BREAKING: House passes spending bill to fund government through Sept. 30, 296-121. Now goes to Senate. #breakingnews
— National Journal (@nationaljournal) December 16, 2011
Here’s a breakdown of what the bill entails, including cuts to Pell Grants and government services. Does it worry anyone that the bill expires a month before the election?
Senate Dems make deal to avoid government shutdown: Watch, they’ll probably screw this up.
While it is widely expected that the parties will eventually reach a compromise to avoid a shutdown, Wednesday’s 230-to-195 vote showed what can happen when the GOP majority operates with no more than minimal Democratic support.Washington Post writers Rosalind S. Helderman and Paul Kane • Correctly pointing out the weak spot in the GOP’s House leadership — that the GOP members aren’t all on the same page, so as a result, the leadership can push for one thing, but have it taken in a different direction by far-right members of the party. (In this case, the bill passed the House only with the addition of some timely anti-environmental-funding rules, then died in the Senate.) And with no help from Democrats, it becomes harder for GOP leaders to push their agenda without making room for compromise. And this isn’t even considering the Senate and president, who provide blockades of their own (unless you’re Obama and you compromise). source (via • follow)
I remember a family meeting 15 years ago, my uncle Ken Dayton looked at our collective family situation improving over the year before. Therefore, our total taxes paid went up. One of my cousins complained about our taxes going up. My uncle Ken looked him square in the eye and said, ‘We should want to pay more taxes. That means we’re making more money.’Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton • Offering a defense of higher taxes amid a shutdown of the state government this weekend. As you might guess, most Republicans don’t think this way … to put it another way, this train of thought trickles down a bit differently for them. Dayton, a Democrat, is having a tough time getting any leverage with the GOP on budget talks. And it bums him out: ”Yesterday was probably the worst day in my six months (as governor),” he said today. “Today isn’t much better. It’s quieter. You know, I take this very, very seriously — the effect on peoples’ lives, their livelihoods, the services that people need. People had their vacations planned and taken away from them. So I can’t say it’s fun right now.” source (via • follow)
Nope, zero. John, this is it.Barack Obama, according to a senior official • Informing House Speaker John Boehner that he wouldn’t be budging on Planned Parenthood — despite the fact that Boehner had fought tooth-and-nail for the policy in a White House meeting for over an hour. The meeting itself proved to be something of a watershed moment for negotiations — proving that when they need to work together, they can pull it off. As much as it hurts. “Things got heated,” said senior White House adviser David Plouffe. “The president’s approach was to try and engage all the parties to come together. Going forward this can be a model.” source (via • follow)
Here’s a page from the St. Paul Pioneer Press from just before the averted shutdown. Of note is not so much the page itself, but the graphic at the bottom of the page (designed by Ben Ramsden), which honestly and clearly explains exactly what’s up with the current budget situation over a period of 20 years. It’s simple, smart, and tells an evocative story without going crazy. Here’s the detail. (via Charles Apple, hat tip Jim McBee)
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If the Republicans would have been blamed for a shutdown, it follows that they get credit for a shutdown being avoided.Dave Weigel • Saying the winner of today’s budget situation is, of course, the GOP. However, he does it with a little snark in his headline: “Boehner Wins, Austerity Wins, and the Social Conservatives Go Home With A ‘Participant’ Trophy.”
And that Senator will be named Professor McAsshat from here on out.
ABC News’ Jake Tapper reports: A Republican Congressman tells ABC News, “the deal is done.” $38.5 billion in cuts over the next six years—no Planned Parenthood rider.
There’s our deal.
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