Posted on 03/28/2011 3:38:07 AM PDT by Scanian
Congress gave itself a three-week reprieve on a government shutdown, then spent the first 10 days on vacation. Now, lawmakers return with the shutdown deadline once again looming, and a deal seemingly as far away as ever.
The House has spent more than 70 hours debating spending this year, and has produced a bill. The Senate has spent less than five hours officially debating spending, and has rejected the House bill, but has yet to produce an alternative of its own.
With another shutdown deadline looming — this time on April 8 — the negotiations have yielded little.
“After days of positive negotiations, with significant flexibility shown by the speaker, the House Republican leadership is back to agonizing over whether to give in to right-wing demands that they abandon any compromise on their extreme cuts,” Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said Friday, putting the blame on House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican.
Democrats prefer to negotiate a final deal behind closed doors and have all lawmakers jump together, rather than have an open process and write a bill on the Senate floor.
Mr. Boehner, after initially agreeing to negotiations with Vice President Joseph R. Biden and Democrats, now argues that Senate Democrats must put forward a plan of their own to match up to the bill the House passed after days of debate and voting.
A Washington Times analysis shows that the House has indeed done far more work on spending than the Senate.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
One can only hope it shuts down. However the Whiglicans will cave. Then Crow about the HUGE CUTS!
This time put the blame where it belongs! ! ! ! ! !
It seems this mess has gone to the back of the bus since Libya. I bet they are just going to pass whatever crappy bill that is put in front of them. I don’t believe that the majority of Republicans will fight enough due to another war.....I just sense it.
They ought to Vietnam the Libya adventure while they’re at it.
If the GOP caves on spending, throw em out in 2012!
By the way, I am habitually late with my taxes. If the government can’t take its own deadlines seriously, why shouldn’t the rest of us follow its example?
Talk is cheap.
Shut the dam government down!
Gop is fading again and it’s thier own fault.
Shut it down, we won’t miss it.
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