US Senate passes government funding bill, averts shutdown

[jc456]

It was a small positive as it did NOT raise the debt ceiling. They showed that they could do it. I recall argument after argument in the past that this addressed money already spent so the ceiling had to be raised.

Well it seems it didn't.

Now to see if they can actually bring themselves to make cuts and raise additional funds to actually address the debt.

I'm thinking neither party actually wants to do that. We will see.

They don’t want trump to get tax cuts

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

What do you suggest we cut?

The only item that covers $2T is moving Welfare ($1.8T) to the states in phases

Discretionary spending only has Defense and Non-defense. There is not much to cut, which is why I say we need more revenue.
There are $billions to cut, but not #Trillions.

Putting lazy bastards to work gets my vote. Clinton was supposed to put a 2-year limit on Welfare, WTF happened?

Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal: Welfare Is What’s Eating the Budget | The U.S. House Committee on the Budget - House Budget Committee

The Official U.S. Congressional website of The Republican Budget Committee

budget.house.gov

"Means-tested social-welfare spending totaled $1.6 trillion in 2023. Welfare spending now absorbs an astonishing 72.6% of unobligated general revenue (total revenue net of Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes and premiums and mandatory interest on the public debt) and is larger than the claims against unobligated general revenue by Social Security (4.1%), Medicare (23.5%) and defense (37.2%) combined."

Stop all of Biden's wasteful green energy kickback schemes for his donors. Eliminate all of the pork. Require votes on single topic bills. Ban all earmarks. Eliminate duplications of agencies. Why do we have an ATF to enforce a relatively tiny tax on tobacco? It doesn't even pay for itself. Change the tax code to simplify it. Eliminate all the IRS excess personnel. Make the cuts with a scalpel instead of an ax.

 

[whitehall]

Politics as usual but portrayed as a crisis when they can blame republicans.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

Since your beloved fuhrer just lost a gambit to get the debt limit removed altogether, it should be clear to all but the most deluded that Donald Trump is the last man on earth to be relied on to cut spending.

The debt limit is a big nothingburger used to keep Congress on the brink of disaster. Eliminate it and use the time and effort on actual cuts.

 

[rightwinger]

The debt limit is a big nothingburger used to keep Congress on the brink of disaster. Eliminate it and use the time and effort on actual cuts.

Pass actual budgets and make the tough decisions then.

Don’t allow….I didn’t get what I wanted in the budget, so I am going to hold the debt limit hostage until I get my way

 

[Seymour Flops]

Better than spending money giving tax breaks to billionaires

Yes, that also.

Neither welfare for the deliberately dependent nor welfare for billionaire. Corporations will stop until the deliberately dependent are not allowed to vote and the billionaire corporations are not allowed to “donate“ to politicians.

 

[kyzr]

Stop all of Biden's wasteful green energy kickback schemes for his donors. Eliminate all of the pork. Require votes on single topic bills. Ban all earmarks. Eliminate duplications of agencies. Why do we have an ATF to enforce a relatively tiny tax on tobacco? It doesn't even pay for itself. Change the tax code to simplify it. Eliminate all the IRS excess personnel. Make the cuts with a scalpel instead of an ax.

I agree with all of those cuts.
But with a $2T deficit, those cuts would only amount to about $500b, so we need to cut with an ax, a machete and a chainsaw.
The entire discretionary budget is $1.8T excluding defense is about $0.9T. Not how much Foreign Aid is?

 

[Rawley]

Well..once more--the beat goes on:

Senate passes bill to avoid a government shutdown, ending funding fight at the 11th hour

President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill to fund the government through March 14. It does not address the debt ceiling, a key demand from President-elect Donald Trump.

www.nbcnews.com

The Senate gave final passage to a bill early Saturday morning to keep the government open for three more months, sending it to President Joe Biden's desk to end the threat of a government shutdown during the holidays.

The vote was 85-11.

The Republican-controlled House passed the bill hours earlier. Although the final vote technically went past the midnight deadline to avert a shutdown, the White House said that Biden would sign the bill Saturday and avoid forcing U.S. troops, Border Patrol agents, air traffic controllers and millions of other federal workers to work without pay.

"Agencies will not shut down and may continue normal operations," Emilie Simons, White House Senior Deputy Press Secretary, posted on X.

The House vote was 366-34, with all opposition coming from Republicans and one member voting present. It capped a tumultuous week that foreshadowed how the new Congress in January might deal with a mercurial Donald Trump back in the White House.

The package funds the government at current levels through March 14, and includes $100 billion in disaster aid and a one-year farm bill — while stripping out a debt limit extension demanded by President-elect Trump earlier in the week.

On Wednesday, Trump had threatened to primary “Any Republican” who voted for a funding bill without a debt limit extension; on Friday, 170 House Republicans did just that.

“We are really grateful that tonight, in bipartisan fashion, with overwhelming majority of votes, we passed the American Relief Act of 2025. This is a very important piece of legislation,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters after the vote. “It funds the government, of course, until March of 2025. That was a big priority for us.”

I was wondering whether Chuckie was going to pass it after all of his goodies were stripped out. Guess he didn't want his final act as majority leader to be shutting down the gvt.

 

[TimFitz]

The debt limit is a big nothingburger used to keep Congress on the brink of disaster. Eliminate it and use the time and effort on actual cuts.

I guess that’s why Republicans have always opposed doing away with it.

 

[TimFitz]

I was wondering whether Chuckie was going to pass it after all of his goodies were stripped out. Guess he didn't want his final act as majority leader to be shutting down the gvt.

Goodies? List them.

 

[Rawley]

Goodies? List them.

Knock yourself out

https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20241216/CR.pdf

You want one example - $4 Billion in subsidies for green energy companies.

 

[j-mac]

Does your amendment include mandatory tax increases?

How about no tax cuts until the budget is balanced?

Sure, move taxes to 10% across the board, with no caps, due Nov. 1st.

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

Sure, move taxes to 10% across the board, with no caps, due Nov. 1st.

I agree, oddly enough. My only tweaks would be to start taxing at 50k for singles and 100k for couples.
Standard deduction for dependents...kids and seniors.

Now corporate taxes are a different kettle of fish--but I'd do my best to eliminate corporate welfare and end the 'special relationship' large businesses have with the IRS.

Every time we make an exception we invite fraud and corruption into the process~

 

[pknopp]

They don’t want trump to get tax cuts

Tax cuts will increase the debt?

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

Tax cuts will increase the debt?

Duh.

If income drops..and spending remains the same or increases--of course the debt grows~

 

[pknopp]

Duh.

If income drops..and spending remains the same or increases--of course the debt grows~

Just wanted to get it on record.

 

[rightwinger]

Sure, move taxes to 10% across the board, with no caps, due Nov. 1st.

So generous to cut taxes on Billionaires from 37 percent down to 10
Why don’t you take all benefits from the poor to pay for the lost revenue?

 

[j-mac]

Tax cuts will increase the debt?

Spending is the bigger problem…

 

[j-mac]

So generous to cut taxes on Billionaires from 37 percent down to 10
Why don’t you take all benefits from the poor to pay for the lost revenue?

Clearly you don’t understand, no limit on income taxed…Everybody pays the same…

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

So generous to cut taxes on Billionaires from 37 percent down to 10
Why don’t you take all benefits from the poor to pay for the lost revenue?

That is in fact, the logical next step, now isn't it?