Our New Congress: What Are We Going to Do About It?

Pajamas Media ^ | January 5, 2011 | Dan Miller

[DanMiller]

This is a bit of a rant but a timely one since our brand spankin’ new Congress will be sworn in today and start work on January 6, 2011 — perhaps with a reading of the United States Constitution, a wholesome but largely symbolic gesture. We elected the new folks and got rid of lots (but not enough) of the old because we wanted them to do something to end the accelerating spiral rush toward a multicultural Hell on which we have been little more than unwilling passengers, required to go along for the ride but not allowed access to the steering wheel or brakes. With a solidly Republican House and a more Republican Senate the new Congress can respond to the old command of “don’t just sit there, do something!” Whether it will remains to be seen.

The new Congress has very powerful tools ready for its use, particularly the new House which holds the strings to our purse; the tools must be used and if the House needs to be reminded with whose purse it has been entrusted, so be it. We have that capability and if we don’t use it then we are willing victims of scam artists of the highest caliber.

[DanMiller]

I laid out here what I think will be a very effective way for the House to disburse funds from our purse to roll back the most obnoxious parts of the Obama agenda by writing separate and restrictive — important words — appropriations bills for different governmental activities. Even if they didn’t have to originate there, appropriations bills could not be passed without the vote of a majority of the Honorable Members temporarily given seats in our House. They can’t be rejected by the Senate or vetoed by the president without stopping the government, which neither the Senate nor President Obama seems willing to permit.

The best and — as far as I have been able to discover, only — beneficial thing the Congress did during the lame duck session was to defeat efforts to pass an omnivorousbus spending bill to fund federal activities through all of fiscal 2011. Limited funding was provided, but only through March 4, 2011 — two months after the new Congress is seated. After that, the government runs out of our money unless the supply is replenished by the new Congress in a bill originating in the House. Defeat of the omnibus spending bill was good; season’s greetings be upon them.

Left-leaning think tanks already disappointed with President Obama’s tax-cut compromise fear its political and economic benefits will be wiped out by budget cuts in the next Congress.

They argue Obama and congressional Democrats will come to regret not moving a yearlong continuing resolution or omnibus bill that would have locked in spending and administration policy for all of fiscal 2011.

Tough. They didn’t do it and that’s a good thing.

[Squidster]

The Republicans can’t cut spending and will actually increase spending.

Democrats have Republicans on the run, not the opposite.

They can’t cut entitlements without being thrown out of office.

They will not cut the life-line to the banks. The deal is to lay off Fannie and Freddie in exchange for laying off the banks.

They won’t cut education and will likely buy the BS and increase spending.

We are too hooked on entitlements to go back to where we were before Roosevelt. Roosevelt started a fire that will eventually burn the country down.

[mbynack]

Congress is only part of the problem. The Judiciary that keeps granting the federal government more and more power is as big a problem. It’s also harder to fix.

[anniegetyourgun]

Finally - some Freepers that get it. We are so owned.

[samtheman]

Talk about BS... your post is BS.

If Republicans can’t cut spending, why did we all work so hard to change the face of congress?

Well, I guess “all” doesn’t include you because to your way of thinking it doesn’t matter who gets elected, does it?

BS
BS
BS

I truly wish I could type the words out instead of using the acronym, but I’m not going to do that.

What I AM going to do is work hard, with my local Tea Party and my local Republican Party, to make sure that the work that SOME of us did this past election shows some concrete results.

Don’t get me wrong, I know how easy it is for Republicans to resume their spineless lick-spittle ways.

But I’m not heading into the new year so drenched in an ideology of defeat (which you are preaching) that I’ll be paralyzed and do nothing.

Nothing will be perfect, I’m sure of that. But we have our options. We have things we can do to apply pressure to our representatives in office.

AND WE HAVE BETTER PEOPLE IN CONGRESS THAN WE HAD BEFORE.

So f* the faux negativity... or go preach it to the DU choir.

[Russ]

Congress can do nothing unless the president signs off on it. With George Soros whispering in his ear, Obama will sign none of the Republican agenda. That isn’t being negative, it’s a fact.

[MrB]

Squidster - member since 12/20/2010. 16 days.

[PGalt]

Get ready to denigrate, defund, destroy any “elected representatives” not towing the (tea) party line. Good thread. Thanks to all optimistic/pessimistic posters and lurkers. Lots of work to be done. C’mon 2012 & 2014. In the meantime...let’s roll.

Life, liberty and the pursuit and destruction of totalitarians.

[MrB]

Dear Congressman Suchnsuch.
Congratulations.

Primaries are in less than 2 years.

[DanMiller]

The new Congress can't do everything. However, there are things it can do and if it doesn't we will share the blame. We were quite active during the recent election campaign and every member of the new House is up for reelection in 2012. They know it and so do we. Reminders will help.

As I argued here there should be separate and restrictive appropriations for the most contentious agencies. For example, an EPA appropriation bill should grant funding for specified unobjectionable EPA functions and state expressly that

none of the funding appropriated for a stated purpose shall be used for any other purpose; further, none of the funding provided here or elsewhere shall be used to . . . propose, adopt, implement or to enforce any limitation on greenhouse gases, including but not by way of limitation Carbon Dioxide . . .

Similar grants to and limitations on the FCC (net neutrality), the various health agencies and the IRS (ObamaCare) and other agencies and departments should also be enacted.

Should the Senate not go along, fine: then those agencies and departments would get no funding at all. Should the Senate go along but the President veto a bill, fine: same consequence. I think both the Senate and the President would prefer the departments and agencies to go on diets than to die of starvation.

These things will take a lot of work and some of it won't be much fun. Tough. That's what our CongressCritters are sent to the Congress to do; if they don't do it then they don't get reelected.

[dforest]

Republicans are the only people that can make Obama successful and able to have 6 mores years of destruction under his belt.

They best tread cautiously and allow him no more victories.

I know that is next to impossible, but I said it anyway.

[DanMiller]

Please see my Comment #10.

[Grut]

Congress can do nothing unless the president signs off on it.

But Congress can do nothing - can not appropriate funds - and Obama can't do anything about that.

[jwparkerjr]

re: Congress can do nothing unless the president signs off on it

True. But there’s another side to that coin. There are some things that can only be done by Congress, and even then it’s even more interesting! There are some things only a certain branch of Congress can do. And thereby hangs the tale!

It’s one thing to block the actions of another branch, but another thing entirely to have the exclusive ability to start some laws down the road to becoming law.

The House can keep government from doing almost anything by declining to approve of the bill calling for it. But, even better, they can keep the government from collecting any revenue and there’s not a thing the Senate or the President can do about that.

It’s called the “balance of power” but it only works if it’s used. It’s time to use it.