No votes in the Senate. On Monday, the Senate will consider 3 district court judge nominations and then vote on cloture on S. 23, the patent reform bill. Yesterday, the Senate voted 87-13 to table an amendment to S. 23 from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) that would have removed provisions transitioning the U.S. patent system from a “first to invent” system to a “first-to-file” a patent system.
Before addressing the gamesmanship by Sen, Harry Reid which continues to place America at risk, over in the House, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) today issued a bold statement regarding the status of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the President's failure to uphold the laws of the United States.
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The Speaker said: “I will convene a meeting of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group for the purpose of initiating action by the House to defend this law of the United States, which was enacted by a bipartisan vote in Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton. It is regrettable that the Obama Administration has opened this divisive issue at a time when Americans want their leaders to focus on jobs and the challenges facing our economy. The constitutionality of this law should be determined by the courts -- not by the president unilaterally -- and this action by the House will ensure the matter is addressed in a manner consistent with our Constitution.”
The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group is a five-member panel consisting of the Speaker of the House, Majority Leader, Majority Whip, Minority Leader, and Minority Whip. Under House rules, the advisory group has the authority to instruct the non-partisan office of the House General Counsel to take legal action on behalf of the House of Representatives.
Now back to the budget, The New York Times reports today, “As they opened negotiations with Republicans over budget cuts, the White House and Congressional Democrats on Thursday offered to trim an additional $6.5 billion from current spending, a figure far short of the Republican goal of cutting agency budgets by $61 billion.”
Indeed, the press widely acknowledged how far the White House proposal fell short of the cuts House Republicans passed. The Washington Post writes, “The White House proposal falls far short of the $61 billion the House voted last month to slash from current funding levels.” The Wall Street Journal says, “The White House proposal was a step in the direction of Republican budget-cutters, but a fraction of the $57 billion difference between the parties.” Politico notes, “This remains the heart of the standoff, and even with the added cuts the administration and congressional Democrats are still about $51 billion short of the reductions approved by the House for the remainder of the fiscal year.” And the AP writes, “The White House cuts fell well short of what resurgent Republicans are demanding but were seen by Democrats as an attempt to meet Republicans in the middle.”
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was less than impressed by the White House plan, calling it “unserious” in a floor speech this morning. “House Republicans have proposed a plan. It would reduce spending by $61 billion in this year’s budget. Earlier this week, we voted on a two-week piece of that bill that reduces spending by $4 billion. The White House’s proposal, as outlined by the President’s economic advisor yesterday, is to cut another $6 billion and call it a day. Even more outrageous, they say that this proposal meets us ‘halfway.’ I won’t get into their tortured justification. Suffice it to say that Politico says it requires Americans to ‘suspend disbelief.’”
The Washington Post’s Fact Checker blog wrote a whole piece on how “Democrats keep misleading on claimed budget ‘cuts.’” They went so far as to say, “Democrats are being disingenuous by suggesting they have already worked hard to reduce spending or to reach out to Republicans.” The blog explains, “When Democrats say they are meeting Republicans halfway, they are talking about ‘cuts’ from Obama's never-enacted 2011 budget. By the White House's math, they have proposed $41 billion in cuts from the 2011 budget, plus $4 billion in the latest stopgap measure, plus $6.5 billion in unspecified cuts announced Thursday, for a total of $51 billion. But there was no heavy lifting involved, and certainly little discrete examination of which programs to preserve and which ones to cut. It's lot like saying you are running a 100-yard dash, but starting on the 50-yard line.”
In fact, The Fact Checker blog writes, “Democrats have offered just over $10 billion -- the $4 billion in the stop gap measure and the $6.5 billion announced late Thursday. Republicans have proposed $61 billion, so the gap between the two parties remains wide indeed.”
As Leader McConnell said, “[A]mid all the fanfare yesterday, what the White House is proposing is little more than one more proposal to maintain the status quo — to give the appearance of action where there is none. This latest proposal is unacceptable, and it’s indefensible. The American people are tired of hearing the same tired talking points from ... Democrats. They want action. They want to cut spending to help create a better environment for job creation. It’s time for Washington Democrats to get serious.”
Tags: US House, US Senate, White House, Washington, D.C., DOMA, DOJ, Federal Budget, Democrats, continuing resolution To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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