Unfortunately, the government cannot simply allocate the same funds as last year, as there has already been Congressional agreement that spending would increase by $66 Billion. The use of these funds was reached through bipartisan compromise; half the money will go to the military, in accordance with Republican demands, and the other half will go to welfare programs backed by Congressional Democrats.
Because of the inability to reach a budget decision, a stop-gap bill will be passed instead to give lawmakers more time to reach an agreement for the 2016 fiscal year. This bill will temporarily fund the government for only a few more days, and Congressional leaders are hoping that a deal will be reached in that time. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy stated that "there has been a number of issues that have not been finalized," and that [Congress is] in the midst of closure on these [issues] and [it is] not there yet" (CNN). Hopefully, he his correct in his prediction that a compromise will be reached, as a government shutdown will occur if a budget is not created for this coming year.
Earlier this fall, a government shutdown was also avoided by a temporary budget bill that would be effective until December- now, however, that deadline is looming. Indecisiveness regarding the budget bill was largely a result of Republican attempts to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood, which were defeated by Senate Democrats and President Obama. Republican leaders were concerned about the potential for a shutdown back in September, as such an event would have reduced the public's confidence in the Republican Party, possibly damaging its efforts to win back the White House in 2016.
What do you think? Will this temporary stop-gap bill buy Congressional politicians enough time to pass a budget bill? Or will it just extend bipartisan bickering by a few days and ultimately end in a government shutdown?
Since Republicans continue to push for a provision regarding oil exports, do you think they will be blamed in the event of a government shutdown? Or will the stubbornness of both the Democrats and Republicans be to blame?
Sources:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/12/08/24-questions-threats-of-government-shutdown/76994550/
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/07/politics/shutdown-house-republicans-congress/
3 comments:
I believe that the the stop-gap bill likely not be enough time to pass the bill. Instead, I predict that the bipartisan bickering will simply continue and a government shutdown will occur. The Republicans and Democrats have not seen eye to eye or even been able to compromise on issues such as gun control, Planned Parenthood, welfare programs, climate change, and a multitude of other problems that face this country. Only if the Republicans truly are worried about how this may affect the presidential race will a government shutdown be avoided. Even if both Democrats and Republicans are being stubborn and causing gridlock within the system the media and campaigns will play it up as the fault of the Republicans which could easily damage their prospects for entering the White House. The fact that deadline is so fast approaching the House Majority Speaker is saying that many of the issues are yet to be resolved indicates that this bill will not be easily resolved. If things were to work out as best they could then both the Democrats and the Republicans would learn to compromise and an unnecessary government shutdown would not take place. Unfortunately, the issues that have been added to the bill, especially those concerning Syrian refugees, are likely to cause too much trouble and debate between the two parties. I suspect that the deadline will not be reached and gridlock will ensue.
According to the stop-gap bill the House had until today to pass the tax cuts bill and then until Friday to pass the omnibus. Given these time restraints I still highly doubt that they will be able to prevent a government shutdown like Gwen said. Just yesterday it was reported that some House members felt that they would be unable to support this bill, although at the same time Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan was saying that he, "has no reason to believe that they are going to have a shutdown." Ryan went on to say that in a divided government such as our own you aren't always going to be able to get what you want, and that with this bipartisan bill everyone should be able to find something that gives reason enough to support it. His stance clearly demonstrates how desperately he is trying to prevent a shutdown from occurring, especially given the fact that even people within his own party are going against bill, once again highlighting not only the major divisions between parties but also within the GOP. Overall I feel at this point in time the House is way too divided for any bill to have a chance of being passed, especially with the multitude of issues that are included in it as well as new issues that have recently grown in importance (i.e. the handling of Syrian refugees and climate change). Given these divisions it is likely that the bill would require Democrats to band together with Republican leadership to pass the funding bill, since many conservative members have shown their dislike of the bill and its exclusion of several of their key issues. Therefore I see the Republicans taking the hit for a shutdown if it is to occur since many of the issues are being forcefully fought for by Republicans who are seemingly less willing to cooperate. Hopefully the majority will find a way to work together long enough to sort through the problems and prevent the government from shutting down.
http://www.ibtimes.com/will-government-shut-down-house-republicans-may-need-democratic-help-pass-omnibus-2228442
I believe the stop-gap bill is a great way to grant lawmakers more time to reach an agreement for the 2016 fiscal year. However, the bill will temporarily fund the government for only a few more days. I agree with Gwen Byrne that this will not be enough time to pass the bill. The only way the bill could be passed in time is if the Republicans and Democrats reached an agreement or compromise. But as Gwen Bryne described in her comment, there are numerous issues between the Democrats and Republicans and it is highly unlikely that they will be able to reach middle ground before this fast approaching deadline. Furthermore, a report was just published yesterday on Fox News Politics that stated Congress will not vote on spending bill until Friday, the 18th of December, forcing yet another stop-gap measure. As this article was just released yesterday, I am extremely curious to see whether or not lawmakers can reach an agreement by tomorrow. Personally, I do not believe that they will have enough time and the bill will be postponed once again.
Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/12/16/congress-wont-vote-on-1-1-trillion-spending-bill-until-friday-forcing-another-stop-gap-measure.html
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