The House can definitely deny funds for obamacare or any other unconstitutional, runaway, big government boondoggle it wishes to deny by simply not funding it.
The senate has no say. The president has no say. If the House does not pass an appropriations bill for the program, there is no bill for the senate to alter or for the president to sign, and no funds for the project.
It's in the Appropriations Clause.
Excerpted from the Heritage Foundation:
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
ARTICLE I, SECTION 9, CLAUSE 7
The Appropriations Clause is the cornerstone of Congress's "power of the purse." It assigns to Congress the role of final arbiter of the use of public funds. The source of Congress's power to spend derives from Article I, Section 8, Clause 1. The Appropriations Clause provides Congress with a mechanism to control or to limit spending by the federal government. The Framers chose the particular language of limitation, not authorization, for the first part of the clause and placed it in Section 9 of Article I, along with other restrictions on governmental actions to limit, most notably, executive action.
In The Federalist No. 58, James Madison described the centrality of the power of the purse's role in the growth of representative government and its particular importance in the Constitution's governmental structure:
"The House of Representatives cannot only refuse, but they alone can propose the supplies requisite for the support of the government. They, in a word, hold the purse—that powerful instrument by which we behold, in the history of the British Constitution, an infant and humble representation of the people gradually enlarging the sphere of its activity and importance, and finally reducing, as far as it seems to have wished, all the overgrown prerogatives of the other branches of government. This power over the purse may, in fact, be regarded as the most complete and effectual weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people, for obtaining a redress of every grievance, and for carrying into effect every just and salutary measure."
Much more at link, including the power to change, suspend, or rescind prior funding bills. The funds still have to be appropriated by the current House of Representatives before they can be spent. And the House can deny funding for any department, agency or program it wishes to defund without even having to pass a bill.
http://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/1/essays/67/appropriations-clause
Dear Republican Congress:
Hold the line!! The House has the power of the purse and the power to deny funds!!
Use your constitutional power to deny ObamaCare!!
When Obama/Reid and the demonrats come to you begging for money to fund the government, say here it is and present your prepared appropriations bills — with zero funds for obamacare — and let them know straight up that there will also be NO debt limit increase and, throwing Obama’s own words back at them, there will be NO negotiations!!
If they say no or refuse to go along, reject what the senate demonrats send back to you and begin passing “clean” appropriations bills one by one funding each essential department with no amendments allowed. Double dog dare them to deny funding to each department, one by one!!
The House holds all the constitutional cards in the appropriations game.
The only power Obama and Reid have is a mean-spirited attempt to try to shutdown the entire government in retaliation for the House denying funds for the president’s pet, unconstitutional, nation-wrecking, Marxist spread-the-wealth-around boondoggle -- a jobs-killing boondoggle that the American people do not want. But that (the shutdown) won’t work either. The essential parts of government will go on. The military will be paid. Social security checks will go out. Critical obligations will be paid.
The main effect of the Obama shutdown will be a whole lot of non-essential employees (excess baggage) from the bloated federal government get laid off. Whoopee.
Keep up the good work and the defunding battle all the way to Nov 2014 if necessary. We the people have your backs!!
It’s your constitutional power and duty to control the UNCONSTITUTIONAL runaway government.
Obamacare, if allowed to stand, is the death knell of our constitutional republic. Obamacare sets the precedent, approved by the Robert's Court, that there are no constitutional limits on what government can demand of the people. This bad ruling will be overturned eventually, but in the meantime, it's up to we the people to stop obamacare and we've elected you specifically to do that.
Gentlemen and gentlewomen, Do your duty!!
Paul is becoming a defeatist.....it is sickening.
“We can’t do this, we can’t do that”.......stop being the party “we can’t” and the party THAT STOPS IT!
I like Rand Paul. But he doesn’t seem to be a fire-in-the-belly fighter like Ted Cruz.
I think I know where my primary $’s are headed.
This defeatist attitude must stop!
Shut your cake hole Paul!
In a related story, “RAND PAUL ABANDONS 2016 RUN HOPES”.....
If it doesn't then it will be up to the people to take the next step in 2014 and replace the democrats and republicans who refuse.
Look, he is saying that it probably can’t be defeated this year. The goal is to get the bill into conference and try to delay the implementation for as long as possible.
Only a republican president can defund Obamacare.
If the federal government is shutdown, Obama can still fund Obamacare through discretionary spending.
Attacking Rand Paul over this is the wrong way to go. I’m sure Cruz would disapprove.
Now let’s see how many republicans in the senate will join the filibuster to shutdown the federal government. I predict maybe 20 and Rand will be one of them.
The House must defund this abortion law, 0bamacare. Everyone here on FR has to make our voices heard to our Congressmen and Congresswoman starting right now.
Then what good are you, Randy?
..aiding and abetting the enemy...
a ‘caver’ - not presidential material
It wouldn't be surprising if some "experts" try to argue that the House is obligated to fund Obamacare as a consequence of it being the established "Law of the Land," Madison & the wisdom of true Constitutional scholars be damned. Don't count on the current SCOTUS to rule on this point -- the time to act is NOW anyway.
Let's see who steps up to do what they were elected to do ...
Washington probably couldn’t have defeated the Royal Empire either.
Just sayin'
Yeah, I really wonder what the context of Rand’s words were...did he really mean to surrender on Obamacare? I cannot believe he would say or do that...the media, ever anxious to help the Assclown, would leap at any phrased wording that seems to help their little tin god.
Has Rand been out to correct the media’s misrepresentation of his statement?
I have no faith in any fiscal conservatism nor conservative values taking any more than a window dressing role in the House. There's too much at stake now to cut off the gravy train; they can't reign in government costs without touching their own precious plundering.
As for the constitutional sledgehammer that is appropriations, like just about every power that the House is empowered with, they'd effectively given that power away, and have no guts with which to defend that power.
If they passed appropriations which did not fund ObamaCare, some federal judge will step forward and say ‘Congress passed a law stating that this was to be done with funds, therefore they've already given the authorization to withdraw from the treasury what funds are required to continue this law, and the House will rage and fume for the cameras and sigh with relief that they don't have to go into the midterms having stolen some granny's health care.
I'm tired of watching the snake oil salesman's pitch. I'm tired of the whiner down the street who complains about someone’s dog coming onto his lawn and does not a damn thing about it. The GOP could easily overwhelm liberals in contests across the country, just by rolling back the liberal agenda, and they'll do nothing, as they financially benefit from that agenda.
And at the end of the day, when you have professional politicians and career public servants, that financial agenda overrules everything else. Look at Obama, he went into the White House with personal assets under 2 million, and this year he topped 40 million; some damn good investing of that presidential salary, huh?
Paul is as wacky as his daddy.... Forget about him and concentrate on the ones that matter! Put the pressure on those unnamed cowards!
“GOP ‘probably can’t defeat’ Obamacare.”
YES WE CAN!
Stealing part of your post Jim. Cruz is like a breathe of fresh air among a room full of stale and rotten fools.
Rove is sour grapes because this uppity Tea Party newbie with the endorsement of Palin beat out the establishment candidate, Dewhurst. He never got over it. I would love to rip that last hair off his bald head.
Paul needs to get out of the way. He’s too busy trying to change the laws so felons can vote instead of getting behind Cruz.
Rand Paul “What a tragedy it would have been had he gone to prison. What a tragedy it would have been if American hadn’t seen Barak Obama as a leader.”
Yeah what a tragedy that would have been. I think Rand has a screw loose, just like his father.
Congress CANNOT shut down GOVERNMENT... at all..
They can only shut down the federal givernment..
We have two other governments more important than the federal government.. i.e. State and Local government..
We have THREE governments..
And even then the House will shut down only PARTS of the federal government..
Saying the HOUSE will shut down GOVERNMENT IS A LIE..
This went right over the heads of republican Barney Fifes..
Are there ANY republicans in the House with any sense?.. evidently NOT..
Shutting down the feds for awhile will NOT effect the States or Locals in any way..