Following up on a previous blog posting regarding Sen. Tom Harkin's (D-IA) amendment to the reconciliation tax bill yesterday, it appears that some of his original supporters deserted him during the actual vote. His amendment, which was defeated 50-46 would have increased the amount appropriated to carry out programs under the Community Services Block Grant Act. It failed despite the fact that fifty-eight Senators signed a letter November 9 stating their support for upholding CSBG funding at $637 million in negotiations with the House on the Labor/HHS bill. It is interesting then that Harkin’s amendment, which proposed to do exactly this, went down in flames. Seventeen Senators who gave their support on to this letter a little over a week ago didn’t show their support when it mattered — during the vote. These Senators were: Alexander (R-TN) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) DeWine (R-OH) Allen (R-VA) Burns (R-MT) Coleman (R-MN) Hagel (R-NE) Murkowski (R-AK) Sununu (R-NH) Talent (R-MO) Thune (R-ND) Voinovich (R-OH) Warner (R-VA) Grassley (R-IA) Hatch (R-UT) Santorum (R-PA)