Partisan tensions boil in Assembly’s final days

When Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., single-handedly blocked a 30-day extension of federal unemployment benefits, he reportedly spouted out “tough shit” to his challengers and then complained at the podium that the debate caused him to miss a Kentucky Wildcats basketball game, it became all too clear how far the partisan gridlock has come.
 
Just before that at last month’s bipartisan health care summit when Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky asked to “start over” with reform after over a year of discussion, it appeared that the legislative stalemate in Washington hit a new low.

Events like these give good reason for 73 percent of Americans to believe that Washington is “broken” according to a recent Rasmussen Report’s poll.

While no one in the Indiana General Assembly is complaining about their job getting in the way of watching of a struggling Hoosier basketball team, gridlock and flaring tempers aren’t contained to the nation’s capital.

On Thursday, Indiana lawmakers hoped to end the 2010 session 10 days ahead of the mandatory adjournment date in an effort to save Hoosier tax payers over $100,000 in legislator salaries.

But as Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, said as the day moved along, it became clear that lawmakers would need more time to hammer out details on key bills.

One of those key bills involves placing a delay on the taxes that businesses would pay to the Unemployment Trust Fund, which currently is indebted $1.6 billion to the federal government.

Republicans say that without the tax break, some businesses will have to lay off workers.

Democrats countered by adding amendments that would penalize employers for misclassification of workers and added tax breaks that they say could greatly increase job growth.  

With the GOP saying those tax breaks would cost the state too much in lost revenue, a deal could not be reached by the end of Thursday.

Speaker of the House Rep. B. Pat Bauer, D-South Bend, blamed Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Lafayette, chairman of the Senate’s tax and Fiscal Policy Committee, for being a key reason for lack of a deal on Thursday.

Bauer criticized Hershman for leaving the state house for three hours Thurday to attend the Boone County Annual Lincoln Day Dinner.

“Then things all seemed to go south at just the time when we were ready to finalize our work,” Bauer said in a statement. “It became more important for some conferees to take part in political events rather than engage in crucial negotiations.”

Republicans say that Hershman’s absence had nothing to do with the failed talks and called Bauer’s comments an unfair attack on the state Senator who is running for a U.S. House seat in November.

Most surprising Thursday was Bauer’s announcement that the House would take nearly a week long recess until Wednesday in order to ease tension.

Welch said she agreed with the speaker that there needed to be a break. She said she is hopeful the House will be able to meet Wednesday and come to terms.

The Senate continued to work Friday and will be in session today and tomorrow, and will have only from Wednesday to Sunday to work out deals with the House before the mandatory March 14 adjournment date.

Lawmakers hope the five-day House hiatus will release some pressure in the legislature and that new negotiations will go much smoother than Thursday’s.

While tensions and partisanship appear to be high, Welch blamed the current state of the General Assembly to the time constraints.

“This has been a very cooperative and good session, but it’s a short session,” Welch said. “There’s a lot happening in a short period of time. People get tired and get their limits pushed.”