[edit] Education

• Educational Training
  • Nothing posted to date
• Educational Funding
  • Nothing posted to date
• Teaching Evolution/Intelligent Design
  • Nothing posted to date

[edit] Energy

• Clean Energy Legislation
  • In November 2009, Sen. Baucus was the only Democrat to vote against the climate bill in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (all of the Republicans on the committee boycotted the vote). However, he does say that he supports a climate bill to limit carbon emissions in general. As chair of the Senate Finance Committee, he is holding a hearing in November 2009 to consider the intersection of climate change and the economy/job growth and creation.
  • Senator Baucus shares President Obama’s concern, voiced on October 27, 2009, that the U.S. must enact clean energy legislation in order to improve its development in that area. However, he expresses fear of potential economic fallout due to decreased use of fossil fuels as a natural resource, especially in states that produce large amounts of fossil fuels. Baucus believes that the shift away from fossil fuels in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will affect his own state, and he maintains that “Montana can’t afford the unmitigated impacts of climate change, but we also cannot afford the unmitigated effects of climate change legislation." He also believes that Congress “cannot afford a first step that takes us further away from an achievable consensus on commonsense climate change legislation,” suggesting that Congress members must agree on clean energy legislation before it is passed to prevent disagreements [1].
• Clean Coal Technology
  • During consideration of the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007 (H.R. 6) in the Senate, two competing amendments regarding coal-to-liquid fuels were proposed. S. Amdt. 1628 would have provided a minimum standard in the amount of coal-to-liquid fuels to be used in "covered fuels" (aviation fuel, motor vehicle fuel, home heating oil, and boiler fuel) beginning in 2016. While the amendment mandated the clean coal fuel to emit 20% less life-cycle greenhouse gases than gasoline, opponents objected to the comparison of coal to liquid fuel as similar to gasoline. They argued that liquid fuels derived from coal are more similar to diesel-based fuel, and emit up to 150% more greenhouse gases than petroleum-based diesel fuel. S. Amdt. 1628 failed passage with a vote of 39-55. Senator Baucus voted against this amendment.
  • The competing amendment, Amdt. 1614, would have provided up to $10 billion worth of loans for projects that reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal gasification (or other transformation processes) by at least 75% and ensure that greenhouse gas emissions are at least 20% below the conventional baseline. Challengers criticized the 75% sequestration requirement as too high and voiced concern that the loan money would end up disbursed to other projects (read the debate). S. Amdt. 1614 also was rejected, with a final tally of 33-61. Senator Baucus voted for this amendment.
• Fuel Economy Standards
  • See discussion of H.R. 6 under the Renewable Energy section.
• Nuclear Power
  • Template:Vote-EnergyDeptAppropriations2010Senate
• Renewable Energy
  • See stimulus discussion under Innovation section.
  • After a lengthy debate in June of 2007, the Senate passed the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007 (H.R. 6), which seeks to increase America’s energy independence through the development of renewable fuels and the fostering of energy efficiency. The legislation would mandate the use of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, require an increase in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to 35 mpg by 2020, and establish a carbon capture and storage research program. Senator Baucus voted for the final version of H.R. 6, which passed with a vote of 65-27.
    
    In the face of a veto threat from President Bush, the House passed the Senate version of H.R. 6 with amendments by a vote of 235-181 on December 6, 2007.The final Senate rendering of the bill, which passed with a vote of 86-8, still included language raising CAFE standards to 35 mpg by 2020. Senator Baucus voted for the revised version of this bill. The final version of the bill passed in the House with a vote of 314-100 and was signed into law by President Bush on December 19, 2007.
    
  • During debate of the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007 (H.R. 6), the Senate also passed S. Amdt. 1693. This amendment would revise the Clean Air Act to provide short-term and long-term studies on the effects of the increased use of renewable fuels on the environment. It also allows the administrator of the study to create regulations that would mitigate any negative effects on air quality that did occur as a result of the increased use of these fuels. The amendment passed with a vote of 58-34. Senator Baucus voted for S. Amdt. 1693. The amendment, however, did not make into the final version of H.R. 6, which was passed by the Senate on December 13, 2007.

[edit] Environment

• After the House failed to pass S. 22 under suspension of the rules (which requires 2/3 to vote for a provision, but does not allow any amendments), the Senate called an unrelated bill, (HR 146), to carry the omnibus land bill. The bill is a combination of over 150 public land bills and will designate over 2 million acres of land as wilderness, improve the management of currently protected land, establish new water projects, and more. Swapping the original legislation in HR 146 for the land bill was designed to make finalizing the bill in the House easy.
  
  When HR 146 was brought to the Senate, Sen. Coburn (R-OK) introduced several amendments, though only one passed:
  • Amendment 682: to make it less likely that casual stone collectors would run afoul of the criminal restrictions on taking paleontological fossils from federal land (passed)
  • Amendment 679: to strike provisions that would block renewable-energy development on public land
  • Amendment 680: to bar new construction in national parks until the Interior secretary certifies that current sites are up to date
  • Amendment 675: to stop federal officials from using the power of eminent domain to take land from citizens. Critics say this amendment was unnecessary as eminent domain would not be used in any lands included in the bill.
  • Amendment 683: to eliminate what Coburn considers to be "frivolous" projects and
  • Amendment 677: to require an annual report on the total size and cost of federal property.

The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 77-20 on March 19, 2009. Senator Baucus voted for this bill. It passed the House on March 25 and was signed into law by President Obama on March 30, 2009.

• On January 15, 2009, the Senate passed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (S. 22). The bill is a combination of over 150 public land bills and will designate over 2 million acres of land as wilderness, improve the management of currently protected land, establish new water projects, and more. The Senate voted 73 to 21 to pass S. 22. Senator Baucus voted for this bill. The bill then moved to the House where it failed passage on March 11, 2009.

[edit] Climate Change

• On November 5th, 2009, Democrats on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works passed a climate bill without debate or participation from Republican members (see full NYTimes article here). Baucus was the only Democrat to vote against the bill, saying its emission reduction targets were too ambitious and its agriculture provisions too weak. He said, “This is a first step. There will be many other steps.”

• With a vote of 51-42 the Senate rejected S. Amdt 1094 to the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (H.R. 1495). This amendment would have required the Army Corp of Engineers to account for the long-term and short-term effects of global climate change in all feasibility studies or reevaluation reports. Supporters of S. Amdt. 1094 focused especially on the dangers associated with increased hurricane intensity and rising sea levels. Opponents criticized the amendment as being too expensive to implement and refuted any relationship between hurricane intensity and global warming (read the floor debate). Senator Baucus voted against this amendment.

[edit] Health

• Health Care
  • During the Summer 2009 debate on health care reform, Baucus issued a statement as the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and negotiator in the health care debate stating that his group "is on track to reach a bipartisan agreement on comprehensive health-care reform that can pass the Senate."^[1]
  • Senator Baucus has met with criticism from fellow Democrats for his efforts to win the support of some of the Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee for health care reform. Some Democrats see this effort as futile and the cause of costly delays that could ultimately result in the failure of reform legislation. As of July 29, there were two competing bills in the Senate on the subject, the Affordable Health Choices Act, passed by the HELP Committee, and the version being drawn up by the Senate Finance Committee. The Finance Committee, led by Baucus, now seems likely to not include the public option that President Obama has advocated, instead creating federally founded, not-for-profit health care cooperatives to compete with private insurance companies, a compromise pushed by Senator Conrad (D-ND). Speaking on his efforts, Baucus said, "We are going to find a solution. We’re going to find a bill, we’re going to pass a bill out of the committee which does lower costs, which reforms the insurance market, and which provides care for virtually all Americans and which gets 60 votes." While President Obama supports the public option, neither he nor Majority Leader Senator Reid have ruled out supporting Conrad's compromise. Emphasizing that he was coordinating with Obama, Senator Baucus said, "He knows what we’re doing. I talk to the president daily; our staffs talk to the White House daily."^[2]
  • March 2009, Sen. Baucus is in favor of legislation that would tax employee health care benefits as a means to provide for President Obama’s healthcare plan. Thirteen other senators are in agreement with this idea. During the Bush administration, the idea was shut down and some Democrats are still hesitant to support it during a time when employers are already limiting benefits for employees. However, other ideas such as taxing the wealthy or taxing wealthy seniors for their Medicare were not well received. ^[3]
  • On March 3, 2009, Senator Baucus promised he would introduce comprehensive healthcare legislation this summer (most likely in June, though definitely by their August recess) with Senator Charles Grassley. He said, "Enacting comprehensive health-care reform...is my top priority. So much that my office wonders whether I spend enough time on other matters. I want to make sure it passes this year." ^[4]
  • See stimulus discussion under Innovation section.
  • After being vetoed twice by President Bush in 2007, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) (H.R. 2) bill was reintroduced in the 111th Congress on January 13, 2009. SCHIP provides a subsidy for children’s insurance for families that cannot afford private insurance yet earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. The cost of the program is funded by an increase in cigarette taxes of 62 cents per pack. After the House of Representatives passed the bill on January 14, the Senate voted 66-32 to pass it on January 29, 2009. Senator Baucus voted for this bill. It was signed into law by President Obama on February 4, 2009.
  • On August 2, 2007, the Senate passed the final version of the “Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007” (H.R. 976) with a vote of 68-31. This bill would have increased funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by $50 billion dollars over five years. Opponents saw the bill as too costly and were critical of the funding methods for the program, including a cigarette tax increase (read the floor debate). Senator Baucus voted for this legislation. On October 3, 2007, President Bush vetoed H.R. 976, citing that the bill moved too many children towards federally funded healthcare. The House attempted to override the President’s veto, but the measure failed to pass with a vote count of 273-156. On December 29, 2007, President Bush signed the Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (S. 2499) which extends funding for SCHIP through March of 2009, but does not significantly expand the program.
  • The Senate passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007 (H.R. 493) with a vote of 95-0. After the House passed the bill in April 2007, Senator Coburn placed a hold on the bill because he wanted to clarify language to allow for "business necessity exemptions." The bill passed by the Senate was amended to reflect changes Senator Coburn wanted. After passage in the House, President Bush signed GINA into law on May 21, 2008.
  • On July 15, 2008, both Houses of Congress voted to override President Bush’s veto of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (H.R. 6331), a bill to put off an almost 11% cut of payments to doctors who care for Medicare patients. The legislation offset putting off the payment cuts for doctors by reducing reimbursements to insurance companies that include Medicare patients in their managed-care programs.[1]. The Senate voted 70 to 26 in favor of a veto override. Senator Baucus voted for this legislation.
  • Template:Vote-FamilyPreventionTobaccoControlAct2009

• Those between the ages of 55 and 64 need to be able to buy Medicare if they are not previously insured.
• Those under the poverty line should be able to gain Medicaid coverage.
• The SCHIP program should be extended to all children in families that earn wages at or below 250% of the poverty level.
• Legal immigrants should have easier access to Medicaid and SCHIP.

• Embryonic Stem Cell Research
  • In April of 2007, Congress passed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 (S. 5), which would have overturned President Bush's ban on the use of federal funding for research on embryonic stem cell lines created after August 9, 2001. Senator Baucus voted for the legislation. The bill passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 247-176 and the Senate with a vote of 63-34. President Bush vetoed both this legislation and an identical bill that was passed by Congress in 2006.
• Non-Embryonic Stem Cell Research
  • In December 2005, Congress passed the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 (H.R. 2520), which President Bush signed on December 20, 2005. The law "creates a new Federal program to collect and store cord blood, and expands the current bone marrow registry program to also include cord blood." Senator Baucus voted for this bill. The legislation passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 431-1 and passed the Senate by unanimous consent.

[edit] Innovation

• Stimulus
  • On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1). This stimulus bill contains over $30 billion for energy initiatives including the Smart Grid Investment Program and advanced battery systems; $20 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy for both businesses and homes; over $8 billion for augmenting energy efficiency in federal buildings and housing programs; and $7 billion to extend broadband service to underserved communities. The Act also gives the National Science Foundation $3 billion for research; the National Institutes of Health over $10 billion for research and renovations; NASA $1 billion, a portion of which to employ more scientists; and the Department Of Energy’s Office of Science $1.6 billion for energy research. Finally, it provides $19 billion for a modernized Health Information Technology (HIT) system; $87 billion to help fund Medicaid programs; $1 billion for health prevention programs; subsidies for temporary insurance; and $19 billion for clean water and environmental restoration programs. For a more complete listing of the bill’s provisions, click here.
    
    H.R. 1 passed the House of Representatives on February 13th and the Senate by a vote of 60-38 on February 13th. Senator Baucus voted for this bill.
• COMPETES Act
  • On August 9, 2007, President Bush signed the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Act (H.R. 2272) into law. The law authorizes the increased funding of the National Science Foundation putting it on track to double funding over the next seven years, increased funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology and competitive grants for teachers and schools with the goal of strengthening the quality of education in science, math, and critical foreign languages. The bill was passed with unanimous consent in the Senate and was agreed to by a vote of 367-57 by the House after being reconciled in a conference committee. Senator Baucus voted for this legislation. The America COMPETES Act was not fully funded in 2008.

[edit] Research and Research Management

• Funding
  • See stimulus discussion under Innovation section.

[edit] Technology

• See stimulus discussion under Innovation section.
• In the summer of 2008, the Senate met to consider the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (H.R. 6304), which would give retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that wiretapped customers’ phones for the Bush administration shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The legislation also allows the warrantless wiretapping of American citizens for up to 7 days before obtaining court approval. The Senate passed the bill with a vote of 69 to 28, and the legislation was signed by President Bush on July 7, 2008. Senator Baucus voted for this legislation.
• On January 29, 2009, the Senate passed the DTV Delay Act (S. 352). The bill will postpone the digital television transition date from February 17, 2009 to June 12, 2009 and extend the coupon program to allow Americans to be better prepared for the switch. It was passed with unanimous consent by all Senators. The bill then passed in the House on February 4, 2009 and was signed into law (P.L. 111-4) by President Obama on February 11, 2009 .

[edit] Endnotes

1. ↑ Washington Post Aug. 19, 2009
2. ↑ Bolton, Alexander and Jeffrey Young. "Dem healthcare infighting intensifies." The Hill 28 July 2009. http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/infighting-intensifies-2009-07-28.html
3. ↑ Montgomery, Lori. "Workers' Health Benefits Eyed for Taxation." The Washington Post 12 Mar. 2009. 16 Mar. 2009 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/11/AR2009031103827_pf.html>.
4. ↑ Michael Vitez. "Baucus promises health-care action." The Philadelphia Inquirer. March 4, 2009. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/health_science/daily/20090304_Baucus_promises_health-care_action.html
5. ↑ Robert Pear. "Senator Takes Initiative on Health Care." November 11 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/washington/12health.html?_r=1&oref=slogin