Rand Paul Launches Filbuster in U.S. Senate
Today in Washington, D.C. - March 6, 2013
The Senate reconvened at this morning and AGAIN resumed consideration of the nomination of radical Caitlin Halligan to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Her nomination failed to achieve 60 votes for cloture the last time Democrats forced a vote due to her controversial record on 2nd Amendment rights. And AGAIN, this morning, Democrats failed to get the 60 votes needed to move forward on the Halligan nomination by a vote of 51-41.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) indicated that he’d like to file cloture on the nomination of John Brennan to be Director of Central Intelligence and hold that cloture vote today. However, Sen. Rand Paul took to his feet and in a modern version of "Mr. Smith goes to Washington" announced he was going to begin his filibuster against voting on the nomination of Mr. Brennan. His reason was not opposition to Brennan but the failure of the President and Attorney General to respond to questions regarding using drones to attack and kill American within the Unites States of America. Obviously, there is no way to know how long his filibuster will . Fortunately, he is both articulate and in good physical shape. Here is hoping other senators will stand by and assist him. Once a filibuster begins except for short periods when an ally fills in so that the person can use the restroom, the filibuster ends when the person finally gives up the floor or collapses.
Yesterday, the Senate approved by voice vote S. Res. 64, the Committee Authorizing Resolution, which provides funding for Senate committees to operate through Sept. 30th. Prior to passage, the Senate rejected an amendment to the resolution from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).
The House convened and will address H.R. 933 - "Making appropriations for the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other departments and agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013. Yesterday, the House passed:
H.R. 668 (392-28) "Amended section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, to require that annual budget submissions of the President to Congress provide an estimate of the cost per taxpayer of the deficit, and for other purposes."
H.R. 338 (421-5) "Amended title 18, United States Code, to include certain territories and possessions of the United States in the definition of State for the purposes of chapter 114, relating to trafficking in contraband cigarettes and smokeless tobacco."
ABC News reports today, “For all the dire warnings, most Americans welcome a five percent cut in overall federal spending this year. But the defense budget is another matter. The public by nearly 2-1, 61-33 percent, supports cutting the overall budget along the lines of the sequester that took effect last Friday. But by nearly an identical margin, Americans in this ABC News/Washington Post poll oppose an eight percent across-the-board cut in military spending. . . . [T]he results suggest that warnings about the nation’s military readiness have resonated, while the public is more skeptical about the damage the sequester poses to federal programs more generally. Support for a five percent reduction in federal spending crosses party lines in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates; it includes 57 percent of Democrats, six in 10 independents and three-quarters of Republicans. Shaving eight percent off the military budget, on the other hand, is opposed by 73 percent of Republicans and 63 percent of independents, with Democrats split down the middle.”
Clearly, Americans are looking at the sequester the same way Republicans in Congress . . . expressing a commitment to cut out-of-control federal spending, but preferring to do it in a smarter way that won’t hurt military readiness.
Leader McConnell warned how President Obama would approach implementing sequestration, saying, “[A]fter thwarting every bipartisan attempt to avert his Sequester, the President is ready to make it bite as hard as possible – all to send a simple message to the public: ‘You want to control Washington spending, America? Fine, let me show you much I can make it hurt.’ Instead of directing his cabinet secretaries to trim waste in their departments, he’s going to go after first responders. And teachers. And almost any other sympathetic constituency you can think of. And he’ll arbitrarily close parks and monuments too – all to force Americans to accept higher taxes. He’ll claim his hands are tied. He’ll say he has no choice but to release criminals into the streets and withhold vaccines from poor children. And somehow, it will be everyone’s fault but his.”
Sure enough, The Wall Street Journal editors already see the administration doing this: “In its bid to make the sequester as painful as possible, the White House announced Tuesday that it is canceling all visitor tours of the White House ‘during the popular Spring touring season.’ This fits President Obama's political strategy to punish the eighth graders visiting from Illinois instead of, say, the employees of the Agriculture Department who will attend a California conference sipping ‘exceptional local wines’ and sampling ‘tasty dishes’ prepared by ‘special guest chefs.’
"Yes, even as the White House warns that the modest automatic spending cuts will force the furlough of meat inspectors, two divisions of the Agriculture Department will underwrite the 26th California Small Farm Conference in Fresno next week. The event will feature USDA speakers, field trips, a banquet and a tasting reception, according to the conference website. Conference organizers promise the tasting will be a ‘mouthwatering event’ featuring ‘fine wines and exceptional micro-brews paired with seasonally driven culinary delicacies.’”
The Obama administration has certainly left no doubt where its priorities lie. They’ve warned of furloughed meat inspectors and TSA agents, laid-off teachers and first responders, but they’ve made sure the IRS will be collecting the new taxes levied by Obamacare. According to The Hill, “Implementation of the taxes and fees from President Obama’s healthcare law is on track despite the cutbacks at the IRS from sequestration. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), enacted in 2010 and derided by Republicans as ‘ObamaCare,’ contains the broadest set of tax changes enacted in some two decades — more than 40 alterations in all, including penalties on people who choose not to purchase insurance. But while IRS and Treasury officials have warned of reduced services as employees are furloughed under the sequester, neither agency has expressed any concern that the automatic spending cuts would delay the rollout of the healthcare overhaul.”
As Leader McConnell said, “[T]he time for games is over. No more protecting waste and broken programs at the expense of those who actually need government help. The American people were promised more spending control, and Republicans are going to help them see that that promise is fulfilled – and in the smartest way possible.”
Tags: Washington, D.C. Us Senate, Rand Paul, filibuster, drone strikes, on Americans, in the U.S., ABC Poll, People back spending cuts, Obama Admin Priorities, Obamacare Taxes, USDA Wine Tasting, White House Tours To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The Senate reconvened at this morning and AGAIN resumed consideration of the nomination of radical Caitlin Halligan to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Her nomination failed to achieve 60 votes for cloture the last time Democrats forced a vote due to her controversial record on 2nd Amendment rights. And AGAIN, this morning, Democrats failed to get the 60 votes needed to move forward on the Halligan nomination by a vote of 51-41.
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| Atty Gen. Eric Holder is not entirely ruling out drone strikes against Americans on U.S. soil (CNN 3/5/13) |
Yesterday, the Senate approved by voice vote S. Res. 64, the Committee Authorizing Resolution, which provides funding for Senate committees to operate through Sept. 30th. Prior to passage, the Senate rejected an amendment to the resolution from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).
The House convened and will address H.R. 933 - "Making appropriations for the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other departments and agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013. Yesterday, the House passed:
H.R. 668 (392-28) "Amended section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, to require that annual budget submissions of the President to Congress provide an estimate of the cost per taxpayer of the deficit, and for other purposes."
H.R. 338 (421-5) "Amended title 18, United States Code, to include certain territories and possessions of the United States in the definition of State for the purposes of chapter 114, relating to trafficking in contraband cigarettes and smokeless tobacco."
ABC News reports today, “For all the dire warnings, most Americans welcome a five percent cut in overall federal spending this year. But the defense budget is another matter. The public by nearly 2-1, 61-33 percent, supports cutting the overall budget along the lines of the sequester that took effect last Friday. But by nearly an identical margin, Americans in this ABC News/Washington Post poll oppose an eight percent across-the-board cut in military spending. . . . [T]he results suggest that warnings about the nation’s military readiness have resonated, while the public is more skeptical about the damage the sequester poses to federal programs more generally. Support for a five percent reduction in federal spending crosses party lines in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates; it includes 57 percent of Democrats, six in 10 independents and three-quarters of Republicans. Shaving eight percent off the military budget, on the other hand, is opposed by 73 percent of Republicans and 63 percent of independents, with Democrats split down the middle.”
Clearly, Americans are looking at the sequester the same way Republicans in Congress . . . expressing a commitment to cut out-of-control federal spending, but preferring to do it in a smarter way that won’t hurt military readiness.
Leader McConnell warned how President Obama would approach implementing sequestration, saying, “[A]fter thwarting every bipartisan attempt to avert his Sequester, the President is ready to make it bite as hard as possible – all to send a simple message to the public: ‘You want to control Washington spending, America? Fine, let me show you much I can make it hurt.’ Instead of directing his cabinet secretaries to trim waste in their departments, he’s going to go after first responders. And teachers. And almost any other sympathetic constituency you can think of. And he’ll arbitrarily close parks and monuments too – all to force Americans to accept higher taxes. He’ll claim his hands are tied. He’ll say he has no choice but to release criminals into the streets and withhold vaccines from poor children. And somehow, it will be everyone’s fault but his.”
Sure enough, The Wall Street Journal editors already see the administration doing this: “In its bid to make the sequester as painful as possible, the White House announced Tuesday that it is canceling all visitor tours of the White House ‘during the popular Spring touring season.’ This fits President Obama's political strategy to punish the eighth graders visiting from Illinois instead of, say, the employees of the Agriculture Department who will attend a California conference sipping ‘exceptional local wines’ and sampling ‘tasty dishes’ prepared by ‘special guest chefs.’
"Yes, even as the White House warns that the modest automatic spending cuts will force the furlough of meat inspectors, two divisions of the Agriculture Department will underwrite the 26th California Small Farm Conference in Fresno next week. The event will feature USDA speakers, field trips, a banquet and a tasting reception, according to the conference website. Conference organizers promise the tasting will be a ‘mouthwatering event’ featuring ‘fine wines and exceptional micro-brews paired with seasonally driven culinary delicacies.’”
The Obama administration has certainly left no doubt where its priorities lie. They’ve warned of furloughed meat inspectors and TSA agents, laid-off teachers and first responders, but they’ve made sure the IRS will be collecting the new taxes levied by Obamacare. According to The Hill, “Implementation of the taxes and fees from President Obama’s healthcare law is on track despite the cutbacks at the IRS from sequestration. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), enacted in 2010 and derided by Republicans as ‘ObamaCare,’ contains the broadest set of tax changes enacted in some two decades — more than 40 alterations in all, including penalties on people who choose not to purchase insurance. But while IRS and Treasury officials have warned of reduced services as employees are furloughed under the sequester, neither agency has expressed any concern that the automatic spending cuts would delay the rollout of the healthcare overhaul.”
As Leader McConnell said, “[T]he time for games is over. No more protecting waste and broken programs at the expense of those who actually need government help. The American people were promised more spending control, and Republicans are going to help them see that that promise is fulfilled – and in the smartest way possible.”
Tags: Washington, D.C. Us Senate, Rand Paul, filibuster, drone strikes, on Americans, in the U.S., ABC Poll, People back spending cuts, Obama Admin Priorities, Obamacare Taxes, USDA Wine Tasting, White House Tours To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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