The illness of Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and subsequent brain surgery have thrown Democratic control of the United States Senate into question.
Johnson, 59, was stricken on Dec. 13 and underwent surgery for enlargement of veins in his brain later that day. He remains in critical condition but is said to be improving. There is still a question as to whether he will survive and, if so, the extent of any impairment he might suffer.
The record is unclear as to what constitutes incapacity to serve in the Senate. Senators have been wheeled on to the floor on a gurney for a vote. Most recently, the late Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., served for years with diminished physical and mental capacity—not unexpected for a man who observed his 100th birthday as a Senator.
The governor of South Dakota, Mike Rounds, is a Republican and would appoint a replacement should Johnson die or be incapable of carrying out his duties. Appointment of a Republican would shift control of the Senate to a 50-50 tie, with Vice President Dick Cheney breaking any tie votes, most importantly in organizing that body and its committees.
The last time control of the Senate shifted because of the actions of one man was in 2001 when Jim Jeffords of Vermont left the Republican Party to become an Independent and caucus with the Democrats.
This has introduced another element of uncertainty in calculating Senate politics. Ironically, when combined with Senate rules that include the filibuster, it may lead to more consensus and civility in that body.
MONEY
Congress left town without passing appropriations bills to fund most of the federal government for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1. It did pass a continuing resolution that allows those agencies to spend the same amount of money in the same ways as it did the previous year, at least until Feb. 15.
The incoming Democratic chairmen of the appropriations committees, Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., in the Senate and David Obey, D-Wis., in the House, said in a statement released on Dec. 11 that they favored a continuing resolution for the remainder of the fiscal year, with a few exceptions.
The effect of funding most programs at the same level as last year—the military and homeland security are the major exceptions—would be on personnel. While promised pay raises would go through, the squeeze would mean that open position would not be filled and some agencies may have to lay people off. The FBI has said it could lose up to 500 agents.
Another important aspect of the Byrd/Obey statement is that they would eliminate earmarks—provisions inserted into a bill by a legislator that specify how certain money must be spent, generally to the benefit of that congressional district—for the current budget. But they would allow a reformed version of earmarking in the next budget.
Among the earmarks to be eliminated is $3 million for AIDS and homeless programs in San Francisco, inserted by incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Removing earmarks from the appropriations bill for labor, health, and education will free about $1 billion in discretionary spending.
The promise of that additional money was part of the compromise that helped to pass reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act.
