(Updated and Cross-posted from an earlier diary on Congress Matters)
In an extraordinary Sunday session, the Senate will vote this afternoon on a huge public lands and wilderness bill that was stoppped in the last session of Congress by the threat of a filibuster from "Dr. No,"---Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.
Harry Reid says the Omnibus Public Lands Bill (now S.22) that was dropped from a vote in the lame duck session of the last Congress will be "the first or second" bill that Congress will act on this year. Last fall, Senator Tom Coburn said he would filibuster the bill, and despite earlier assurances that the bill would get voted on, Reid dropped the bill.
So now that it's back., what will Reid do?
UPDATE:
Reid prevails on cloture 66-12
Roll Call Vote HERE
Coburn said last fall that "they'll have to roll me" to get the bill past him, and he is planning to make them do it today.
The New York Times endorsed the bill, calling it Wilderness Within Reach, and noted Reid's promise to pass it in the lame duck session.
The bill would protect almost 2 million acres of wilderness on federal land in California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Virginia and West Virginia, and has widespread public support. More problematic, the bill also includes a provision that is opposed by environmental groups and which would allow construction of a Road to Somewhere through wilderness in Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
Coburn is planning at least 13 amendments to the bill.
Let's see what Reid does. Does he have the votes? Sen. Biden's out of the country. Will Lieberman be there for a Sunday vote? How will Republicans Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Arlen Specter, John McCain, George Voinovich, Bob Bennett and Orrin Hatch vote on cloture?
Where's Senator Burris? Oh, that's right...