House Republicans worry they’ll have to accept massive spending measure

The Hill ^ | October 5, 2011 | Russell Berman and Erik Wasson

[maggief]

Frustrated House Republicans are grappling with the possibility that they will be forced to swallow the kind of massive spending package many of them campaigned against when Democrats were in power.

The House on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a stopgap spending bill to carry the federal government through Nov. 18, ending the latest spending crisis on Capitol Hill.

But with both the House and Senate woefully behind schedule on passing appropriations measures for fiscal 2012, lawmakers have only six weeks to figure out a solution — and few desirable options.

The Senate has passed just one of 12 annual appropriations bills, while the House has passed six. If the two chambers cannot make significant progress, the most likely fallback option is to combine the 12 bills into one omnibus measure.

“I think everybody expects that,” said Rep. Austin Scott (Ga.), president of the House GOP freshman class.

The prospect of signing off on a bill that could exceed 1,000 pages and appropriate about $1 trillion in federal spending is a sore subject for Republicans, particularly the freshmen who pledged not to vote for legislation too bulky even to read.

“I didn’t vote to create the debacle and the train wreck that’s coming,” freshman Rep. Jeff Landry (R-La.) said. “So we’ll have to wait to see what happens.”

[hattend]

If they vote “no” how is that “being forced” to accept it.

Keep up the pressure TP Critters!

[101voodoo]

Exactly right. This is a non story and was printed to fill space in this blog and nothing more

[mewzilla]

Unless baseline budgeting has been repealed, there will be NO cuts.

[Texas resident]

While the house was under democrat rule, no budgets were passed. Only passed massive spending bills. Didn’t pass any new taxes to cover the new spending either.

This was a set up.

First off, the house needs to get an accurate accounting of where we are. They have been passing continuing resolutions for years. Does any of them know how much is being spent vs. how much is coming in?

Get a base line and go from there and don’t play their game.

[NTHockey]

Simple message to Congress: “Increase spending and lose your job.”

[ilgipper]

The House GOP has so bumbled this year’s agenda. We have gotten nothing substantive in cuts. Nothing. This is with the political winds at our back. They frame the discussion with the public in a way that there is no public push for anything specific. Just a standoff with both sides arguing over pennies. Disappointing.

[cake_crumb]

The House voted to repeal Obiecare. That might be the single most massive cut in the history of budgeting. It's not House Republicans' fault that the Dem controlled senate killed the bill.

The throw the baby out with the bathwater advice worked with voters in 2004, giving us BOTH houses controlled by the Democrats. We know how THAT worked out for us. Hopefully, the average American voter will know better next time it's used.