The floor debate was sharply partisan, featuring a series of party-line votes. Democrats have a long list of amendments lined up, but no real expectation of passing the ones they view as most important. However, unless one party has a very large majority, Senate rules make it virtually impossible to pass legislation of any significance without some bipartisan cooperation. It requires a supermajority to cut off debate on any measure someone wants to block, and the Republicans do not have that many votes. This means they need the support of at least five Democrats or more likely, an agreement with Democratic leaders to get ESEA legislation off the floor.
Unanimous consent is very unlikely.
There isn t much incentive for Democrats to agree to limit the time or scope of the debate without significant education-policy concessions. One reason for the partisan nature of the debate, unusual for education bills, is that it is a Presidential election year in which control of the House is widely viewed as being up for grabs, Long said. As a result, he said, both parties will be more inclined to use federal education programs to highlight their differences. Then they can say, He won t give us a chance. There apparently was some negotiation going on behind the scenes in the Senate but not among the major players, some of whom were probably a little concerned that the effort might pan out.