Free Republic

So, the House has voted for a government spending bill that defunds Obamacare. Next step: Get it through the Senate, right? Wrong. In fact, if you vote to bring this House-passed “defund” bill to the Senate floor, you’re actually helping to fund Obamacare, according to the most vocal proponents of the “defund” strategy. No, I’m not making this up. That’s the actual plan.

Great first step today by the House! Now the bill goes to the Senate and there's no doubt they'll change it to fund ObamaCare. And then the House must hold the line! Reject the Senate's changes! Defund/kill ObamaCommieCare before it kills us!! If Obama/Reid follow through with their threats to shutdown the government, then the adults in the House, with the full backing of the people, will have an opportunity to pass appropriation bills to fund the essential departments of government department by department. The first appropriations bill to pass should be social security and medicare. This will set the...

The House voted Friday to keep the government open through mid-December but only if Congress strips funding from ObamaCare. The vote was 230 to 189, and largely expected. Current funding for the government is set to expire at the end of the month, and lawmakers must approve the stopgap bill in order to keep Washington open. The GOP measure would fund the government through Dec. 15, at current funding levels. “Today, the constitutional conservatives in the House are keeping their word to our constituents and our nation to stand true to our principles, to protect them from the most unpopular...

The House passed a short-term spending plan Friday morning that would continue funding government operations through mid-December and withhold funding for President Obama’s signature health-care law, the opening act in what promises to be a several-act drama over how to pay for government operations and raise the federal debt limit. -snip- Which Republican voted against the budget plan?: Rep. Scott Rigell (Va.)

Even among Republicans, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is one of Washington’s most divisive figures. Activists love him, but leadership staffers and many of his colleagues can’t stand him — especially his latest effort to connect a government-spending bill with the defunding of Obamacare. After a Senate luncheon on Tuesday, several Republicans told me they’re tired of Cruz’s campaign, and one senator, after rolling his eyes, called it a “Passion play.” The internecine tensions spilled over to the House on Wednesday, when a group of Republicans knocked Cruz on Twitter for appearing to back down from the defunding fight. Speaker...

House Republicans survived a key test vote Thursday on their plan to keep the government running while trying to halt the health care law, defying a veto threat from President Obama and inching closer to a shutdown showdown with Senate Democrats. Top Republicans say their party’s strategy is unlikely to succeed and not worth shutting down the government, but some rank-and-file lawmakers said they have to draw a line now and use the leverage of the spending bill to end the president’s signature achievement.

The House on Friday passed legislation that defunds ObamaCare but would keep the government running through mid-December. The legislation was approved on a party line 230-189 vote, with Rep. Scott Rigel (Va.) the only GOP no vote. Two Democrats voted for the measure, Reps. Jim Matheson (Utah) and Mike McIntyre (N.C.). Passage of the bill sets up a showdown with the Senate, and moves the two sides closer to a possible government shutdown on Oct. 1. The ObamaCare language is expected to be stripped from the bill in the Senate, setting up a critical week of negotiations next week. House...

House Republicans passed their stopgap funding bill Friday to keep government open while terminating the new health care law, setting up a final showdown next week with Senate Democrats and President Obama who have firmly rejected that. The 230-189 vote, which split almost exclusively along party lines, is the precursor to the big action next week, when the Senate is expected to strip out the health care provisions and send the bill back to the House — where Republicans will have to decide whether they can accept it at that point. All sides are racing a Sept. 30 deadline, which...