kent conrad is the budget chair, he is reid's equivalent of ryan
as such conrad was always number two in the writing of obamacare, he was the gatekeeper's right hand man
the gatekeeper for obamacare, the man more responsible for it's exact shape than any other, is finance chair max baucus
conrad from north dakota announced in february that he would not seek reelection
how would YOU like to be a dem, let alone a dem leader, running for office in the peace garden state?
conrad was the man more than any other who killed the public option, he has been a consistent fighter for what he calls "rural care"
in short, he's concerned that medicare scheduling, pre and post doc fix, will "kill rural care" in america
fyi
today:
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) says he has no immediate plans to mark up a budget, as members of his committee continue to disagree over spending cuts and tax increases.
Conrad said he has additional meetings scheduled with his colleagues Tuesday afternoon and will make an announcement in the coming days on a possible markup.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) cast doubt on whether Conrad's effort will succeed.
"I don't know there is going to be a Conrad budget," Baucus said.
Conrad said there are many issues that need to be resolved in the broad document that covers discretionary entitlement spending levels and tax policy.
Democrats on the Budget panel have clashed over the balance of spending cuts to tax increases. Conrad increased the proportion of tax increases to spending cuts after liberal members of his panel, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), criticized his initial draft.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), a centrist on the panel facing reelection next year, has raised concerns about advancing a budget plan with as much as $2 trillion in tax increases over the next 10 years.
Senate Dems' budget in limbo - The Hill's On The Money
it's been TWO YEARS since the party in power in the united states senate has produced a budget
in times like these
there's a reason, y'know, for the party's pusillanimous paralysis
meanwhile, if something isn't done now to fundamentally restructure our budget then our big 3 federal social programs (and state pensions too) will simply cease to exist in their present forms
leadership, anyone?
embarrassed yet?