SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
GOP Intransigence Makes Government Shutdown All But Certain
House Republicans seek one-year delay of Obamacare
Sep 28, 2013
A government shutdown at the beginning of next week appears likely as developments on Capitol Hill indicated Saturday.
According to The Hill:
House Republicans plan to attach a one-year delay of ObamaCare and a repeal of its medical device to a stopgap spending bill on Saturday, a move that could ensure much of the federal government shuts down on Tuesday.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) outlined the maneuver to Republicans in a closed-door conference meeting on Saturday; members could be heard cheering outside the room in a Capitol basement.
Republican lawmakers inside the meeting chanted, "Vote! Vote! Vote!" after hearing the plan, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said.
Republicans exiting the meeting applauded Boehner's decision and said the ball was in Senate Democrats' court.
The Huffington Post reports:
The bill also would call for a full repeal of the law's tax on medical devices, which many members on both sides of the aisle support, but which helps pay for the cost of health-care reform. Funding for military personnel and funding for the government itself until Dec. 15, 2013, also would be included.
"We are 100 percent united in this," said Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.). "It's up to the Senate if they want to shut us down."
The new House CR offer reflects the continued dominance of the conservative wing over leadership. After it became clear that the Senate would not approve the original House bill that fully delayed Obamacare, top GOP leadership aides told The Huffington Post that they were likely done trying to chip away at the president's signature law, at least as part of a bill to fund the government. But two days later, they did just that under pressure from tea party members in their own chamber and the Senate. Cruz in particular was credited with making the second CR offer more aggressive.
And the New York Times adds:
The House is expected to vote late Saturday on the legislation, which would keep the government operating past 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday. But the Senate, controlled by Democrats, has said it will not accept changes to the health care law as a condition for keeping the government open, all but ensuring that much of the government will shut down unless lawmakers can agree on a short-term spending bill while negotiations continue.
Given statements by Democratic leaders in the Senate, however, any changes to Obamacare implementation simply won't be considered.
_____________________________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A government shutdown at the beginning of next week appears likely as developments on Capitol Hill indicated Saturday.
According to The Hill:
House Republicans plan to attach a one-year delay of ObamaCare and a repeal of its medical device to a stopgap spending bill on Saturday, a move that could ensure much of the federal government shuts down on Tuesday.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) outlined the maneuver to Republicans in a closed-door conference meeting on Saturday; members could be heard cheering outside the room in a Capitol basement.
Republican lawmakers inside the meeting chanted, "Vote! Vote! Vote!" after hearing the plan, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said.
Republicans exiting the meeting applauded Boehner's decision and said the ball was in Senate Democrats' court.
The Huffington Post reports:
The bill also would call for a full repeal of the law's tax on medical devices, which many members on both sides of the aisle support, but which helps pay for the cost of health-care reform. Funding for military personnel and funding for the government itself until Dec. 15, 2013, also would be included.
"We are 100 percent united in this," said Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.). "It's up to the Senate if they want to shut us down."
The new House CR offer reflects the continued dominance of the conservative wing over leadership. After it became clear that the Senate would not approve the original House bill that fully delayed Obamacare, top GOP leadership aides told The Huffington Post that they were likely done trying to chip away at the president's signature law, at least as part of a bill to fund the government. But two days later, they did just that under pressure from tea party members in their own chamber and the Senate. Cruz in particular was credited with making the second CR offer more aggressive.
And the New York Times adds:
The House is expected to vote late Saturday on the legislation, which would keep the government operating past 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday. But the Senate, controlled by Democrats, has said it will not accept changes to the health care law as a condition for keeping the government open, all but ensuring that much of the government will shut down unless lawmakers can agree on a short-term spending bill while negotiations continue.
Given statements by Democratic leaders in the Senate, however, any changes to Obamacare implementation simply won't be considered.
_____________________________________
A government shutdown at the beginning of next week appears likely as developments on Capitol Hill indicated Saturday.
According to The Hill:
House Republicans plan to attach a one-year delay of ObamaCare and a repeal of its medical device to a stopgap spending bill on Saturday, a move that could ensure much of the federal government shuts down on Tuesday.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) outlined the maneuver to Republicans in a closed-door conference meeting on Saturday; members could be heard cheering outside the room in a Capitol basement.
Republican lawmakers inside the meeting chanted, "Vote! Vote! Vote!" after hearing the plan, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said.
Republicans exiting the meeting applauded Boehner's decision and said the ball was in Senate Democrats' court.
The Huffington Post reports:
The bill also would call for a full repeal of the law's tax on medical devices, which many members on both sides of the aisle support, but which helps pay for the cost of health-care reform. Funding for military personnel and funding for the government itself until Dec. 15, 2013, also would be included.
"We are 100 percent united in this," said Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.). "It's up to the Senate if they want to shut us down."
The new House CR offer reflects the continued dominance of the conservative wing over leadership. After it became clear that the Senate would not approve the original House bill that fully delayed Obamacare, top GOP leadership aides told The Huffington Post that they were likely done trying to chip away at the president's signature law, at least as part of a bill to fund the government. But two days later, they did just that under pressure from tea party members in their own chamber and the Senate. Cruz in particular was credited with making the second CR offer more aggressive.
And the New York Times adds:
The House is expected to vote late Saturday on the legislation, which would keep the government operating past 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday. But the Senate, controlled by Democrats, has said it will not accept changes to the health care law as a condition for keeping the government open, all but ensuring that much of the government will shut down unless lawmakers can agree on a short-term spending bill while negotiations continue.
Given statements by Democratic leaders in the Senate, however, any changes to Obamacare implementation simply won't be considered.
_____________________________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.