Opposition to the left and opposition to the right…..for now a cork has been put in Cantor and the new mouthpiece of the GOP is Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana. Obama is catching all the flack with Dems coming in second, but the truth is that little of this spending bill is that of Obama.
In November, House Democratic leaders hope to tee up in the next six weeks an omnibus package consisting of the nine remaining fiscal 2009 appropriations bills so President-elect Obama can sign the legislation into law shortly after he is inaugurated, senior Democratic aides said Tuesday. The plan, also heard in lobbying circles, would require the new Congress to come into session before the Jan. 20 inauguration to approve the package.
During debate on the CR Sept. 25, House Appropriations Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., said Bush sought to cut $14 billion from domestic programs, including research funding at the National Institutes of Health and low-income aid for home heating. Rather than capitulate, said Obey, “we would kick the can down the road … so that if we have a president that will negotiate” some of that funding could be preserved.
The CR, which included three fiscal 2009 spending bills — Defense, Military Construction-VA and Homeland Security — funds most programs at fiscal 2008 levels. Along with three spending measures, the CR includes up to $22.9 billion in disaster relief funding; $2.5 billion for the Pell Grant program; and $5.1 billion in low-income heating assistance. The $25 billion loan program for the auto industry is part of the CR, costing $7.5 billion for the fiscal year.
Congress on Tuesday sent President Barack Obama a once-bipartisan bill to fund the domestic Cabinet agencies that evolved instead into a symbol of lawmakers’ free-spending ways and penchant for back-home pet projects. The Senate approved the measure by voice after it cleared a key procedural hurdle by a 62-35 vote. Sixty votes were required to shut down debate.
Obama is expected to sign the measure Wednesday to avoid a partial shutdown of the government. But the White House has kept the bill at arm’s length, calling it last year’s business. Obama is also set to announce steps aimed at curbing lawmakers’ so-called earmarks.
The $410 billion bill is chock-full of those pet projects and significant increases in food aid for the poor, energy research and other programs. It was supposed to have been completed last fall, but Democrats opted against election-year battles with Republicans and former President George W. Bush.
Blame all the Dems you would like, but I would say that to blame Obama is a bit of a stretch even for a party that has NOTHING constructive to say, other than revenge for losing an election.
There was an analogy (forget where it came from) that I liked which describes the situation: it is like bringing in a relief pitcher in the 9th inning and expecting to redo the whole game.
I love this bill and all the yelling…to begin with moist of the spending has been put together for the last year…so they would make it mostly a Bush bill…second the GOP is screaming about earmarks but the two biggest came from two Repub senators from MS. THird it was McCain who said he would eliminate earmarks not Obama, he said he would reform the practice…there is so much BS flying around Washington that one good turd deserves another.
Have you seen the interview where Ron Paul defends earmarks. That one has me scratching my head.
Hiya Terrant…no I have not seen it….but that does seem a bit odd, even for Paul.