Lawmakers appeared a little closer Wednesday to passing yet another short-term spending bill to keep the government open, but as Senate Democrats looked increasingly likely to cave, conservatives in the House looked increasingly likely to fight ― or at least get some concessions. And depending on what demands GOP leaders give in to, those changes could still throw the Senate into chaos and the government into a shutdown.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) emerged from a meeting with Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) on Wednesday night saying House Republicans don’t yet have the votes to pass another short-term spending fix, called a continuing resolution (CR).
“At this point, if the vote were to happen today, there’s not the votes to fund it with Republican-only votes,” Meadows told reporters Wednesday night.
Still, Meadows said they were making “good progress,” and he expected leadership to have some accommodation for conservatives.
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Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said a short-term spending bill is on shaky ground. “At this point, if the vote were to happen today, there’s not the votes to fund it with Republican-only votes.”
After five years and more than 50 votes in Congress, the Republican campaign to repeal the Affordable Care Act is essentially over.
GOP congressional leaders, unable to roll back the law while President Obama remains in office and unwilling to again threaten a government shutdown to pressure him, are focused on other issues, including trade and tax reform.
Less noted, senior Republican lawmakers have quietly incorporated many of the law’s key protections into their own proposals, including guaranteeing coverage and providing government assistance to help consumers purchase insurance.
We’re now almost two weeks into the government shutdown, and there’s been no shortage of outrage over the fact that Congress remains unable to figure out how to end it. Recent polling has shown record levels of support for replacing every member of Congress, and lawmakers are now less popular than witches and dog poop.
This level of unpopularity may not come as a surprise to anyone who’s followed the actions of Congress. The shutdown, brought on late last month by House Republicans who insisted that any measure to fund the government must also delay or dismantle Obamacare, has taken a nationwide toll on federal workers and programs. With around 800,000 federal employees furloughed without pay and programs for veterans, women and children increasingly becoming hobbled by the congressional impasse, lawmakers have been more successful at upsetting the people they serve than at ending the shutdown.
As the government shutdown reaches its ninth day, Americans have been left with news of one meeting after another as it seems the budget deadlock will never end.
Although last week’s reports of no end in sight were dismal, this week a bipartisan meeting between House Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi may shine a glimmer of hope towards a resolution.
This news is hopefully a step in the right direction after a series of failed attempts at negotiation between Boehner and President Obama. But who is being more unreasonable out of the two?
Cartoonist Kevin Eason thinks that title belongs to Boehner as the house speaker has repeatedly displayed resistance toward meeting any kind of agreement. And the American people agree. Although most of the country is unhappy with lawmakers in both parties, Republicans have borne the brunt of the blame for the government shutdown, according to a recent poll.
Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) said this week that there is no way he’s giving up his salary during the government shutdown.
“Dang straight,” he said when asked by the Omaha World-Herald Bureau whether he would keep his paycheck.
About 800,000 public servants are furloughed during the government shutdown, and they’ll only receive back pay for the lost time if Congress authorizes it. Even if Congress does approve the retroactive paychecks, they could be delayed for some time, depending on how long it takes for the government to reopen. Many government workers who have spoken with The Huffington Post have said any delay in their pay will be hard, since the bills they need to pay won’t be delayed.
The salaries of members of Congress, as well as that of the president, come from a pool of mandatory funds and are not affected by a shutdown. Most members of Congress earn $174,000 a year.
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James' World 2 