Senators reach deal to avert government shutdown

[BDBoop]

Senators reach deal to avert government shutdown - politics - Capitol Hill - msnbc.com

Everybody can breathe again.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

Why is house approval on this a formality?

 

[francoHFW]

"a formality". "add" indeed...

 

[DontBeStupid]

Why was there an argument over disaster aid?

That should be a given.

Stupid tea party.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

It would be nice to shut this government down permanently and go back to the one that TJ and founders came up with.

 

[waltky]

Granny says shut it down an' fire the whole do-nothin' lot of `em...

Shutdown looms: Spotlight now on Senate after Boehner wrangled House GOP votes
With time running out, Congress returns Monday to try to pass a short-term funding measure to avert a government shutdown and avoid yet another market-rattling showdown over the federal budget.

The Democratic-led Senate, which on Friday blocked a GOP House measure to fund the government through Nov. 18, will vote late Monday on its own version of the bill. The Senate bill includes dollars for disaster relief without an offsetting spending cut elsewhere that the House GOP demands. It is not clear how the dispute will be resolved. A spokesman for House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said Sunday that leaders have been in touch, but other congressional aides said there was no progress toward a compromise over the weekend.

And members of Congress who appeared on Sunday talk shows gave little sign that they would move quickly from their parties’ positions on disaster relief. “The Senate is saying . . . why should we, in effect, rebuild schools in Iraq on the credit card but expect that rebuilding schools in Joplin, Missouri, at this moment in time have to be paid for in a way that has never been in any of the previous disaster assistance that we’ve put out before?” Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” He blamed the dispute on tea-party-affiliated Republicans in the House who demanded the spending cut.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said on the same program: “Everybody knows we’re going to pay for every single penny of disaster aid that the president declares and that FEMA certifies. And the House sent over a bill that does that and the Senate should have approved it.” He blamed Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) for manufacturing a crisis over funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But Warner and Alexander, who have been pushing for more bipartisan cooperation over the far more difficult and consequential task of deficit reduction, appeared weary over the mess. Warner called it “embarrassing.” “I don’t like this business of sitting around blaming each other over such small potatoes,” Alexander said. But the small potatoes are part of a much larger and ongoing fight about debt and deficit spending in Washington.

Last week, Boehner lost a vote on how to fund the federal government, sending Washington bumbling into its third shutdown showdown in the past six months. His problem was the same as in the previous spending battles — roughly 50 of the most conservative Republicans who mutinied in the name of deeper spending cuts. But Boehner may have strengthened his hand in the fight by persuading his fractious team to rally around his leadership.

MORE

See also:


81% unhappy with government
9/26/11 : A record-high number of Americans say they are dissatisfied with the way the nation is being governed, a new poll says.

An overwhelming majority of respondents, 81 percent, said that they are not satisfied with the governance of the country, compared with 19 percent who are satisfied, according to Gallup. “Americans’ various ratings of political leadership in Washington add up to a profoundly negative review of government — something that would seem unhealthy for the country to endure for an extended period,” Gallup wrote. “Nevertheless, with another budget showdown looking inevitable and a contentious presidential election year getting under way, it appears the ratings reviewed here could get worse before they improve.”

Dissatisfaction with the government is a relatively new trend. As recently as 2003, 59 percent were satisfied with the way the nation was being governed, compared to 39 percent who were not. Especially frustrated in the latest poll were Republicans, 92 percent of whom were dissatisfied with the governance of the nation, while 65 percent of Democrats were similarly dissatisfied. A majority of Americans — 53 percent — also have lost confidence in the people who are running for or hold elected office.

A key source for this lack of confidence is the legislative branch of government, of which 69 percent of those surveyed said they had little or no confidence. That figure is up from 63 percent in 2010. The Gallup Poll also showed a record high number of people who thought that the federal government poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens, with 49 percent agreeing with the sentiment, and 50 percent disagreeing. The percentage of those who agreed with the sentiment was as low as 30 percent in 2003.

Meanwhile, Americans are more willing to believe that the government can solve international problems than domestic problems. Fifty-seven percent of individuals said they had trust and confidence in the federal government when it came to handling international affairs, but 43 percent said the same about domestic issues. The poll was based on interviews conducted Sept. 8-11, with a sample of 1,017 adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percent.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/64390.html

 

[LordBrownTrout]

Granny says shut it down an' fire the whole do-nothin' lot of `em...

Shutdown looms: Spotlight now on Senate after Boehner wrangled House GOP votes
With time running out, Congress returns Monday to try to pass a short-term funding measure to avert a government shutdown and avoid yet another market-rattling showdown over the federal budget.

The Democratic-led Senate, which on Friday blocked a GOP House measure to fund the government through Nov. 18, will vote late Monday on its own version of the bill. The Senate bill includes dollars for disaster relief without an offsetting spending cut elsewhere that the House GOP demands. It is not clear how the dispute will be resolved. A spokesman for House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said Sunday that leaders have been in touch, but other congressional aides said there was no progress toward a compromise over the weekend.

And members of Congress who appeared on Sunday talk shows gave little sign that they would move quickly from their parties’ positions on disaster relief. “The Senate is saying . . . why should we, in effect, rebuild schools in Iraq on the credit card but expect that rebuilding schools in Joplin, Missouri, at this moment in time have to be paid for in a way that has never been in any of the previous disaster assistance that we’ve put out before?” Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” He blamed the dispute on tea-party-affiliated Republicans in the House who demanded the spending cut.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said on the same program: “Everybody knows we’re going to pay for every single penny of disaster aid that the president declares and that FEMA certifies. And the House sent over a bill that does that and the Senate should have approved it.” He blamed Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) for manufacturing a crisis over funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But Warner and Alexander, who have been pushing for more bipartisan cooperation over the far more difficult and consequential task of deficit reduction, appeared weary over the mess. Warner called it “embarrassing.” “I don’t like this business of sitting around blaming each other over such small potatoes,” Alexander said. But the small potatoes are part of a much larger and ongoing fight about debt and deficit spending in Washington.

Last week, Boehner lost a vote on how to fund the federal government, sending Washington bumbling into its third shutdown showdown in the past six months. His problem was the same as in the previous spending battles — roughly 50 of the most conservative Republicans who mutinied in the name of deeper spending cuts. But Boehner may have strengthened his hand in the fight by persuading his fractious team to rally around his leadership.

MORE

Granny sounds like a smart lady.

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "How `bout dat? Dem spineless do-nothin' scoundrels finally did sumpin'...

Shutdown averted; disaster aid dispute surmounted
26 Sept.`11 WASHINGTON – The Obama administration gave Congress a possible way out of its shutdown-threatening budget impasse Monday, saying it had enough disaster relief money to last through Friday.

That word allowed the Senate to vote for a straightforward short-term spending plan allowing the government to operate at least until next week — but without $1billion in additional disaster aid. The Disaster Relief Fund was the only issue holding up agreement between the House and Senate as they approached the end of the fiscal year Friday, when the government's spending authority runs out. The Republican House had passed a plan to pay for additional disaster spending partly by cutting manufacturing and energy programs dear to the Obama administration.

Democrats wanted to add the additional disaster funding off-budget, the standard practice. The Senate fell six votes short of the 60 needed to pass that plan Monday. And so the Senate agreed to a one-week extension of spending authority — with no additional funding but also no cuts to the manufacturing and energy programs — to give the House time to return to Washington to approve a budget and avoid a government shutdown. "We've basically resolved this issue," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced Monday night. "We no longer have to fight over (fiscal year) 2011 funding." But he noted the same issues would come up in future budget talks.

The compromise leaves the Federal Emergency Management Agency running on what the Obama administration had called "dangerously low" funding levels. After a record 84 presidential disaster declarations this year, the agency had $114 million in the Disaster Relief Fund as of Monday — and had originally expected to run out of money as soon as today. FEMA spokeswoman Rachel Racusen said new estimates showed funding "could be fully exhausted by the end of the week."

The agency has already frozen assistance for older disaster recovery efforts, such as those in tornado-ravaged Joplin, Mo., in favor of immediate needs like East Coast communities cleaning up after Hurricane Irene. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., took to the Senate floor repeatedly Monday to excoriate House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., for what she called "The Cantor Doctrine" — that the federal government couldn't help disaster victims unless Congress could cut something else first. Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring said the Senate's decision to put corporate subsidies ahead of disaster aid left the House with "very few options."

Source

 

[Care4all]

this one week at a time one month at a time bull crud, is hurting our nation in my opinion....we have a totally dysfunctional government. fund the year...then within the year, make some BIG cuts, that can affect future spending in a sound manner instead of this willy nilly stuff.

 

[Care4all]

if a business or Corporation were to handle their financials in this manner they would be penny stock in no time. (and yes, businesses DO BORROW a good deal of their money, as the gvt does.)

this not knowing what tomorrow will bring and spending without the willingness to pay for it, is a disaster.....

PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE ALREADY SPENT, darnit!

Then CUT THE HECK out of FUTURE spending through legislative reforms.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Why was there an argument over disaster aid?

That should be a given.

Stupid tea party.

Actually the Democrats vetoed the disaster relief because they wouldn't allow any cuts in the bll on other things. Might want to get you facts straight.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

this one week at a time one month at a time bull crud, is hurting our nation in my opinion....we have a totally dysfunctional government. fund the year...then within the year, make some BIG cuts, that can affect future spending in a sound manner instead of this willy nilly stuff.

Reid has shown that if he is not FORCED to cut he won't. The only power the Republicans in the House have IS the budget. If we agree to a budget with no cuts then Reid will just ignore all bills that follow trying to cut any spending.

Your side won't compromise.

 

[Article 15]

this one week at a time one month at a time bull crud, is hurting our nation in my opinion....we have a totally dysfunctional government. fund the year...then within the year, make some BIG cuts, that can affect future spending in a sound manner instead of this willy nilly stuff.

But that would stabilize things a bit.

Can't let that happen.

 

[Stephanie]

Oh my goodness, Daddy Guberment won't be shutting down. We can all "breath" again.

good grief.

 

[Care4all]

this one week at a time one month at a time bull crud, is hurting our nation in my opinion....we have a totally dysfunctional government. fund the year...then within the year, make some BIG cuts, that can affect future spending in a sound manner instead of this willy nilly stuff.

Reid has shown that if he is not FORCED to cut he won't. The only power the Republicans in the House have IS the budget. If we agree to a budget with no cuts then Reid will just ignore all bills that follow trying to cut any spending.

Your side won't compromise.

Actually, your side won't compromise! (see, i can point fingers too!)

 

[Truthmatters]

Its all about what the tea party wants and to hell with the rest of the American people.

They are the ONLY REAL Americans.

That is what they think.

They dont care about 70 percent of the country and HATE the government our founders left us.

The only thing that matters is the tea party its self.

The republicans are finding that out big time.

 

[Stephanie]

Its all about what the tea party wants and to hell with the rest of the American people.

They are the ONLY REAL Americans.

That is what they think.

They dont care about 70 percent of the country and HATE the government our founders left us.

The only thing that matters is the tea party its self.

The republicans are finding that out big time.

LOL, tea party tea party tea party tea party tea party............... BOO

 

[Firehorse]

The head of my party died over 200 years ago. You going to cast the blame there next?

 

[editec]

It would be nice to shut this government down permanently and go back to the one that TJ and founders came up with.

It would give us one advantage to harken back to the policies of the floundering fathers.

It would END FREE TRADE dead in its tracks.


The FF's knew with clear insight that FREE TRADE was a foolish national policy.

 

[Seawytch]

Why was there an argument over disaster aid?

That should be a given.

Stupid tea party.

Actually the Democrats vetoed the disaster relief because they wouldn't allow any cuts in the bll on other things. Might want to get you facts straight.

For the first time in US history, the GOP is requiring cuts to pay for Federal Disaster relief. They didn't do it when Bush was spending like Amy Winehouse in Amsterdam. They didn't require cuts to pay for their invasion of Iraq. They didn't require cuts to pay for their tax cuts. They didn't require cuts to pay for Medicare Part D and yet all of a sudden things MUST be cut in order to give DISASTER RELIEF?

I bet Democrats would get behind cuts to subsidies to companies making obscene profits...like Oil companies. Why not cut those first?