Posted on 03/19/2011 7:12:08 AM PDT by Kaslin
It sounds good, cutting $105.5 billion in funding for ObamaCare through 2019 by including a provision in the stop-gap spending measures that are temporarily funding government until a real budget is passed. Some conservative Republicans like Rep. Michelle Bachmann and Rep. Steve King are speaking up and insisting that House Republican leadership include the provision, but so far leadership has not added it, and other conservative Republicans are agreeing with leadership. Which side is right?
There have been several short-term continuing resolutions extending government funding passed this year. The most recent one passed the House and Senate earlier this week, extending government funding through April 8. It includes $6 billion in spending cuts, $2.6 billion of which was earmarks, bringing to $10 billion in unexpected cuts Republicans have been able to negotiate with these bills. Fewer Republicans voted for the most recent extension, no doubt due to the escalating pressure to oppose it because it did not include a defunding mechanism for ObamaCare.
While it looks good to the voters to insist on including a provision defunding ObamaCare, the effect of adding the provision would likely result in a worse outcome. The Democrat-controlled Senate will not vote to pass a stop-gap bill that includes defunding all of ObamaCare, and President Obama especially would never sign a bill that guts the masterpiece of his administration. Without a stop-gap bill, there will be another government shutdown, something that backfired on the Republican Congress in the 1990’s. While it sounds good in theory to force government to shut down over ObamaCare, there is a very good chance doing so will induce a Pandora’s Box of distracting collateral issues, ruining any chances of repealing ObamaCare.
The last two stop-gap bills include $10 billion in spending cuts that would not have been obtained otherwise. This represents the classic scenario members of Congress encounter; do they vote against the stop-gap continuing resolutions, citing principle, or do they take the realistic approach that achieves real fiscal gains?
Unfortunately, several conservative organizations that grade candidates, including the Heritage Foundation’s new lobbying arm, Club for Growth, Family Research Council, and some Tea Party groups are scoring members of Congress poorly who vote for the continuing resolutions. It is rather unfair considering every Republican in the House voted to repeal ObamaCare in January. Voting for that bill is no different than voting for a stop-gap bill that includes defunding ObamaCare; the Senate and Obama will never approve either of them.
There are also efforts to include a provision that eliminates funding for abortion providers. Again, if this kind of provision is included in a stop-gap bill, it is highly unlikely the Senate and Obama will approve the bill. This is all too similar to the manipulation used with pro-life provisions in the ObamaCare bill. Pro-life provisions were put into ObamaCare as a ruse in order to persuade pro-life Democrats to support ObamaCare. There were other ways the pro-life issue could have been dealt with, and there was a risk the provisions would not be adequate. Regrettably, the latter proved true and did nothing but enable the passage of ObamaCare.
There has been some debate over whether the $105.5 billion could even technically be included in the stop-gap bill. It would violate House rules because the bill is an appropriations bill, not an authorization bill. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-K., says you cannot use an appropriations bill to take away “authorized” money. The funding mechanism for ObamaCare was cleverly snuck into ObamaCare so that it could bypass appropriations in the future. There is also a problem with defunding ObamaCare through 2019 in this bill; House rules only permit defunding through 2011. There is only $2.88 billion left authorized for ObamaCare this fiscal year. Whereas the spending cuts negotiated in the continuing resolutions are twice that amount. Of course, advocates of including the defunding provision point out that House leadership could easily get enough support to waive the rules.
There may be another way to get around Obama and the Democrats in the Senate. The House and Energy Committee is working on legislation to defund $81.9 billion of ObamaCare in future years. Senate Democrats and Obama will be less likely to veto energy legislation.
A final concern is that eliminating ObamaCare immediately may interfere with efforts to get it struck down in the courts. Two federal court judges have now ruled against ObamaCare. The decision by Judge Roger Vinson of the Federal District Court in Florida went the furthest, holding that the insurance mandate makes the entire bill unconstitutional. If cutting funding eliminates the mandate, it may render the decision moot. Since the courts generally have final say over anything Congress passes, a court decision getting rid of ObamaCare would be superior to Congressional action.
The latest stop-gap continuing resolution expires on April 8. Congress will most likely vote on another temporary stop-gap measure at that time if the Democrats and Republicans are still in disagreement on an annual budget. As the truth about the provision to defund ObamaCare gets out, it will be revealing to see which Republican members of Congress still believe that voting against the stop-gap measures is a principled position that outweighs pragmatism.
I disagree with the article. More runs are scored by consistently hitting singles and doubles than by hoping for that big home run in the 9th inning to save the day.
Do these DC elites realize the US citizens want a showdown on spending in which a few GOper with some brains can BASH BASH BASH the illegal Dem Marxist party and their Leaders series of LIES and out of control spending.
These Rhino fools like Boner are WHIMPS and SCARED and still think this is the 90’s when the phoney real estate and phoney Dotcoms distorted the markets and people were in a better mood so a Govt showdown was not needed .
Again DEFUND Obamacare, that is why these idiots won the Midterms.
If Obamacare is still there in 2012 then Boner and company will be gone.
I just checked my calendar: it doesn't say 1995.
Everybody check yours; make sure they all say 2011.
To base a fear on circumstances sixteen years ago is foolish. You might as well worry about what would happen if someone shot the Archduke of Serbia.
This article sounds like the House leadership wrote it!
read
...in Serbia. But y'all know what I mean.
3 paragraphs in I’m thinking “who is this weasel” -
A woman.
These people are out to lunch. The Fedgov is 1.4TRILLION over budget - and in fact - HAS NO BUDGET FOR - what is it 16 MONTHS!!!!!!!!!
Shut the whole thing down.
These mamby pamby Republicans were given a once a century signal from the electorate - SHUT IT DOWN - and they are pussy footing, as if they squeeked by.
It is a TOTAl COMPLETE OUTRAGE - and borders on failure to uphold their Consitutional duties - on MULTIPLE counts -
1. No budget
2. Spending not initiated in house (yes they played games with the rules - doesn’t mean it is right)
3. Not representing the wishes of the electorate.
etc
etc
etc
This is a coup for all practical purposes.
They have pulled out all of the stops to convince us that any government shutdown must be off the table forever because mr O will veto and they want this total capitulation pursued - a few billion in cuts in the face of a 2.4 TRILLION deficit is less than a grain of sand on an infinite beach - even though it will gut our demands to nothing.
I AGREE .
The real problem is that Boner, Cantor, and Ryan are OWNED by the DC K Street Lobbyists . Boner is just their front guy and the two largest healthcare lobbyist groups still support this bill .
Boner and Cantor and Ryan need to go.
I really am tired when the Republicans are accused of being accuses of having shut down the government in 1995 when it was the rats who did. The republicans only took the blame for it. Will they take the blame this time too when the rats shut it down again? I pray not
Why is no one exposing the lies, purposeful deceit, and fraud/corruption that are ObamaCare? IMO, Obama, Pelosi, Reid and all those who wrote and plotted this fraud that was perpetrated against the American people must be exposed. In my opinion, EVERY politician that voted Yes on ObamaCare, without reading it and exposing the lies and fraud within it, should be investigated and prosecuted. I hear no one demanding an investigation NOW.
How many will die because of the obvious rationing that is coming at the hands of Death Panels? Will it be you or someone in your family? You can be sure that it won’t be anyone that voted YES on this DeathCare bill or anyone who wrote it. Smells to me; does it smell to you?
While it looks good to the voters to insist on including a provision defunding ObamaCare, the effect of adding the provision would likely result in a worse outcome. The Democrat-controlled Senate will not vote to pass a stop-gap bill that includes defunding all of ObamaCare, and President Obama especially would never sign a bill that guts the masterpiece of his administration. Without a stop-gap bill, there will be another government shutdown, something that backfired on the Republican Congress in the 1990’s. While it sounds good in theory to force government to shut down over ObamaCare, there is a very good chance doing so will induce a Pandora’s Box of distracting collateral issues, ruining any chances of repealing ObamaCare.
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These RINO leaders are so afraid of blowback from a government shutdown that they won't even make the case. They're constantly seen as playing defense even when they are winning.
I mean seriously, they had a blowout win not only federally but in statehouses across the country. For the first time that I can remember, states are actually talking of cutting back public sector unions and reigning in "fixed" pension costs. A year ago this was unthinkable.
The RINO leadership is still stuck in 1995. Back then the economy was booming and the public was not focused on government spending. You also had a president who was totally corrupt, but was popular and charismatic. Plus, he was able to blame congress which was totally GOP controlled.
Today, you have a pres__ent who's totally out of touch with the country, who seems more like a foreign occupier than the country's leader, you have a dem Senate who seems to be intent on protecting the usurper no matter the cost , gas prices to the moon and one foreign crisis after another.
The voters want SOMETHING done to reign in spending and they'll be sympathetic if the GOP would only make the case. </rant>
I agree wholeheartedly too.
These Rhinos are owned by the K street lobbyists from GE, Siemans, AMA, Kaiser Permanete, Big Pharma firms who all will make millions by the forced massive Technology/Insurance coverage requirements /mandates( big brother monitoring of medical records )inserted in Obamacare, etc...
Boner and Cantor has always been owned by K street and will never cross them unless we scare him enough.
It’s like the Republicans are as afraid of telling the truth of the country’s situation as the Democrats take pleasure in lying about it.
The problem is the middle 50% who don’t follow things closely don’t really know the perilous position we are in , although hey start to get it when they haven’t had a job in two years and have no hope of getting another soon and they have to spend $400/week on groceries.
The Republicans think ordinary people can’t handle the truth and will take it out on them.
Well there’s part of the problem: the Republican leadership think of us as ordinary and themselves as extraordinary, just like Democrats.
No, not the Archduke!
How do We The People start a campaign to encourage Boner to step down due to his incompetence and spineless leadership?
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