Posted on 11/17/2014 5:19:37 PM PST by PROCON
A top Senate Democrat lent credibility to conservative efforts to block President Obama’s pending administrative amnesty, explaining that Congress has the authority to withhold funding for presidential initiatives.
“It happens all the time,” retiring Senator Carl Levin (D., Mich.) told National Review Online while walking through the Capitol Thursday evening.
Levin emphasized the distinction between shutting down the government, as happened last year, and refusing to appropriate money for something.
“That’s not uncommon that there’s amendments saying ‘none of the funds in this appropriation bill may be spent for’ — fill in the blank,” Levin said.
Republican lawmakers are debating whether to pass legislation funding government for the whole year or for a shorter term. Senator Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) and other immigration hawks oppose a long-term funding measure because it would provide Obama with the money he needs to implement his executive orders. Instead, they want to pass a short-term bill and then withhold funding for the Department of Homeland Security offices tasked with carrying out the orders.
Obama’s spokesman, Josh Earnest, criticized that tactic as “an effort to shut down the government.”
Levin disagrees. He described withholding funds for the executive orders on immigration as a standard congressional procedure that should not be confused with shutting down the government.
“That’s not slash-and-burn,” he told NRO. “That’s not bringing down the government. That’s a fairly traditional, targeted approach to make a policy point.”
Levin’s days in Congress are numbered. He is being replaced next year by Democratic Senator-elect Gary Peters.
Get some gonads, 'pubs!
That’s a fairly traditional, targeted approach to make a policy point!
OH OH hes off the reservation.
As Obies desperation grows and he becomes ever more crazy and HOSTILE Mr Levin may wish to hire a full staff of private security
The beauty of it is that the House doesn’t even have to run it by the Senate or the President. The House controls the purse strings.
This is something Boehner doesn’t seem to grasp.
Don’t like Obamacare, end it. End it now!
pshaw
they have the power to defund his golf dates.
Always have.
They have always had the power to defund Obamacare.
Where was the National Review during the Ted cruz plea?
Stopppp!!!
Gonads...?
Oy like 15 year old debs setting themselves up for yet another disappointment in her pick of boys.
oh that's right, the government shuts down!
you see, the president can FORCE a shutdown by simply refusing to sign ANYTHING that doesn't meet with his 100% approval!
The only thing stopping him... US!!! Obola MUST get the blame for the shutdown!!! Then and only then will he feel the pressure to relent.
Are you seareeyus???
Once again they'll hunker in the bunker and for no good reason snatch defeat from the jaws of victory!!!
They're so far into defeatism rather than triumphalism!!!
Shocking? Carl! Sounds to me like you a re begging Turtle Boy McConnell to wake up and smell the stink!
Fugghedaboutit… Mitch McConnell has been bought lock, stock and barrel by whoever the Idiots are that run the Alledged Chamber of “commerce”.
They know they are in deep Doo Doo.
Obama is now throwing the DNC under the Bus!
and when Obama refuses to sign any bill with such a provision added... then what happens?
oh that’s right, the government shuts down!
you see, the president can FORCE a shutdown by simply refusing to sign ANYTHING that doesn’t meet with his 100% approval!
____________________________________________________________
Correct!..o can veto any appropriations bill he wishes, and probably will. The only recourse is to override his veto..67 votes required...checkmate.
oh that's right, the government shuts down!
That only happens when there is a single omnibus spending bill, which outside of the regular order. In regular order each department has a different appropriation bill. With this an amendment to forbid spending for amnesty would only be in the appropriation bill for the Department of Homeland Security. If Obama were to veto this bill only this department would close down, the rest of the government would still be running. Even here Congress could split spending within the department into different bills, thus limiting the impact of a veto to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
The reason that we had to face the prospect of a government wide shutdown before is that Harry Reid refused to pass a budget and its accompanying appropriation bills. He would only offer a last minute omnibus bill forcing an all or nothing vote. Now that the Republicans control the Senate they can return to regular order and pass separate appropriation bills.
In addition, the Republican leadership are a bunch of bxxxless wonders. I do believe we are in for a rough 2 years; they won't have the guts to stop the dictator from advancing his fascist agenda.
If Obama decrees that certain illegals will not be deported how do you withhold money to prevent that?
It doesn’t cost anything for the government to NOT deport illegals.
If the illegals have been living here for some time without being deported and Obama says he isn’t going to deport them now. essentially nothing changes as far as government action or inaction goes.
to do so publicly from the democrack side of the aisle is still pretty stunning if you ask me.
Why can’t John Boehner, whose House must draw up the next Budget, publicly explain to Obama and the American people that it’s impossible to create a budget for the following year unless Congress knows how much the government will be spending — and that it cannot know that figure until Obama clearly states whether he intends to grant Executive Amnesty to 6 million illegal aliens — an extremely expensive budget item — or not?
Since no previous president has ever threatened an extremely expensive, unconstitutional Executive Action, Congress is in uncharted territory here. So Mr. Boehner must step forward and set a precedent of demanding Obama state his intentions before passing a budget.
The power of the purse is one of the most important tools congress can use to oppose tyranny.
Too bad Johnny Bonehead is such a golf playing, oranged face wuss.
well after the 1986 amnesty was passed as a compromise between amnesty and law enforcement, Congress did not fund enforcement to near the extent promised or needed. payback is a witch.
Maybe Carl doesn’t want to retire to a barrio after all.
That is new information to me. This means the GOP-E has no excuses in not shutting down the POtuS executive order. This means that this is all a tempest in a teapot. They could literally fund everything except the White Bouse budget if they wanted to. POtuS wod be stuck in D.C. unless he wanted to travel on his own dime.
Mitch McConnell, you un-magnificent, spineless, turtle-necked S.O.B!, you had better use the levers of power that you have at hand or you will be a private citizen soon!
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