Monday, April 17, 2017
The President says how much he wants to spend
And then it falls to Congress to say how much will actually be approved for spending by all the various parts of the government. This is usually a task hashed out through the Congressional year but prior to the Tangerine Shitgibbon, the Republican House was putting off all spending bills to refuse Obama any success and pressure the Democrats into going along with their hellish priorities. And that brings us to the present when all the previous spending bills expire on April 28 and there has been no progress on their replacements.
The fate of the federal government – whether it stays open or shuts down at the end of April – is all up to Congress and President Donald Trump. What could possibly go wrong?The majority of spending can be easily agreed to but there are a few real bones of contention that will probably be passed over because there just isn't enough time and there probably never will be.
Republican and Democratic congressional leaders are optimistic that when they return from their recess the last week of April, they’ll reach a deal and avert a government shutdown by April 28, when legislation that is now funding the government expires.
Yet there are a number of issues, including the White House’s push for U.S.-Mexico border wall money and Trump’s threat this week to pull some health care funding, that could lead to a collapse of comity and a budget blowup.
It’s happened before: The longest shutdown, in December 1995-January 1996, lasted 21 days. Conservatives in the House of Representatives prompted a 16-day shutdown in 2013 over opposition to paying for President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
This year’s showdown is most likely in the House, where Republicans are counting on Democratic support to pass a spending bill because some House conservatives have steadfastly refused to vote for spending bills: “Anything that depends on 216 Republicans is a highly risky proposition,” said Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, a top Republican on the House Appropriations and Budget committees, citing the number needed to pass legislation in the House.
That could, however, mean White House priorities go wanting, for now.
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