ARRA News Service
News Blog for social, fiscal & national security conservatives who believe in God, family & the USA. Upholding the rights granted by God & guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, traditional family values, "republican" principles / ideals, transparent & limited "smaller" government, free markets, lower taxes, due process of law, liberty & individual freedom. Content approval rests with the ARRA News Service Editor. Opinions are those of the authors. While varied positions are reported, beliefs & principles remain fixed. No revenue is generated for or by this "Blog" - no paid ads - no payments for articles. Fair Use Doctrine is posted & used.
Blogger/Editor/Founder: Bill Smith, Ph.D. [aka: OzarkGuru & 2010 AFP National Blogger of the Year]
Contact: editor@arranewsservice.com (Pub. Since July, 2006)
    Home Page
   

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -- Plato (429-347 BC)

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

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!
Posted by Bill Smith at 2:43 PM - Post Link

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home


View U.S. National Debt

Don't miss anything!
Subscribe to the
ARRA News Service
It's FREE & No Ads!

You will receive a verification email
& must validate you subscribed!

You Then Receive One Email Each AM
With Prior Days Articles / Toons / More


Also, Join & leave conservative posts & comments on
Facebook.com/ARRANewsService


Recent Posts:
Personal Tweets by the editor:
Dr. Bill - OzarkGuru - @arra
#Christian Conservative; Retired USAF & Grad Professor. Constitution NRA ProLife schoolchoice fairtax - Editor ARRA NEWS SERVICE. THANKS FOR FOLLOWING!

Action Links!
State Upper & Lower House Members
State Attorney Generals
State Governors
The White House
US House of Representatives
US Senators
GrassFire
NumbersUSA
Ballotpedia

Facebook Accts - Dr. Bill Smith
Pages:
ARRA News Service
Arkansans Against Big Government
Alley-White Am. Legion #52
Catholics & Protestants United Against Discrimination
End Taxpayer Funding of NPR
Overturn Roe V. Wade
Prolife Soldiers
Project Wildfire 4 Life
Republican Liberty Caucus of Arkansas
The Gold Standard
US Atty Gen Loretta Lynch, aka Eric Holder, Must Go
Veterans for Sarah Palin
Why Vote for Hillary (Satire)
FB Groups:
Arkansas For Sarah Palin
Arkansas Conservative Caucus
Arkansas County Tea Party
Arkansans' Discussion Group on National Issues
Blogs for Borders
Conservative Solutions
Conservative Voices
Defend Marriage -- Arkansas
FairTax
FairTax Nation
Arkansas for FairTax
Friends of the TEA Party in Arkansas
Freedom Roundtable
Pro-Life Rocks - Arkansas
Republican Network
Republican Liberty Caucus of AR
Reject the U.N.

Patriots
Exchange
Links

Request Via
Article Comment

Links to ARRA News
A Patriotic Nurse
Agora Associates
a12iggymom's Blog
America, You Asked For It!
America's Best Choice
ARRA News Twitter
As The Crackerhead Crumbles
Blogs For Borders
Blogs for Palin
Blow the Trumpet Ministry
Boot Berryism
Cap'n Bob & the Damsel
Chicago Ray Report - Obama Regime Report
Chuck Baldwin - links
Common Cents
Conservative Voices
Diana's Corner
Greater Fitchburg For Life
Lasting Liberty Blog
Liberal Isn't Amy
Marathon Pundit
Patriot's Corner
Right on Issues that Matter
Right Reason
Rocking on the Right Side
Saber Point
Saline Watchdog
Sultan Knish
The Blue Eye View
The Born Again Americans
TEA Party Cartoons
The Foxhole | Unapologetic Patriot
The Liberty Republican
The O Word
The Path to Tyranny Blog
The Real Polichick
The War on Guns
TOTUS
Twitter @ARRA
Underground Notes
Warning Signs
Women's Prayer & Action
WyBlog

Editor's Managed Twitter Accounts
Twitter Dr. Bill Smith @arra
Twitter Arkansas @GOPNetwork
Twitter @BootBerryism
Twitter @SovereignAllies
Twitter @FairTaxNation

Editor's Recommended Orgs
Accuracy in Media (AIM)
American Action Forum (AAF)
American Committment
American Culture & Faith Institute
American Enterprise Institute
American Family Business Institute
Americans for Limited Government
Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Tax Reform
American Security Council Fdn
AR Faith & Ethics Council
Arkansas Policy Foundation
Ayn Rand Institute
Bill of Rights Institute
Campaign for Working Families
CATO Institute
Center for Individual Freedom
Center for Immigration Studies
Center for Just Society
Center for Freedom & Prosperity
Citizens Against Gov't Waste
Citizens in Charge Foundstion
Coalition for the Future American Worker
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Concerned Veterans for America
Concerned Women for America
Declaration of Am. Renewal
Eagle Forum
FairTax
Family Research Council
Family Security Matters
Franklin Center for Gov't & Public Integrity
Freedom Works
Gingrich Productions
Global Incident Map
Great Americans
Gold Standard 2012 Project
Gun Owners of America (GOA)
Heritage Action for America
David Horowitz Freedom Center
Institute For Justice
Institute for Truth in Accounting
Intercollegiate Studies Institute
Judicial Watch
Less Government
Media Reseach Center
National Center for Policy Analysis
National Right To Work Foundation
National Rifle Association (NRA)
National Rifle Association (NRA-ILA)
News Busters
O'Bluejacket's Patriotic Flicks
OathKeepers
Open Secrets
Presidential Prayer Team
Religious Freedom Coalition
Renew America
Ron Paul Institute
State Policy Network
Tax Foundation
Tax Policy Center
The Club for Growth
The Federalist
The Gold Standard Now
The Heritage Foundation
The Leadership Institute
Truth in Accounting
Union Facts



Blogs For Borders

Reject the United Nations

Presidential Prayer Team

Thousands of Deadly Islamic Terror Attacks Since 9/11


FairTax Nation on FaceBook
Friends of Israel - Stand with Israel
Blog Feeds
Syndicated - Get the ARRA News Service feed Syndicated!
ARRA Blog Feed

Add to Google Reader or Homepage

Add to The Free Dictionary

Powered by Blogger


  • To Exchange Links - Email: editor@arranewsservice.com!
  • Comments by contributing authors or other sources do not necessarily reflect the position the editor, other contributing authors, sources, readers, or commenters. No contributors, or editors are paid for articles, images, cartoons, etc. While having reported on and promoting principles & beleifs beliefs of other organizations, this blog/site is soley controlled and supported by the editor. This site/blog does not advertise for money or services nor does it solicit funding for its support.
  • Fair Use: This site/blog may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of political, human rights, economic, democracy, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as provided for in section Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 of the US Copyright Law. Per said section, the material on this site/blog is distributed without profit to readers to view for the expressed purpose of viewing the included information for research, educational, or satirical purposes. Any person/entity seeking to use copyrighted material shared on this site/blog for purposes that go beyond "fair use," must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
  • © 2006 - 2020 ARRA News Service
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.