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Let me break this down for you. The Republicans are getting scared because they are remembering what happened in 1995. The Democrats are going to sense this. You know what that means? The actual issue will not get solved.
This morning, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that a House-proposed one-week extension of government funding — which contains long-term funding for the Defense Department, deep cuts to other spending measures, and a provision preventing the use of D.C. city taxes for abortion services – is “a nonstarter” in the Senate.
The White House just confirmed that it’s a nonstarter at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as well.
In a “Statement of Administration Policy,” the White House said that it will veto the one-week measure if it passes in Congress, saying that the stopgap measure is “a distraction” from a long-term solution to the budget impasse.
“This bill is a distraction from the real work that would bring us closer to a reasonable compromise for funding the remainder of Fiscal Year 2011 and avert a disruptive Federal Government shutdown that would put the Nation’s economic recovery in jeopardy,” the statement reads.
The statement noted that the administration would accept a “clean” short-term measure (one that does not change the status quo of the past short-term funding bill) while negotiations continue, but, if presented with the GOP-led one-week measure, “the President will veto it.”
Good for the President! But unless – and as a Progressive, I mean just what I am about to say – real cuts are down, then the situation will get to the point where the Republicans will be right. Shudder.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a one-week government funding bill Thursday that cuts spending by $12 billion and funds the Pentagon for the remainder of the current fiscal year.
The measure is not expected to clear the Democratic-controlled Senate. President Barack Obama has promised to veto the measure if it reaches him because of the programs it would cut.
Related articles
- Obama, Boehner and Reid to Meet Again (online.wsj.com)
- Sen. Reid: ‘It’s Headed’ Toward Shutdown (blogs.wsj.com)
- White House threatens veto of anti-union FAA bill (dailykos.com)
Joel L. Watts holds a Masters of Arts from United Theological Seminary with a focus in literary and rhetorical criticism of the New Testament. His interests include exploring the role of mimesis in human civilization, specifically in the study of religion and media, as well as science fiction and the way in which it has allowed mythology to be explored in light of scientific discoveries of the past century. He is the author of Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark: Introduction and Commentary (Wipf and Stock, 2013) and a co-editor and contributor to From Fear to Faith: Stories of Hitting Spiritual Walls (Energion, 2013).
Website: → Unsettled Christianity
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