Posted on 02/27/2015 3:39:26 PM PST by maggief
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) slammed House Republicans Friday after lawmakers failed to pass a short-term bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which runs out of money at midnight.
"The Republican Congress has shown that it simply cannot govern. Two months into the Republican Congress, we are already staring a Homeland Security shutdown square in the face, even as terrorists around the world threaten to strike America," the Nevada Democrat said in a statement after the House vote.
The bill failed 203-224. More than 50 Republicans voted against the legislation, which would have funded the department through March 19.
Reid wasn't wasn't alone in his criticism.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) suggested that the failure to pass the DHS bill created a bleak outlook for how House lawmakers would handle larger budget debates expected this year.
“The DHS funding fight is the first test of the new Republican Congress, and so far they’re failing," the New York Democrat said in a statement. "If the Republicans can’t even fund something as simple as Homeland Security, we shudder to think what will happen when it’s time to fund the whole government or raise the debt ceiling.”
Schumer and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said the failed vote left Boehner with only one option: pass a "clean" bill to fully fund the department through September. The Senate passed similar legislation Friday morning.
"Speaker Boehner is out of cards to play here—he must put the clean, Senate-passed bill on the floor now or risk a homeland security shutdown," Durbin said in a statement.
But what the next step is for funding the department, or if a partial shutdown would be avoided, wasn't immediately clear. The Senate recessed Friday afternoon waiting for the short-term funding bill to be taken up in the House. Senators were expected to pass the legislation, if it had passed the House.
Schumer, as well as Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), spoke to reporters ahead of the House vote on Friday. Though they all criticized House Republicans for taking up the stopgap legislation, they also said they would "reluctantly" support it in the Senate.
"We'd much prefer they pass full funding," Schumer said. "Obviously, we're not going to shut down the government. ... We'll support it, but very reluctantly."
Seems like a bunch of racists didn’t want to Obama what he demanded...
Today the TEA Party stood up to the unconstitutional and illegal actions of this extremist Commie/Muzzie administration. Long live The Republic.
170+ RATS voted against it.
Reid wasn’t mad at them.
F’n media can’t wait to promote the Dem spin.
“The Republican Congress has shown that it simply cannot grovel before Emperor San-culotte”
Fixed it
Hey, Harry, it looks like the last time you stared something (Exercise Equipment) in the face, someone plugged it in! GFY
They ARE governing!! They are saying the Zer0 is NOT king. Zer0 is NOT governing, he is dictating, and the RATS are supporting his lawlessness. Governing means operating under the law, NOT giving law the finger.
BLAH BLAH BLAH ,just do your jobs and paying for something Illegal is not your job
Don’t worry dingy the Rino’s will fold like a wet towel.
Damn you, Koch brothers! Blast!
Bring the Senate bill for vote, add amendments & have Senate pass with 51 votes. What am I missing??
And now what? Whats the plan? A CR would prevent any new grants (read new spending)without shutting down DHS. We could have given RATs a choice - Obama and no new funding or Funding and no DACA.
Now what’s the plan?
When Harry is genuinely PO then we have blundered into doing at last something right. (That is, for how ever long it lasts, before Boehner and his leadership cronies UNDO it.)
This was a colossal blunder by Boehner and Pelosi. Boehner bet the house on this crapper passing. Pelosi bet on Boehner and therefore Pelosi had her sheeple voting “NO”.
Hilarious. Too many Democrats voted “NO”. A comedy of errors.
Now the story is shutdown, not conference with the Senate.
“170+ RATS voted against it.
Reid wasn’t mad at them.”
LOL! Beautiful!
Here’s what Republicans never get, you don’t go on a few shows or put out a few comments on this bill. You follow the Democrat/Alinsky model and pound the following statements into the public’s head over and over again through every outlet possible.
1. The ONLY thing not funded is Obama’s call to give illegals social security numbers, IRS refunds, driver’s licenses, etc. This was never even a law, just an edict from Obama yet Democrats demand it be funded or else.
2. DHS is not going to shut down, they’re essential personnel and they have to show up to work. All the media hype is just that, hype.
If Homeland Security can’t secure the border, and won’t deport the border-jumpers, then what is the point?
They are looking for the plan, now. In Fort Marcy Park, over on the incline to the creek. :)
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