WASHINGTON — Democrats tabbed Al Franken to preside over the Senate as ‘Vote-a-rama’ began on the reconciliation health care bill.
Freshmen are frequently chosen to chair the Senate, though this is arguably the most important set of votes Franken has presided over thus far. A refresher on the rules: Each side gets one minute of debate per amendment, followed by a 10-minute vote. Democratic leaders are hoping to reject every single amendment, even the popular ones, in an effort to pass a clean bill by week’s end.
Staffers and reporters in the Senate Press Gallery have told me they’re preparing for an all-night parade of amendments. The fun is on C-SPAN 2 if you’re up and interested/have incurable insomnia.
Oh, and just for fun, here’s a short vid you may have seen before. It’s from when Franken was chairing during the Senate’s debate on health care the first time around, and it involves a certain senator from Connecticut. Probably won’t happen again, but here it is anyways.
