Sen. Robert Byrd dead at 92

The longest serving senator in U.S. history, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), died Monday. He was 92.

Byrd was admitted to Fairfax Inova Hospital late last week for dehydration and heat exhaustion. What was originally considered a minor condition, developed into other medical conditions throughout the week. Byrd had been in frail health for several years.

Byrd, a Democrat, was known as a fiery orator versed in the classics and a hard-charging power broker who steered billions of federal dollars to his state of West Virginia. He held his seat in the Senate for more than 50 years, serving as its majority leader for six of those years. He was most recently elected to an unprecedented ninth consecutive term in the Senate in 2006.

W.Va. Gov. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, is expected to appoint a replacement.

Breaking News: Senate Democrats pass health care reform fix-it bill

Less than a week after House Democrats passed new health care legislation, Senate Democrats voted, 56-43, in favor of passing a fix-it bill that Republicans had previously hoped to hold up through a number of parliamentary obstructions. 

Before voting Senators honored the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who made health care reform his life goal before passing away last year from brain cancer, during a moment of silence before voting. Sticking to their platform as the party of "no", all 41 Republican Senators voted against the bill, including three Democrats: Arkansas Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, and Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson.

Democrats had hoped to send the bill to President Obama's desk after voting, but Republicans were able to find two small provisions - dealing with student loans - that violated congressional budget rules and had to be eliminated from legislation. As a result, the bill will have to be sent back to the House because both branches have to pass identical legislation. House Democrats don't expect any problems passing the bill and intend to do so by this evening.

While the Republicans tried a bunch of parliamentary tricks to stall the bill, it did not take Democrats long to push the bill through and make health care reform the law of the land. President Obama is now one vote, and one signing away from having passed his first piece of major legislation and one of the most important pieces of legislation since Medicare was passed in 1965.

Harold Ford Jr. won't run for Senate in N.Y.

Democrats in New York will not have to worry about deciding between Junior Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. in a primary this fall, after Ford announced Monday he will not seek the Senate seat.

In a New York Times op-ed due out Tuesday, Ford says he does not want to risk a negative primary or weaken the party.

Gillibrand was appointed to the seat by controversial Gov. David Paterson last year after Hillary Clinton was chosen by President Obama to become U.S. Secretary of State. Ford moved to New York in 2006 after he took a job with Bank of America Merrill Lynch following the loss of his congressional seat in Tennessee.

Ford was discouraged from running for the seat by both the White House and Sen. Charles Schumer, but moved forward with gauging his chances of winning the seat in recent months. Gillibrand, who ignored Ford when he first showed interest in running for the seat, began characterizing him as a carpetbagger after he attacked her on numerous occasions, including calling her a "parakeet" who takes positions based on party leaders instead of her own beliefs.

In the end, while Ford will cry about being "bullied" out of the election, it is good for not only Democrats but all New Yorker's that some Tennessee carpetbagging, political hack will have the right to vote on our behalf. Gillibrand, who I covered as a reporter, voted for, but thought was too conservative to represent New York in the Senate, has actually turned out to be a strong liberal voice on health care and the public option.

Ford's op-ed reads as follows:

I’ve examined this race in every possible way, and I keep returning to the same fundamental conclusion: If I run, the likely result would be a brutal and highly negative Democratic primary — a primary where the winner emerges weakened and the Republican strengthened.


I refuse to do anything that would help Republicans win a Senate seat in New York, and give the Senate majority to the Republicans.


I realize this announcement will surprise many people who assumed I was running. I reached this decision only in the last few days — as I considered what a primary campaign, even with the victory I saw as fully achievable, would have done to the Democratic party.

Brown and 4 other GOPers vote to pass jobs bill

The party of "no," became the party of "yes" on Monday, when five Republicans joined Senate Democrats to vote in favor of moving Sen. Harry Reid's $15 billion jobs bill forward.

Republicans had originally thought the 41st vote they picked up when Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) was elected, would allow them to filibuster every bill Democrats brought to the Senate floor. However, Brown along with four other Republicans - Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Susan Collins (R-ME), Kit Bond (R-MO) and George Voinovich (R-OH) - broke stride with their party and helped Democrats overcome the dreaded GOP filibuster. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) was the only Democrat to break with his party.

The final vote tally was 62-30.

Any hope of passing the bill was almost lost when Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) was forced to leave the Senate after being diagnosed with stomach cancer. This forced Democrats to find two Republican votes in order to avoid the filibuster.

"Work with us on this," Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid said prior to the vote. "Show us you're serious about legislating."

After the vote, Reid added: "I hope this is the beginning of a new day here in the Senate."

Brown also addressed his decision to support the legislation following the vote: "I came to Washington to be an independent voice, to put politics aside, and to do everything in my power to help create jobs for Massachusetts families. This Senate jobs bill is not perfect. I wish the tax cuts were deeper and broader, but I voted for it because it contains measures that will help put people back to work."

The bill, which was scaled back from the original version, would renew the Build-America Bonds Act of 2009, extend tax breaks for small businesses, renew highway programs through December, exempt businesses from paying Social Security payroll taxes this year after hiring a new worker and put $20 billion in the highway trust fund.

The legislation could head to final vote later this week and is intended to merge with a broader, $150 billion version that has already passed the House.

While the vote is not a stunning surprise considering the five Republicans are all considered more-or-less to be middle of the road politically, it is good to finally know that at least a handful of Republicans can say more than just "no." Although, 37 Republicans did vote against a bill that will undoubtedly help create jobs for the millions of Americans currently out of work. Also, two of the Senators who voted in favor of moving the bill forward are set to retire this year. Either way, it is good to see the American government, most notably the Senate, working for the people again.

Check out an outline of both the Senate and House bills below.

SENATE JOBS BILL

• A $13 billion hiring incentive, by offering an employer exemption from Social Security payroll taxes for every unemployed worker hired in 2010.
• More "Build America" bonds for projects such as local schools.
• A one-year highway bill extension.
• Speedy tax write-offs for small-business expenses.

HOUSE JOBS BILL

• Infrastructure spending of $48.3 billion for roads, bridges, modernized public buildings, and clean water.
• Aid to local governments totaling $26.7 billion.
• Help for the unemployed and for working families, at a cost of $79 billion.
• Other provisions including a highway-bill extension.