Reid warns shutdown is possible (Please, Harry, don't throw us in that briar patch, please!)

the hill ^ | 9/20/11 | b cusack

[bestintxas]

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday there is a chance that the government could shutter at the end of this month.



Criticizing House Republicans for the disaster relief provisions in their budget bill, Reid told reporters, "We're not going to cave on this."



Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday confidently predicted the two sides will come together by Thursday night: "There wil not be a government shutdown."

Reid, however, said, "I'm not that sure" there won't be a shutdown. He added, "I am not as certain as McConnell."

At issue is increased funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help a number of states recover from various natural disasters. The government funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, that the House will take up on Wednesday contains $3.65 billion for FEMA, but the Senate has previously approved standalone legislation that would provide $6.9 billion in relief funds. Reid announced Tuesday he would be amending the House bill to include that increased funding.

Tuesday saw both parties accusing the other of playing games with legislation to keep the government funded through Sept. 30. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) accused Reid earlier in the day of playing a "political game," asserting that the Senate Democrat would be solely to blame if a shutdown occurred.

[bestintxas]

Anybody see any downside here?

[lexington minuteman 1775]

Sounds like a threat to me.
I don’t see a downside...ceptn maybe in ODUMBOS poll numbers...

[traditional1]

I am SURE there's money in Reid's Bill to hand out to favored constituencies, and not just re-fill the Disaster Relief Fund. BANK ON IT....

These non-starter attempts to SPEND will be voted against by Republicans, and then Democrats will simply blame the Republicans for preventing the "Economic Recovery" and "starving Seniors, and hurting the Middle Class" (as always).

[Sacajaweau]

if we had the money we gave to brazil, we’d have it covered and some left over.

[Irenic]

You know what...I wish they would ALL go straight to hell!

[ThomasThomas]

The downside would be how how the administration handled the shutdown. Do you think all parties would share the pain?

[bestintxas]

“The downside would be how how the administration handled the shutdown. Do you think all parties would share the pain?”

Guess I consider the pain is far greater trashing our credit rating as we spend ourselves into the poorhouse.

Govt should be shutdown anyway as it is not operating with a budget. The SEC would have already done that if any company tried to foist that one over its shareholders.

[bikerman]

Anybody see any downside here?

Ahhh well err no maybe nope SHUT er DOWN

[SECURE AMERICA]

wow, this idiot thinks threatening to shut down the government would bother most Americans...

[SaxxonWoods]

“Anybody see any downside here?”

Only for Reid. I’m glad he obviously never read “The Boy Who Cried wolf”.

[mrsmith]

“continuing resolution, that the House will take up on Wednesday “

I thought we were past “continuing resolutions” and on to “budgets”.

What did I miss?

[jakerobins]

The Dems are going to try ANYTHING they can to paint Congress(Only the Republican House) as causing Gov’t shut down! They are having to resort to slander because Obama knows he is up for a landslide loss. Obama and Reid are going to try hard to cause some disaster they can pin on the Republicans before 2012.

[newzjunkey]

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), who appeared alongside Reid at a press conference, insisted the House GOP approach was … "wholly unprecedented" for requiring immediate offsets to pay for the disaster funding. / "We will eventually pay for it, but we can argue about that later," she said.

What happened to your precious Pay-As-You-Go, Mary?

[Libloather]

"We're not going to cave on this."

Wasn't compromise cool about a month ago?

[taillightchaser]

Please, please shut it down till Jan 2013!!!! While it is shut down, all lawmakers and their staffs go on unpaid leave.

[LibLieSlayer]

mcconnell is just too weak of a man to actually throw PAY AS YOU GO back into their faces. I'd read the names of every single Congressman and Senator that voted for that rule... right from the well of the Senate!

LLS

[Longbow1969]

mcconnell is just too weak of a man to actually throw PAY AS YOU GO back into their faces.

No, the problem again is the American public. The Republicans will almost never win on this issue - which is why the Democrats are setting up the confrontation.

Should we have offsets for any disaster aid? Of course. Will the American people see it that way? Nope. When it comes to something like disaster relief the American public will fall for the Democratic demagoguery almost every single time. WAAAH, WE NEED TO SAVE THE CHILDREN OF THESE DISASTERS!!! Women in particular will have an emotional meltdown at hearing the Republicans actually want to, you know, pay for it. The problem is the American public.