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US Congress funding feud threatens government shutdown - Here we go again

Frolicking Dinosaurs

Frolicking Dinosaurs

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BBC News - US Congress funding feud threatens government shutdown
A US partial government shutdown is looming amid the latest spending dispute to cripple Congress - over two provisions in a federal funding bill.

The Democratic-led Senate has blocked legislation passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

The Democrats oppose Republican demands that funding for victims of hurricanes and wildfires be offset with cuts to clean energy programmes.

The stopgap spending bill is to fund the government beyond September's end.

Lawmakers from both sides have said disaster relief should not be a matter of controversy.

But with Congress' approval ratings in the basement, analysts say the dispute is just another sign of how partisan rancour is hampering US lawmakers' ability to pass even the most basic legislation.
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More at link
 
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The Democrats oppose Republican demands that funding for victims of hurricanes and wildfires be offset with cuts to clean energy programmes.

Then propose other cuts and compromise on half the cuts coming from each proposal.
 
It does show how extreme the two parties have become. There's no common ground because these guys are on entirely different planets from one another -- and neither is on Earth.
 
rocket88 said:
It does show how extreme the two parties have become. There's no common ground because these guys are on entirely different planets from one another -- and neither is on Earth.
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Yeah, there was a time when they would actually compromise and get things done which needed to get done. But the days of semi-functioning government are over. Welcome to dysfunctional government.
 
You know what's rather ironic: this isn't a surprise.
 
1Perry said:
The Democrats oppose Republican demands that funding for victims of hurricanes and wildfires be offset with cuts to clean energy programmes.

Then propose other cuts and compromise on half the cuts coming from each proposal.
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100% cuts from military spending and oil company subsidies.

Targeting clean energy programs is just... lunacy.
 
America is broke; we have no money to spend. If dems can come up with something else to cut to fund disaster relief I will listen. If on the other hand they just want to keep spending money we don’t have they can go to Hell. If you were broke and your roof was leaking would you hire someone to fix it and not pay them or would you sell your leather couch to pay for the repair? It’s the same basic principle.
 
What I fear is that this will go down to the wire again. S&P has warned they may downgrade the credit rating even more and the other rating agencies have basically said if this nonsense does not stop they will downgrade the US credit rating as well because the lunacy in our government makes this country a credit risk. I can understand the agencies' point - how fiscally stable would feel a company was that was threatening to do a partial shutdown and default on its obligations due to infighting every few months?
 
Guess what? I'm voting independent in 2012 for President, and against the incumbent in every other federal race. This is why.
 
Ikari said:
Yeah, there was a time when they would actually compromise and get things done which needed to get done. But the days of semi-functioning government are over. Welcome to dysfunctional government.
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Let's remember that the real reason Reid did this is because he knows that any threat of a shutdown leads to an immediate blaming of the Republican house. So he has a political winner and the country be damned. The public always gets the government it deserves.

I just heard an anchor on CNN saying that he hopes that the President gives the his opponent a bloody nose and said most Americans agree with him. On the latter not sure how he would know as he is not an American. But it does show at a base level why our government is so dysfunctional.
 
sawyerloggingon said:
America is broke; we have no money to spend. If dems can come up with something else to cut to fund disaster relief I will listen. If on the other hand they just want to keep spending money we don’t have they can go to Hell. If you were broke and your roof was leaking would you hire someone to fix it and not pay them or would you sell your leather couch to pay for the repair? It’s the same basic principle.
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This post is exactly what's wrong with DC politics -- it's all the other guys' fault.

I don't know when deficit spending became "what Democrats do." You mean like those raging lefties Bush, Bush and Reagan? They had no problem with it.

What Killed Off The GOP Deficit Hawks?

Since Ronald Reagan, a majority of Republican politicians have gradually come to conclude, as Vice-President Dick Cheney famously told former Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill, that "deficits don't matter." What's interesting and alarming, however, is that different Republican factions believe deficits don't matter for opposite and incompatible reasons.
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end the wars/nation building of other countries/ you get the point and offset the money to the provision. You don't even need a bill, Obama can do it today.
 
lardbeetle said:
You're right. Spending $100,000 on building a solar house to help stimulate green architecture design is bankrupting us. I mean, 2,000 of those houses canceled and we could build another F-35!!!! HUZZAH!
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People seem to think post like this are cute and prove something, but most people realize that there are many programs like this that could be cut and we would get over it.
 
i think a good part of our military spending should go to keeping promises to veterans. the rest should go towards maintaining the weapons we have. as for wars and nation building, we can't afford it. bring them home.
 
Given what Republicans in the House targeted for funding decrease, it is not surprising at all seeing Democrats in the Senate kill the House Plan. Where I am with this is what is the alternative plan from the Senate in response and do we have any room at all for compromise? (My assumption is another last minute deal no one will like.)
 
Deuce said:
100% cuts from military spending and oil company subsidies.

Targeting clean energy programs is just... lunacy.
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Yep. Like when Solyndra went bellyup with tax dollars. Is that is ok with you? We should continue to do this, right?
 
Frolicking Dinosaurs said:
What I fear is that this will go down to the wire again. S&P has warned they may downgrade the credit rating even more and the other rating agencies have basically said if this nonsense does not stop they will downgrade the US credit rating as well because the lunacy in our government makes this country a credit risk. I can understand the agencies' point - how fiscally stable would feel a company was that was threatening to do a partial shutdown and default on its obligations due to infighting every few months?
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Let's get real. Our debt is enormous. We're running a $14 trillion+ debt and about to run that up some more. If we were trying to get a loan at a real bank, they'd run us off. Bankruptcy lawyers would be after us like ambulance chasers. The credit rating is an illusion. The "fiat" money is backed by faith and try that with your banker. The whole financial picture is a "con" game like a confidence balloon that you pump full of confidence. Balloon gets big holes, just turn up the pump, no need to fix the holes. Bigger and bigger holes, bigger and bigger confidence pumps. That's your money system, bubba! Mine too, and it is awful. Then we have nests of scumbags, and I know there must be more than one, because they don't agree on anything. They call them Congressmen and they have great paychecks and healthcare and retirement systems and they speak for "Guess who?" You and me, bubba, we speakin' scumbag, don't ya know. Make Edgar Bergen proud. They screw up our money, our government, our credit, and expect a big pat on the back. The protesters need to move from Wall Street to D. C. and raise camp and kane permanently.
 
your analogy is not entirely true.with military bases in 177 countries and 3 ongoing wars(official version)there is plenty to cut.so the house with the leaking roof can be fixed by bringing the tank parked in the neighbours yard home....just saying...
peace.
 
Lately I'm just p'o'd. The House (Republican majority) wants to spend money in one area instead of another area. That's called budgeting. The Senate (Democratic majority) wants to spend money and borrow more. What's that called? Solyndra was a pipedream - who's to say that the "investments" proposed for reduction would have done any better? Why is the gov't borrowing money to spend on long-shot business schemes? Budget some money for R&D - I'm ok with that. Budget money for disaster relief - I'm good with that, too. Budget money for military. Budget money for roads. But, for cryin-out-loud - budget the money. Don't just spend money. If both parties want to spend the money on something, then a compromise needs to be reached on what can't be bought. It's like the Senate is still acting like the House and Senate did in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 when we ran up our debt by over 50% (oh, wait, they were Demcrat majorities, too). Does anyone really think that money can't be identified easily to cover the disaster relief? It's a disaster. If we hadn't borrowed to our credit limit, we could've used debt as a reserve. Now that that's not an option, we have to do it the old fashion way.
 
Fubar said:
your analogy is not entirely true.with military bases in 177 countries and 3 ongoing wars(official version)there is plenty to cut.so the house with the leaking roof can be fixed by bringing the tank parked in the neighbours yard home....just saying...
peace.
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If Obama said, no, I will not compromise on these regulations and they will be funded so in it's place I'm ending the wars, I would quickly change my mind on his leadership ability, call for the GOP to remove the funding for the wars and pass the bill.
 
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