Here's how the new Republican Congress is acting

Business as Usual

The deficit commission chairmen took a hard line on tax expenditures in the $3.8 trillion deficit reduction package that will be voted on Friday. They called for the elimination of $1.1 trillion in tax credits and exclusions that benefit corporations and consumers, calling it the only way to both reduce the deficit and lower tax rates across-the-board.

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-ND, was the first elected leader to jump on the bandwagon in support of the proposal during Wednesday’s meeting. “This is a moment of truth,” he said. “The nation is headed for a fiscal cliff. We have to act. This is the time for us to pull together. If not now, when?”

A few hours later, Conrad and 14 farm state colleagues from both political parties sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. They called for immediate renewal of the volumetric ethanol excise tax credit, the small ethanol producer tax credit, and the cellulosic producer tax credit, which reduce income tax collections by about $3.5 billion a year.

“This is not the time to reduce the supply of a domestic source of fuel and place at greater risk the thousands of well-paying jobs that the renewable fuels industry has created,” Conrad said in a press release sent out by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

Senate GOP letter calls for blocking most bills

Senate Republicans intend to block action on virtually all Democratic-backed legislation unrelated to tax cuts and government spending in the current postelection session of Congress, officials said Tuesday, adding that the leadership has quietly collected signatures on a letter pledging to carry out the strategy.

If carried out, it would doom Democratic-backed attempts to end the Pentagon's practice of discharging openly gay members of the military service and give legal status to young illegal immigrants who join the military or attend college.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has made both measures a priority as Democrats attempt to enact legislation long sought by groups that supported them in the recent midterm elections.

Senate rejects earmark moratorium

The Senate on Tuesday rejected a plan that would impose a two-year moratorium on federal earmarking for lawmakers' pet projects, with a handful of Republicans joining with most Democrats to defeat the measure.

The proposal, which would have needed a two-thirds majority to pass, failed by a 39-to-56 margin.

Seven Democrats voted for the ban, including Sens. Mark Udall (Colo.) and Claire McCaskill (Mo.) (who were among the bill's co-sponsors),Evan Bayh (Ind.), Michael Bennet (Colo.), Russ Feingold (Wis.),Bill Nelson (Fla.), and Mark Warner (Va.). McCaskill and Nelson are both up for re-election in 2012 and are likely to face tough battles to hold onto their seats.

Eight Republicans voted against it: Sens. Bob Bennett (Utah), Thad Cochran (Miss.), Susan Collins (Maine), James Inhofe (Okla.),Richard Lugar (Ind.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Richard Shelby(Ala.) and George Voinovich (Ohio). Five senators did not vote.