them to take a Friday vote he then missed, it is hard to envision a successful outcome for his proposal.
The AIDS bill is promoted by its backers as a way to show a positive side of American foreign policy by providing resources for developing countries struggling with how to care for those who are HIV-positive. Other Republicans also have proposals to alter the bill, but its eventual approval appears likely given strong underlying support and the fact that President Bush would like to see it enacted as one of his final accomplishments.
While the Senate takes up the AIDS bill in earnest, gas prices continue to percolate as a top concern for lawmakers. Later this week, House Democrats could try again to pass their proposal to penalize oil companies that are not exploring the tracts they have already leased from the government, a way to counter the Republican call for more domestic drilling. The floor debate could provide a platform for a showdown over drilling, a rare issue on which Republicans appear to be making some political headway.
In the Senate, a bipartisan group of lawmakers will continue to meet to try to come up with their own compromise energy plan, one likely to include drilling, putting Senate Democrats out in front of their House colleagues on that issue.
The House and Senate will also get about the business of trying to reconcile their legislation to deal with the mortgage crisis, with new pressure to add provisions to stabilize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The rescue package proposed Sunday night requires serious involvement on the part of Congress.
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