Republicans block Democratic moves in Senate

WASHINGTON -- The Senate last week declined to move forward on a $726 billion defense authorization bill that would have included debates on gays in the military and on immigration.

Democrats had hoped to use the bill as a vehicle to urge repeal of the Pentagon's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy prohibiting gays from serving openly in the military.

They also wanted a vote on the DREAM Act, which would offer a path to citizenship to children of illegal immigrants who attend college or serve in the military.

Republicans opposed the effort, saying Democrats were using an important piece of legislation to rev up their liberal base in advance of the November midterm elections.

Democrats failed to secure the 60 votes needed to proceed. The vote was 56-43. The two Arkansas Democrats joined 40 Republicans to block the debate.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada cast a vote in opposition for parliamentary purposes. He now can ask for the bill to be reconsidered at a later date.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., opposed it.

Campaign finance bill stalls

With no Republican support, the Senate failed to move ahead with a bill that would set new campaign finance rules for some corporations, unions and special interests.

The Senate voted 59-39, falling one vote shy of the 60 needed to proceed with the bill.

Democrats argued the new requirements were made necessary by the Supreme Court's ruling in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee case in January.

In that case, the court lifted a ban on direct funding of campaign electioneering ads by corporations and unions in the days leading up to primaries and general elections.

Democrats said the decision would let deep-pocketed corporations unduly influence federal elections.

Republicans charged the bill was an attempt to protect incumbent Democrats from criticism before voters head to the polls. They also opposed exempting some nonprofit groups from new disclosure requirements.

Reid voted for the bill. Ensign voted against it.

House completes small-business bill

The House passed a bill offering $12 billion in tax breaks and $30 billion in lending for small businesses, sending it to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.

Democrats framed the bill as a component of their jobs and recovery agenda, estimating it could create 500,000 jobs over time. Republicans, who stalled the bill earlier this summer, challenged the measure as a bailout similar to the 2008 bank rescue.

The bill, which President Barack Obama has requested, was approved 237-187, largely along party lines. North Carolina Rep. Walter Jones was the only Republican to support it, and 13 Democrats opposed it.

Under the legislation, community banks could tap into a $30 billion low-interest loan fund if they increase lending to small companies.

The bill also would allow small businesses this year to write off half the cost of their investments in new equipment and deduct the cost of health insurance for themselves and their families.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., voted for the bill. Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., opposed it.

House rejects expansion of national monument

The House failed to approve an expansion of Arizona's Casa Grande Ruins National Monument after Republicans complained about its cost and potential harm to private property owners.

The House voted 244-174 in favor of the bill but fell short of the two-thirds needed for passage.

Two related bills that involved creating a national monument in Hartford, Conn., and establishing the Sedona-Red Rock National Scenic Area in northern Arizona met similar fates.

The Casa Grande bill would have nearly doubled the 472-acre monument south of Phoenix, which the National Park Service has identified as part of a historic Native American community that once existed there.

Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., argued that the $10 million needed to purchase the additional 415 acres was a wasteful expenditure at a time when the federal debt has exploded. He also argued that the bill did not protect the rights of private property owners.

Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., said purchasing the additional acres would protect more of the ruins and would attract more tourists to see the ruins of what she described as "the amazing prehistoric architecture" of the Hohokam culture.

Titus and Berkley voted for the bill. Heller opposed it.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau reporter Peter Urban at purban@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.