The Great Debate

Living only a few blocks away from the Capitol Building makes for a short trip to see some of the most important congressional action in years. This past Friday night July 29th, after we finished with our seminar for the day I decided to make the short walk down the block to see the great debate on the debt ceiling, live in person. It was before six, so I stopped into the Senate office building across the street to grab a gallery pass. I made it over just in time to see the House pass the plan presented by John Boehner. I watched as many Republicans walked around the floor shaking hands and giving each other congratulatory nods. I also saw many House Democrats quickly leave the floor, clearly unhappy with the result. I stayed for another twenty minutes in order to watch any further debate. There were two representatives from Ohio that took the floor to give their one minute speeches. Then a Democrat from California was given the floor for the next sixty minutes. I stayed around to hear the main parts of his argument and then left to go check on the Senate.

I sat down in the Senate gallery to see only a hand full of Senators on the floor. Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell were affixed in the middle of the room in deep conversation with their allies. I sat and watched for several minutes and contemplated leaving when all of a sudden Senators started coming through the doors. Senator Sherrod Brown from Ohio, who had been on the floor the entire time I was there had gathered a small crew of Democrats around him and they were in feverish debate. Senator Feinstein had another group of Dems surrounding her talking back and forth. A very tall John Kerry came striding through the west doors. He seemed to have a presence about him and oddly enough he immediately started speaking to Republican senators. Most of the encounters included one senator coming up to another senator and grabbing them by the back of their upper arm then shaking hands. It was really odd how many times I saw this. It was almost ritualistic.

Finally, after hearing the role call two or three times the Senate was called to order and Senator Reid brought up the newest business. He was calling for a vote to table the recently passed bill from the House of Representatives. It was clear that this argument was split down party lines. After Reid made his arguments he yielded to Senator McConnell who argued about the validity of the bill to no avail. Finally, the arguments came to a close and the votes were tallied. The bill was to be tabled, meaning the Democrats had won with a simple majority. Immediately Senators began filing out while several stayed behind to discuss the possibilities for the next few days with their colleagues.

While my Friday was probably not what many would consider the most exciting it was definitely a really neat experience. I was able to see the proceedings of our Congress and see how the legislative process works first hand. It was really neat even though there was no resolution. The great debate continues.

JF