[SEE UPDATES BELOW!]
According to the Senate calendar, today could be the day the Senate passes the Defense Department Appropriations Reauthorization Conference Report. The bill, passed on Oct. 8 by the House, includes the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. I earlier discussed the specifics of the hate crimes measure, as agreed to in the Conference Report, here.
Following a period for morning business after it convenes at 9:30 a.m., the Senate will resume consideration of the Conference Report.
[UPDATE: Cloture has been successfully invoked, per The Hill, meaning that a vote on the Conference Report is forthcoming following a limited period of debate. The vote for cloture was 64-35, with Senator Hatch not voting. The only Democrat to vote against cloture was Sen. Russ Feingold. Republican Sens. Collins, Lugar, Murkowski, Snowe and Voinovich voted for cloture.
It is important to note that Feingold's position against the war is such that he could have had other reasons to oppose the Conference Report than the hate crimes measure.]
[FURTHER UPDATE: The Senate voted on final passage of the Conference Report beginning at 4:40 p.m. It passed on a 68-29 vote, which was announced by Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who was presiding. Sen. Russ Feingold is the only Democrat to vote no. Republican Sens. Bond, Collins, Cornyn, Ensign, Gregg, Hutchison, Lugar, McCain, Snowe and Voinovich voted yes. Sens. Byrd, Hatch and Murkowski did not vote. The Defense Department Appropriations Reauthorization bill, with the Hate Crimes Prevention Act included, now goes to President Obama for signature.]
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Chris Geidner is the award-winning senior political editor at D.C.'s Metro Weekly and has written for The Atlantic Online, The American Prospect, Advocate.com, Salon and other publications, as well as at his blog, Law Dork. In 2011, he received the Excellence in News Writing Award from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his coverage of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal. Prior to moving to D.C. in 2009, he served as an attorney on the senior staff at the Ohio Attorney General's Office and had earlier worked for a leading Columbus law firm. An extended biography can be found