Congressional Republicans Choose Short-Term Spending Bill
President-elect Donald Trump preferred to wait until after inauguration to pass a long-term funding bill
House Republicans have chosen to go with a short-term spending bill to fund the government through March 31 instead of a full year bill:
Appropriations Chairman Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Kentucky, said in a statement that his committee would immediately start working on “a Continuing Resolution (CR) at the current rate of funding to extend the operations of our government through March 31, 2017.”
While he said he’s “disappointed” that the current Congress won’t be able to complete “annual funding work this year,” he hopes the new Congress and Donald Trump’s administration will finish the bills.
The Hill reported that Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) wanted the short-term spending bill because President-elect Donald Trump preferred that option. Congress needs to pass the bill by December 9.
The Appropriations Committee members are not the only ones who disapprove of a short-term bill:
A short-term spending bill would allow the Trump administration to take control over government spending within days of his inauguration, but Senate leaders worry that budget negotiations could get in the way of other pressing matters, such as confirming members of a Trump Cabinet and a nominee to the Supreme Court.
“I think to do anything in the Senate takes a long time,” said Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune (S.D.). “It will be a very busy first six months, and if you have to stop and finish last year’s business in the middle of that, it’s challenging.”
Others in the House wanted a longer-term bill, too:
Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) and others said pushing this year’s appropriations process into next March will make it tougher to write next year’s spending bills.
It will shorten the timeline for the appropriations process, which makes it even tougher as GOP leaders pursue a complex budget tactic called reconciliation.
“It makes it a challenge, but we’re working with the incoming administration right now, and that seems to be the preference of folks, so that’s probably the wisest idea,” Price said.
Despite their grievances, the committee admit’s they would rather work with President Trump than President Barack Obama on the bill:
Many House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee balked at negotiating a bill of that length with President Obama and Senate Democrats.
“Would you rather negotiate with Harry Reid and Barack Obama or with Donald Trump?” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chairman of an Appropriations subcommittee. “It’s a pretty easy choice.”
Pence told lawmakers to be ready for busy months ahead as Congress is called to make good on Trump’s campaign promises.
“Buckle up,” Pence said, according to Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.).
Congress did not pass a budget this year, meaning all “federal agencies have been running on stopgap funding that began Oct. 1.”
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Comments
Procrastination is like masturbation. It feels good now, but in the end…well, you know. Either fund the entire fiscal year now or shut it all down until they figure it out.
I would rather see a full years budget passed, but seeing as how they haven’t done it in eight years.
Congress is out of practice so they need a little longer to do it.
So, beginning April 1, the should be absolutely NO funding for Planned Parenthood.
Come April 1, 2017, I would expect to see a LOT of Progressive Sacred Cows go bye-bye.
My immediate preferred list:
– Department of Education (devolve it to the States)
– Environmental Protection Agency (Devolve it to the States)
– Department of the Interior (bring in Palin or Perry to clean house) – should only be handling BIA and Nat. Parks
– Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department
– PPACA (Obamacare)
– PBS (which now that I have a young child I am realizing exactly how bad it has gotten). I’ll go get the early 80’s reruns before I let my son watch the garbage that it has become.
– Planned Parenthood (res ipsa loquitur)
Well, this is an encouraging sign.
It would be something to see, a Government with a budget.
They ain’t gonna like it.
A short-term spending bill would allow the Trump administration to take control over government spending within days of his inauguration
Yes, it would.
They’re doing it Trump’s way, and he isn’t even in office yet.
I have no problem with that.
As William Devane frequently reminds us, the national debt is approaching $20 trillion. That means just a 1 point rise in interest rate will add $200 billion to the budget. Trump will have to be a magician to get the deficit under control.
This is definitely a victory by Trump over the GOPe. McConnell and Ryan were talking about setting the funding for everything like the last Omnibus Spending Resolution [giving the Left more than they had asked for] for at least a year and perhaps two years during the primaries. They figured they could hamstring him for as long as possible and not pay an electoral cost.
Having to start budgeting, either with a OSR, or hopefully a real budget from the beginning lets Trump try to do what he wants to from the get-go, and makes the new Congress responsible for what they do or don’t do.
The GOPe might look how Hillary did against the Deplorables. You piss off enough people and you are toast and screwing with Trump will piss off a lot of people.
Gee, I’m old enough to remember the GOP promise (Paul Ryan, I’m pretty sure it was you) to return to regular order for budget matters; then that was followed almost immediately by Speaker Ryan’s aboutface, to push through last year’s gazillion dollar omnibus bill that gave Obama virtually everything sought. I guess this short term CR is OK if President-elect Trump wants it, but watch out for the upcoming “negotiations.”
The “minority” Senate Democrats have now just rewarded their budget “negotiator” (my unbelievably dim-witted Senator) Patty Murray with the no. 3 position in their leadership. The line-up: Schumer, Durbin, Murray.
Does that look like a group that will reach across the aisle? My guess is even now they are planning on the next government “shut down” when the House passes a budget they can demagogue over. OTOH, I have confidence that President Trump would not be afraid to furlough a fair number of federal employees and tough it out, and I doubt he’d repeat Obama’s barricades on the Washington Mall and national parks.
I have just learned this, and I think this is critically important, that Barack Obama has literally had his 2009 Stimulus funding on account as his very own personal slush fund for the past 8 years, every year! That was more than $787 Billion per year. Voila! $20 Trillion in Debt! We must hold these people accountable. Please read this link to fully understand how we’ve all been royally screwed, especially the younger generation….
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2016/11/12/most-americans-dont-know-about-president-obamas-uniparty-slush-fund/
/s Since the annual budget deficit has been less than than the amount of this slush fund for the last 4 years, just getting rid of it will solve all our budget problems. Now we will just have to keep Congress from spending our new surplus. /s
I am literally floored after reading the link about us spending the stimulus plan every single year. Honestly, it is the most infuriating revelation I have ever had. Why in the hell didn’t Romney mention that during his campaign and why hasn’t Trump??? Why hasn’t a single Republican ever mentioned it???
This is designed to give the Congress, especially the House, leverage on a Trump administration, nothing more.
There is NO federal budget and there has not been a federal budget during Barack Obama’s term of office. There is no way for Trump’s administration, or the Congress to pass one for fiscal 2016-2017. It is possible for the Co0ngress to pass a spending bill which would be in effect until September 20, 2017, when, hopefully, a federal budget would be passed and take effect.
However, if the Trump administration is only funded through March, then The Congress will have increased control over the actions of that administration by threatening to withhold funding past March. In essence, political blackmail.
Trump should go to war with them. Use the Left’s tactics against them. Shut down everything until he gets his budget.
Will there be a political cost for the GOP? Sure. But it’s not like they aren’t going to sabotage their majority anyway. Remember how hard we worked to give them majorities last time around? And they just pissed it away – couldn’t keep their hand out of the till, couldn’t keep their fly zipped around female subordinates.
The GOPe is going to betray us eventually anyway. So we shouldn’t stay our hand over some concern that infighting will weaken the GOP majority in Congress.
Fight them. Tooth and nail.