-------------
 |
| Reid Returning to Normal |
----------
Update 7:14 PM CST - Grinch (Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid) abandons efforts to pass a $1.1 trillion spending bill and instead extend current funding. Grinch said nine nasty Republicans sold him out and would not vote for the Omnibus bill. It was cool to see Granddaddy WHO (GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell) beat back Grinch's 2,000 page bill with his 1 page solution to the present situation. Grinch is still heard in the halls of the Senate shouting: "Hate, hate, hate. Hate, hate, hate. Double Hate. LOATHE ENTIRELY!" However, the rest of us in Whoville may see a Merry Christmas.
---------
 |
| The Real Harry Reid Out of Disguise |
Yesterday, the Senate voted 81-19 to adopt the agreement preventing taxes from going up in January and sent it to the House for approval. Prior to approving the tax deal, the Senate rejected 3 motions to suspend the rules for amendments to the agreement. All required 67 votes to be adopted.
A motion from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) for an amendment to offset the unemployment insurance extension in the tax deal with spending cuts was not agreed to by a vote of 47-52. A motion from Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) for an amendment to replace the deal with permanent tax relief was not agreed to by a vote of 37-63.
And a motion from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for an amendment that replaces the deal with President Obama’s original proposal to raise taxes and additional transportation spending was not agreed to by a vote of 43-57. Also yesterday, the Senate voted 66-32 to agree to the motion to proceed to executive session to consider the START treaty.
Disgusted, The Wall Street Journal editors write today, “The 111th Congress began with an $814 billion stimulus that blew out the federal balance sheet, so we suppose it's only fitting that the Members want to exit by passing a 1,924-page, $1.2 trillion omnibus spending bill. The worst Congress in modern history is true to its essence to the bitter end.” They add, “Democrats have had 11 months to write a budget for fiscal 2011, which began on October 1. But Majority Leader Harry Reid and Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye have dumped this trillion-dollar baby on Senators at the very last minute, when everyone is busy and wants to go home for the holidays. No doubt that was the plan. The continuing resolution to fund the government expires on Saturday, so Mr. Reid wants to squeeze Senators against the deadline.”
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell found this oddly similar to the situation Democrats had the Senate in last year at this time. “I want the American people to cast their minds back to last year, when Democrats did the same thing. They dropped the 2,700-page health care bill on us because they didn’t want us to see what was in it. Only afterward did we find out about the Cornhusker Kickback, the Louisiana Purchase, and all the rest. Well here we go again. All of this is eerily familiar to anyone who remembers the health care debate. . . . This bill is so enormous it took the Government Printing Office two days to print it. It spends more than half a billion dollars a page. It runs just under 2,000 pages.”
“This is exactly the kind of thing the American people voted against in November,” Sen. McConnell said. “It’s unbelievable, really. Just a few weeks after the voters told us they don’t want us rushing major pieces of complicated, costly, far-reaching legislation through Congress, we get this.” The WSJ editors had similarly harsh words for the omnibus: “The 111th Congress has shown contempt for taxpayers from its first day, which is why it was so repudiated on November 2 and why Gallup found this week that Congress's approval rating has hit a record low of 13%.”
So instead of the omnibus monstrosity, packed with spending and earmarks, The Hill reports, “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) introduced a one-page continuing resolution Thursday that funds the government through Feb. 18.” On the floor, Sen. McConnell held up his one-page bill, and compared it to the Democrats’ 2,000-page colossus. The contrast is stark. (See video of Sen. McConnell comparing the two bills below.)
The Washington Examiner called for just such an alternative in its editorial today, writing, “Senate Republicans and similarly responsible Democrats should reject the omnibus, as well as any other last-minute spending package introduced by the discredited leaders of the 111th Congress. With the tax-cut compromise headed toward final passage, the only appropriate spending measure for the lame-duck Senate to consider is one that funds the government at current levels until the new Congress is sworn in to start cleaning up the mess.”
As Sen. McConnell said, “Americans don’t want massive, trillion dollar bills rushed through Congress on our way out the door — they want us to be careful and responsible with their money. So I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this one-page CR. I don’t think there’s any question it’s the right thing to do.” Video:
Tags: US Senate, US House, Washington, D.C., tax reductions, Start treaty, Omnibus bill, tax bill, federal spending, Harry Reid To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
0 comments:
Post a Comment