Democrats to John Boehner: Don’t break debt deal

As if to underscore this point, Conrad separately announced that he intends to wait no longer and will file a formal budget deeming resolution Tuesday in the Senate setting the appropriations caps at the higher level called for in the debt deal.

Under the BCA, that action alone gives Inouye’s panel the authority needed to begin moving ahead next month with the 12 annual appropriations bills which fund government operations. Unless the House alters its course, the two chambers will be again working from a different script, dashing hopes of a more orderly appropriations process this year.

In this context, the Senate chairman warn that the collapse of the August understanding “would risk a government shutdown. At a minimum, they said, the delays will “significantly increase the likelihood of omnibus legislation — denying the majority of members of both the House and the Senate the opportunity to participate in a meaningful way in fiscal 2013 spending decisions.”

“We urge you to reject the extreme elements in the House Republican caucus,” the chairmen said, also addressing their comments to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.). “And keep to the agreement you made last year.”

Look at the games that are being played here. This is regarding the 2013 budget, i.e. the budget for the year beginning THIS OCTOBER. And Conrad is saying that there isn't time between now (March) and September 30th to put bills together with amendments and votes, etc.

This is an annual process. The session just began in January. Conrad's been on the budget committee since I can remember and Inouye's been in the senate since 1967.

Do they really expect us to believe that if the House does one thing differently, if they budget for even one penny less than was agreed last August, then between the passage of a budget in April and the end of the fiscal year at the end of September, everything will be thrown all out of kilter and everything will have to be thrown into one big bill and only one vote allowed in the senate.

I repeat. It's March. This is an annual process. And you've been doing this every year for years and yet you can't figure out how to get a bill or several bills to the floor for amendment and votes between now and September 30th? Not to mention that we all know there will be a continuing resolution so everything will be bundled together after the election.

Here's a tip: pass a budget in the senate and then you won't need any input from the House. You can pass your own bills and them meet the House in conference.

This is why they haven't passed a budget, to play these games and inflict fear in the members.

Do they really expect us to believe that...

No. As the headline suggests, only Democrats are allowed to reneg on deals. Republicans must be held the strictist interpretations of deals or else they are obstructionist and do-nothing, and everything that follows is their fault.

-PJ

The debt bill keeps on “giving”. They are supposed to do a budget each year, and each year the budget is different, and nobody complains that the new budget doesn’t “honor” the budget from the previous year.

But now they have this “debt bill”, and suddenly they pretend it’s an actual budget, and that further it is inviolate. And worse, it apparently gives the Senate the authority to act without a real budget, giving them cover for a law they’ve been breaking for 2 years.

And somehow, the republicans agreed to ALL of this.

“Here’s a tip: pass a budget in the senate and then you won’t need any input from the House. You can pass your own bills and them meet the House in conference”

All spending, tax and budget bills must originate in the house. Been that way since the Constitution was written.

red

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