Most Amusing Quote of the Day

Vaguely Reminiscent of the '90's

As many of you are aware, in a rare victory over the Bush administration, the Senate yesterday, by a vote of 54 - 45, attached a "rider" to the Labor/HHS Appropriations Bill forbidding the Department of Labor from issuing proposed overtime regulations that would have exempted over 8 million American workers from their right to receive overtime pay. The Labor Department is currently evaluating the more than 80,000 comments received on the issue.

According to the Washington Post

In an attempt to head off the administration defeat, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), chairman of the committee that handles labor legislation, said the vote was premature because the Labor Department has not finished drafting the rules. "For the Congress to step forward at this time is wrong," he said.

What's so funny? Judd Gregg and Republicans in the Senate and House passed numerous riders in the 1990's forbidding OSHA from issuing an ergonomics standard before OSHA had finished drafting the rules. In fact, the ergonomics riders were passed before OSHA had even drafted a proposed standard.

This is reminiscent of similar "what's good for the goose is not good for the gander" policies on judicial nominations where the Republicans are SHOCKED that the Democrats would block the confirmation of a handful of judges when the Republicans blocked many times more judicial nominations throughout the Clinton administration.

More on the overtime proposal here and here.