Word: baucus
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Many on Capitol Hill insist that scrutiny has not gotten significantly tighter. "The Finance Committee is not doing anything different now from what it has always done under the leadership of either [Chairman Max] Baucus or me," ranking Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa said recently. "We are vetting nominees for the current Administration the same way we vetted nominees for the previous Administration." Finance Committee staffers note, for instance, that Paul O'Neill, who was George W. Bush's first Treasury Secretary, had to pay $92 in back taxes when the Finance Committee noticed that he hadn't reported gifts...
...fact, Baucus' record of working with colleagues across the aisle might be exactly what his party needs in order to avoid a contentious fight that bogs down or dooms health-care reform. His legislative style is a throwback to the days when it was not so unusual for the two parties to work together in the Senate. Baucus' closest friend in the chamber is the Finance Committee's ranking Republican, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, an equally rough-hewn legislator, with whom he has traded the chairmanship three times since 2001. The two meet at least once a week and boast...
...Even as Baucus works to bring Republicans on board, he will also have to deal with some of his fellow Democrats who are pushing to include health-care legislation in budget "reconciliation" - an aggressive maneuver that would mean it requires only 51 votes to pass the Senate, rather than the 60 it takes to overcome a filibuster under the normal rules. "If it's partisan, the minority party can find all kinds of ways to throw sand in the gears, and outside groups will start to mobilize," he warns. "My view is, we can get more than 60 votes...
...Baucus, who grew up in a wealthy and well-known ranching family, won a close congressional race in 1974 and four years later was elected to the Senate. He still keeps a sign on the desk in his Senate office that declares "Montana Comes First," and Baucus' concern for holding on to his seat in the traditionally Republican state helps explain why he has so often broken from his party...
...ambitious goal - but Baucus is not used to giving up. At age 67, he still pushes himself to do 50-mile ultra?marathons. Running one in Maryland in 2003, Baucus fell at mile 8 but still managed to finish the remaining 42, bleeding from above his right eye. On health care too, Baucus knows that there may be a few bumps between him and the finish line...