The divisions between the Obama Administration and the incoming Republican majority have only grown larger midst poor cooperation and an executive action authorizing new legislation for domestic immigration policies. As their feud with Democrats in Congress continues, House Republican leaders face their own fight from within their own ranks; against Tea Party conservatives who fight Republican moderates on spending deals to avoid another government shutdown. Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats in the House, although not looking to impede Republican-backed legislation, are looking to make sure their policies are included in hybrid bills that are scheduled to be passed early next week, if not later that same week. House Speaker John A. Boehner obviously has a lot on his plate in the coming weeks that needs to be dealt with tactfully in order to not alienate too many supporters and reduce the political divisions between Republican and Democratic politicians.
Mr. Boehner must examine the various components of passing the spending bill and must decide how to accumulate votes without stirring the pot too much within the House. Senate majority leader Harry Reid and other Senate members have noted that the spending bill will pass in the Senate, and that the president is open to passing this legislation without any impedance, Tea Party conservatives and House Democrats remain indefinite in their stance on the bill and are still deciding on the specifics of the final parts of the spending plan. Mr. Boehner’s plan has a complex duality to its structure: the first step allows members of the House to vote against the executive action authorized by Obama and retract the immigration legislation passed recently, while the second step would produce a hybrid spending bill to accompany the vote and reorganize federal funding. The hybrid bill would organize spending until September 30th, or through the next fiscal year, but would only devote funding to the Department of Homeland Security until March, when a Republican majority could institute new spending plans for this specific institution in the bureaucracy.
Although House Democrats don't want to impede progress and want to avoid another government shutdown, they are concerned with the restricted funding to the Department of Homeland Security and feel that Republicans would face a deficit in funding early next year. The short-term results won't produce long-term progress and could possibly lead to a partial government shutdown, which has the capability to produce the same economic and political stresses in the country. However, House Democrats have realized the urgency in the matter and have agreed on many of the points within the bill, guaranteeing Boehner votes for the bill and completing one part of the puzzle.Meanwhile, Republican conservatives see Boehner’s passiveness and concentration on the spending bill rather than advocating for adversity against the immigration legislation as a sign of weakness and surrender to the Obama Administration. Representative Steve King from Iowa, along with 50 other members look to vote against the bill, while Senator Ted Cruz wants to take the controversy over the executive action to the Senate floor rather than pair it with a hybrid bill, thus only encouraging political gridlock rather than progress. Some conservatives have even gone as far to propose cutting funding to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, but practically cannot be accomplished since Congress cannot purposely reduce funding to an agency. While conservatives look only to ignite tensions in Congress, moderates and Democrats should fill up the needed votes for the passage of the bill, thus giving Boehner the victory he needs to keep the federal budget in order and keep the government rolling, for now.
The duality of this bill proposes various problems and creates many roadblocks for the passage of its policies, thus keeping John Boehner and Republicans on their heels until votes can be assured towards their legislation. Does the complexity of the spending plan damage its effectiveness or chance of being passed through the House and the Senate? Are Tea Party conservatives becoming too detrimental to the Republican Party when passing legislation? Do you think a government shutdown is a probable outcome from this controversy?
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