Warning: Congress May Soon Reopen Government
Update Oct 16 (10:20 PM EDT): U.S. House passed (285-144) the Senate continuing resolution to reopen the government until Jan. 15, 2014 and to raise the debt ceiling until Feb. 7, 2014. The bill will be carried to the President for signature and temporarily furloughed workers will return to work with full pay. Breakdown of House Vote: Yea: 87 Republicans and 143 Democrats; Nay: 143 Republicans and 0 Democrats. Not Voting: 1 Republican - 2 Democrats.
Update Oct. 16, 2013 (9:10 PM EDT): U.S. Senate passed (81-18) a continuing resolution to reopen the government until Jan. 15, 2014 and to raise the debt ceiling until Feb. 7, 2014. The measure now heads to the House, which is expected to vote on the deal later tonight.
------------
Today in Washington, D.C. - Oct 16, 2013 - Day 16 of partial government shutdown.
The Senate reconvened at noon today and resumed consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 1569. Later today, the Senate could take up the agreement extending government funding and the debt limit to January and February, respectively.
Today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the bipartisan deal Wednesday afternoon. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) says he will not hold up the Senate deal but don't expect him to vote for the deal. The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation this evening. If passed it will go to the House where House Speaker Boehner has said he will not block a vote on the agreement.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) responded to the bipartisan Senate agreement to reopen the federal government and avoid a national default:
“The House has fought with everything it has to convince the president of the United States to engage in bipartisan negotiations aimed at addressing our country's debt and providing fairness for the American people under ObamaCare. That fight will continue. But blocking the bipartisan agreement reached today by the members of the Senate will not be a tactic for us. In addition to the risk of default, doing so would open the door for the Democratic majority in Washington to raise taxes again on the American people and undo the spending caps in the 2011 Budget Control Act without replacing them with better spending cuts. With our nation's economy still struggling under years of the president's policies, raising taxes is not a viable option. Our drive to stop the train wreck that is the president's health care law will continue. We will rely on aggressive oversight that highlights the law's massive flaws and smart, targeted strikes that split the legislative coalition the president has relied upon to force his health care law on the American people.” The House was convened at 10 AM and recessed at 12:30 PM. The next meeting is subject to the call of the Chair.
Speaking on the Senate floor today, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said, “This has been a long challenging few weeks for Congress and for the country. It’s my hope that today we can put some of the most urgent issues behind us. . . . Crucially, I’m also confident that we’ll be able to announce that we’re protecting the government spending reductions that both parties agreed to under the Budget Control Act, and that the President signed into law. That’s been a top priority for me and my Republican colleagues throughout this debate. And it’s been worth the effort. Some have suggested that we break that promise as part of this agreement. They’ve said Washington needs to spend more, that we need to raise taxes — that we can just tax our way to prosperity and balance. But what the BCA showed is that Washington can cut spending. And because of this law, that’s just what we’ve done. For the first time since the Korean War, government spending has declined for two years in a row. That’s the first time in 50 years. And we’re not going back on this agreement. There is a lot more we need to do to get our nation’s fiscal house in order. Hopefully, once we’ve gotten past the drama of the moment we can get to work on it. But for now, let’s not understate the importance of the BCA, or the importance of the fight to preserve it. This legislation is the largest spending reduction bill of the last quarter century and the largest deficit reduction bill since 1981 that didn’t include a tax hike. Preserving this law is critically important.”
Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans fought hard to preserve these spending cuts after Democrats started demanding increased spending earlier this week. As The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, “Democrats made plain that one of their top priorities was to diminish the next round of across-the-board spending cuts, known as the sequester, due to take effect early next year.” But Republicans protected the spending caps. Politico notes, “[House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi] agreed to accept the Republican budget number of $986 billion annually, a far cry from the $1.058 trillion that Democrats wanted — getting 195 Democrats to put it in writing. . . . In the lead-up to the shutdown, House Democrats insisted they wouldn’t accept sequester-level budget numbers.”
Even the liberal news site TalkingPointsMemo acknowledged Republicans were poised to win on spending levels: “[Conservatives] appear to have already won the real policy fight over a government shutdown, which was about spending. President Barack Obama and Democrats [are] poised to cave when it comes to continuing spending at austerity levels ordered by sequestration -- across-the-board cuts put in place under the 2011 debt limit agreement. . . . [C]onservatives were so successful at putting Democrats on defense over Obamacare that Democrats barely even waged a fight on spending. . . . The Budget Control Act calls for a fiscal 2014 spending level of $1.058 trillion, before the sequester cuts that to $967 billion. The sequester would bring down the spending level to $967 billion either way. Senior Democratic aides insist this is temporary and the low spending levels won't be locked in. But voting to establish a lower top-line spending level in the short term cedes their leverage to ultimately scrap sequestration cuts.”
As Leader McConnell said today, “Throughout this debate, the public has been rightly focused on Obamacare — for good reason. This law is ravaging our economy, killing jobs, driving up premiums, and driving people off the health care plans they have and like, in droves. Its disastrous rollout is sign of even worse things to come. And the Democrat refusal to delay it reflects a stubborn ideological obsession that will do untold damage to our country. And Republicans remain determined to repeal this terrible law. But for today, the relief we hope for is to reopen the government, avoid default, and protect the historic cuts we achieved under the BCA. This is far less than many of us had hoped for. But it’s far better than what some had sought. Now it’s time for Republicans to unite behind our other crucial goals.”
Note all are happy with the Senate compromises. Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement urging the House of Representatives to defeat a Senate-proposed continuing resolution that will fail to defund Obamacare:
"One week ago, Speaker John Boehner characterized a vote on a continuing resolution that did not deal with Obamacare as an 'unconditional surrender'. Today, House Republicans will be voting on just such a bill.
"No Republican who votes for the Harry Reid surrender bill will ever be able to credibly claim that they truly oppose Obamacare, because when push came to shove, they chose to fund and implement it, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that the law is indeed a train wreck.
"Americans for Limited Government urges the House of Representatives to put down the white flag and reject Harry Reid's surrender terms. Failure to reject this bill destroys any leverage that House Republicans might hope to wield in the proposed future joint committee, as it will have been proven that the Democrats have no need to negotiate so long as they are willing to shut down the government and potentially breach the debt ceiling." Gretchen Hamel, Executive Director, Public Notice responded to the proposed Senate deal to lift the debt ceiling and end the government shutdown:The recent debate over funding the government and raising the debt ceiling represents a collective failure by our leaders in Washington and a national embarrassment on the world stage.
While many members of Congress and the president were busy scoring political points and making outlandish promises, they put our economy at immediate risk and diminished America’s standing in the world.
Washington has cobbled together another short-term Band-Aid coupled with the promise of possible spending cuts and reforms down the road. Though this strategy might alleviate short-term pressure, it is building toward the next crisis. Despite a stated desire from both parties to halt governing from crisis-to-crisis, these debates and this legislation only fuels that approach.
I hope this brush with disaster is enough to spur real action to implement needed reforms and smarter cuts, but I'll remain skeptical until Washington takes concrete steps in that direction. Politics, inflammatory rhetoric and partisan pressure must take a backseat to responsible governing and budgeting.
Tags: Senate compromise, Government Shutdown, spending limits To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Update Oct. 16, 2013 (9:10 PM EDT): U.S. Senate passed (81-18) a continuing resolution to reopen the government until Jan. 15, 2014 and to raise the debt ceiling until Feb. 7, 2014. The measure now heads to the House, which is expected to vote on the deal later tonight.
------------
Today in Washington, D.C. - Oct 16, 2013 - Day 16 of partial government shutdown.
The Senate reconvened at noon today and resumed consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 1569. Later today, the Senate could take up the agreement extending government funding and the debt limit to January and February, respectively.
Today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the bipartisan deal Wednesday afternoon. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) says he will not hold up the Senate deal but don't expect him to vote for the deal. The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation this evening. If passed it will go to the House where House Speaker Boehner has said he will not block a vote on the agreement.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) responded to the bipartisan Senate agreement to reopen the federal government and avoid a national default:
Speaking on the Senate floor today, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said, “This has been a long challenging few weeks for Congress and for the country. It’s my hope that today we can put some of the most urgent issues behind us. . . . Crucially, I’m also confident that we’ll be able to announce that we’re protecting the government spending reductions that both parties agreed to under the Budget Control Act, and that the President signed into law. That’s been a top priority for me and my Republican colleagues throughout this debate. And it’s been worth the effort. Some have suggested that we break that promise as part of this agreement. They’ve said Washington needs to spend more, that we need to raise taxes — that we can just tax our way to prosperity and balance. But what the BCA showed is that Washington can cut spending. And because of this law, that’s just what we’ve done. For the first time since the Korean War, government spending has declined for two years in a row. That’s the first time in 50 years. And we’re not going back on this agreement. There is a lot more we need to do to get our nation’s fiscal house in order. Hopefully, once we’ve gotten past the drama of the moment we can get to work on it. But for now, let’s not understate the importance of the BCA, or the importance of the fight to preserve it. This legislation is the largest spending reduction bill of the last quarter century and the largest deficit reduction bill since 1981 that didn’t include a tax hike. Preserving this law is critically important.”
Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans fought hard to preserve these spending cuts after Democrats started demanding increased spending earlier this week. As The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, “Democrats made plain that one of their top priorities was to diminish the next round of across-the-board spending cuts, known as the sequester, due to take effect early next year.” But Republicans protected the spending caps. Politico notes, “[House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi] agreed to accept the Republican budget number of $986 billion annually, a far cry from the $1.058 trillion that Democrats wanted — getting 195 Democrats to put it in writing. . . . In the lead-up to the shutdown, House Democrats insisted they wouldn’t accept sequester-level budget numbers.”
Even the liberal news site TalkingPointsMemo acknowledged Republicans were poised to win on spending levels: “[Conservatives] appear to have already won the real policy fight over a government shutdown, which was about spending. President Barack Obama and Democrats [are] poised to cave when it comes to continuing spending at austerity levels ordered by sequestration -- across-the-board cuts put in place under the 2011 debt limit agreement. . . . [C]onservatives were so successful at putting Democrats on defense over Obamacare that Democrats barely even waged a fight on spending. . . . The Budget Control Act calls for a fiscal 2014 spending level of $1.058 trillion, before the sequester cuts that to $967 billion. The sequester would bring down the spending level to $967 billion either way. Senior Democratic aides insist this is temporary and the low spending levels won't be locked in. But voting to establish a lower top-line spending level in the short term cedes their leverage to ultimately scrap sequestration cuts.”
As Leader McConnell said today, “Throughout this debate, the public has been rightly focused on Obamacare — for good reason. This law is ravaging our economy, killing jobs, driving up premiums, and driving people off the health care plans they have and like, in droves. Its disastrous rollout is sign of even worse things to come. And the Democrat refusal to delay it reflects a stubborn ideological obsession that will do untold damage to our country. And Republicans remain determined to repeal this terrible law. But for today, the relief we hope for is to reopen the government, avoid default, and protect the historic cuts we achieved under the BCA. This is far less than many of us had hoped for. But it’s far better than what some had sought. Now it’s time for Republicans to unite behind our other crucial goals.”
Note all are happy with the Senate compromises. Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement urging the House of Representatives to defeat a Senate-proposed continuing resolution that will fail to defund Obamacare:
"No Republican who votes for the Harry Reid surrender bill will ever be able to credibly claim that they truly oppose Obamacare, because when push came to shove, they chose to fund and implement it, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that the law is indeed a train wreck.
"Americans for Limited Government urges the House of Representatives to put down the white flag and reject Harry Reid's surrender terms. Failure to reject this bill destroys any leverage that House Republicans might hope to wield in the proposed future joint committee, as it will have been proven that the Democrats have no need to negotiate so long as they are willing to shut down the government and potentially breach the debt ceiling."
While many members of Congress and the president were busy scoring political points and making outlandish promises, they put our economy at immediate risk and diminished America’s standing in the world.
Washington has cobbled together another short-term Band-Aid coupled with the promise of possible spending cuts and reforms down the road. Though this strategy might alleviate short-term pressure, it is building toward the next crisis. Despite a stated desire from both parties to halt governing from crisis-to-crisis, these debates and this legislation only fuels that approach.
I hope this brush with disaster is enough to spur real action to implement needed reforms and smarter cuts, but I'll remain skeptical until Washington takes concrete steps in that direction. Politics, inflammatory rhetoric and partisan pressure must take a backseat to responsible governing and budgeting.
Tags: Senate compromise, Government Shutdown, spending limits To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 2:43 PM - Post Link
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home