Posted on 07/27/2015 12:35:31 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
The House will not vote on a multi-year Senate highway bill that revives the now-expired Export-Import Bank, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Monday.
“We’re not taking up the Senate bill,” McCarthy declared to a roomful of reporters in his office.
Instead, McCarthy urged the Senate to take up a short-term House-passed bill which extends federal highway funding for five months, without renewing the Ex-Im Bank charter. He called the House bill the “best option” for Congress before money for highways, bridges and mass transit runs out on Friday.
McCarthy’s declaration is a blow not only to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) had teamed up to craft the bipartisan, long-term highway bill.
It’s also a blow to backers of the Ex-Im Bank, who had hoped the 81-year-old institution would be revived by catching a ride on the back of the Senate transportation bill. The charter for the bank, which provides loan guarantees to help U.S. corporations sell goods overseas, expired on June 30.
The Senate transportation bill authorizes highway funding for six years, but only provides three years in funding.
McCarthy, who controls the House floor schedule, said the lower chamber plans to leave for the August recess on Thursday. And he said it’s not fair for the Senate to send the House a massive 1,000-plus-page bill just days before the funding deadline.
Upon hearing about McCarthy’s remarks, Boxer, shot back at the fellow Californian, saying the House should follow the Senate’s lead and stay in session a week longer rather than decamp for the summer recess.
“You know what, we’re staying an extra week in August. You can stay an extra week in August. That’s not such a terrible thing,” Boxer said in a speech on the Senate floor.
McCarthy “says don’t send us a bill because we’re going home. Well, that’s their choice.
“If the House chooses to go out on vacation or a work period of whatever they do, that's their business. But it's our job to fix the problems we're facing,” Boxer said.
Another way out of the funding mess is an even shorter-term highway bill, perhaps one that provides just two or three months of transportation funding. McCarthy didn’t rule out that possibility, but he made clear his chamber had already passed a more-preferable five-month patch that gives Congress enough time to hammer out a longer-term, House-Senate deal.
“The five-month extension is the best bill to have so you can get a long-term bill that is fully paid for,” McCarthy said.
This story was updated at 3:23 p.m.
Touche! Exactly Right.
Been doing a lot of reading today about lots of subjects. One article virtually guaranteed that 11:59 vote by Boehner.
Where EXACTLY in the U.S. Constitution is Congress granted the specific, enumerated power to lend money to private businesses?
L
I have read a number of articles about this situation and better minds than yours or mine agree that it is not profitable. That’s why it’s referred to as corporate welfare. If it were profitable it wouldn’t be addressed in that way and the argument would be made the it is not welfare. No one is making that argument except you and the Chamber of Commerce.
I won’t go any further than that because clearly you are not going to be persuaded by facts.
The IMF fund, IMO, is nothing more than another high stakes slush fund for politicians to manipulate to their advantage. Kill it!!
Here again is the great divide in the GOP.
I am a Main St Republican - and you appear to be a Big Business/Corporate Republican. Before you get all huffy, there may be a better distinction but for now, I want to get to my point.
Main St Republicans are sick of hearing multi nationals tell us they have to offshore our jobs to be competitive - plus, they need taxpayers to subsidize their sales by way of the Import Export Bank.
Then they argue that they need to keep the profits offshore because they don’t want to pay taxes on the money they made, using taxpayer subsidies, and foreign labor.
NOBODY is giving me anything. My small business hasn’t got the clout to get anything from anyone. I pay it all. And my poor kids, they make just enough for Washington to take 40% of their paycheck... and they get no favors either.
This is why so many conservatives stay home at election time.
Both parties take care of specific interests... Dems love their gays, illegals, pubic employees and welfare mothers.
Republicans look after the BIG boys, the banks, corporations, Wall St... and now gays, illegals, public employees and welfare mothers because they don’t think they can win the MIDDLE without the Democratic special interests.
AND AGAIN... nothing and nobody for the vanishing Middle Class
When we kicked ou the weasel Eric Cantor here in VA-7 last year, it spooked them pretty good. They had planned to pass the Rubio Gang amnesty bill last August, but more of them did not want to get Cantorized.
Many more of them NEED to be Cantorized.
I think you could not be more wrong. I think the House would have simply passed this with an up or down vote before they went on recess if Senator Cruz had not made it a political hot potato by shining the light on the Senate’s corruption.
You speak only for your own mind.
Reagan thought the Export Bank was important. I’m in pretty good company.
Good
Senator Cruz vindicated by House Reps. Drive another stake through Ex-Im.
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