So reports Roll Call. Sen. Hatch predicted that his Republican colleagues will offer no amendments. Also, regarding the addition of Cesar Chavez to the name of the bill, the newspaper reports: “Because the Senate Judiciary Committee agreed to an amendment adding labor leader Cesar Chavez’s name to the bill, Frist was forced to bring up the House version, since moving forward with the Senate’s bill would have required a conference with the House ” At the markup, Sen. Coburn was critical of the rush to reauthorization without adequate debate. We’ll see if he—or other Senators—make any such remarks on the floor of the Senate. At the hearing where I testified, Senators Cornyn and Sessions made many remarks questioning the current version of the bill. But political realities seem to have intervened. The newspaper quotes Senator Sessions as stating: “There’s no interest in the Senate in making amendments to the House bill.”
So, in the end, there will be no serious debate on either floor of Congress about the wisdom or constitutionality of a straight-out 25 year extension, complete with its Georgia v. Aschroft “fix.” This is a victory, no doubt, for the voting rights leaders who pushed for this bill. Justice Kennedy will likely determine if the victory is to be short-lived.