Blog: "A Week in Review" - Jordan Wolkstein and Chris Bascelli

Blog: "A Week in Review"

            It has been an interesting first week back for Congress following a month off for members to work in their respective states and districts. The schedule planned for this week was originally light, with the intention of easing members of Congress back into work. However, the gas attacks on citizens of Syria by their own government caused a shift in the schedule. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee met before the beginning of the week to work on a resolution that would allow President Obama to order military action in Syria for a period of 60 days, with a possible extension to 90 days. Once the week began, the focus shifted towards debate in both the Senate and House of Representatives. Although it would seem that an issue like this would be divided by party lines, it does not appear to be a partisan issue, as members with leadership positions in House including Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) support military action. (http://thehill.com/homenews/house/320137-boehner-backs-obama-but-house-leaning-no)  

            During the beginning of the week, many members of Congress revealed their feelings on the subject of Syria. It seemed as though a measure supporting military action would be more likely to pass in the Senate rather than the House of Representatives. One of the reasons why it makes sense that the Senate would be more likely to support such a measure is because of the relationship they share with their constituents. Senators do not represent a small district like representatives in the House, and therefore do not have as close a relationship to them. Because of this, representatives in the House are constrained more by public opinion and many revealed that their constituents do not support military action in Syria. Therefore, members of the House are more likely to be affected by the opinions of their constituents, which would make it unlikely that they support military action in Syria. Some members of Congress, including Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) asked his constituents to contact his office with their opinion on Syria, showing the importance of the public in this issue.( http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/320005-democrat-asks-constituents-for-syria-input-via-email-twitter-facebook)  This articulates the struggle that members of Congress experience when they have to balance representation with legislation.

            Although several members of Congress revealed that their constituents were against military action in Syria, some senior members have been working to sway other members to support military action. This is also coupled with the public relations campaign that President Obama has been working on in order to try and convince Congress to support his agenda in Syria. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has been sending letters daily to fellow Democrats in the House trying to convince them that military action is the correct response at this point in time. Although she does not hold the position of whip, it seems as though she is trying to gather votes for the party on this issue. In one of he letters Pelosi expressed, “acquisition of weapons of mass destruction…threatens the security of the Middle East and the national security interests of the United States.” (http://thehill.com/homenews/house/320133-pelosi-scrambling-if-not-whipping-for-house-democratic-votes-on-syria-)  Pelosi has a safe seat and is a ranking member of the Democratic Party, it makes sense that she is trying to gather votes of fellow Democrats.

In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid scheduled a vote for Syria on Wednesday. It is important to note that Wednesday marked the 12th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001.  It is reasonable to believe that the vote was scheduled on the anniversary of 9/11 in order to receive more votes by using the emotions exhibited on such a somber day. Senator Reed gave this statement regarding the anniversary and the current situation in Syria, “Even as we pay tribute to America’s tradition of freedom for every citizen, across the globe an evil dictator denies his citizens not only their right to liberty but also their right to live. That’s what the debate on Syria is all about — terrorism.” (http://thehill.com/video/senate/321589-reid-invokes-911-to-justify-us-intervention-in-syria) With this, Senator Reed was trying to gather support for the issue by telling the American people that the situation there is the same we faced 12 years ago. The Senate Intelligence Panel also released photos from the gas attack this week, which was another tactic used in order to gain support for the issue by evoking the public’s emotions.

            However, these attempts to persuade members of Congress to support military action have been put on hold, as the president reviews an offer from Syria to hand over chemical weapons. On Saturday, The Hill reported that the United States and Russia agreed to a deal that included the framework for which Syria is to hand over its chemical weapons. (http://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/middle-east-north-africa/322267-reports-us-russia-reach-agreement-on-syria-weapons)  

          With this, Congress has shifted back to what they were expecting to discuss during their first week back before the Syrian situation came up which was to find a way to keep the government funded and running past September 30^th. This shows the fluidity that members of Congress must have in order to adjust their schedules to accompany ever-changing situations in the world.

          Speaker of the House John Boehner lead a charge alongside Majority Leader Eric Cantor in search of enough House GOP votes to pass a spending bill that could pass in the democratic-controlled Senate which would keep the government open for business past September 30^th. As Boehner and Cantor attempt to get the Republicans in agreement as to what they would like to try and have passed, the democrats are searching for a way to end the sequester budget cuts, or to pass a spending bill of their own. One thing that hasn’t changed though, is the posturing that both sides are taking on the looming shutdown. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans want to have their party blamed for the shutdown, especially with the midterm elections right around the corner. As a result of this fear, Mr. Boehner warned the party on a conference call a month ago that the Republican’s could be facing a similar type of backlash like the party suffered when the government shut down in 1995-1996 if they don’t continue to come up with a workable solution to keep the government’s doors open. (http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2013/09/13/221809062/congress-searches-for-a-shutdown-free-future)

On the other side of the isle, Pelosi began posturing for the Democrats when she called the Republican’s out for “not proposing solutions that would actually have a chance of being passed in the Senate.” According to Pelosi, “They are proposals to shut down government. They know that. They know that what they're proposing is not going to pass the Senate or be signed by the president. So why don't we just save time, be constructive?" (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57602745/yet-again-congress-searches-for-a-short-term-budget-fix/) While both the Republicans and the Democrats want to address the major issues that are at the heart of these debates such as of the potential increase to our countries debt limit, budget reforms and The Affordable Health Care Act, The White House has made it known that they will accept a three month continuing resolution that would keep spending at the current sequester levels if the stalemate continues. While Congress does not typically enjoy having to jump back into the craziness of their jobs, it seems as if this will most likely occur again when they could be forced back to Washington during their recess in late September to vote on a continuing resolution or a budget proposal. These topics of debate, along side the continuation of discussion as to the actions or inactions that should take place in Syria were the major topics of concern and actions of Congress this week.

Jordan Wolkstein and Chris Bascelli contribute to this report.