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the DON JONES
INDEX… |
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GAINS
POSTED in GREEN LOSSES
POSTED in RED 11/20/23... 14,889.77 11/13/23... 14,872.71 |
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6/27/13… 15,000.00 |
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(THE DOW
JONES INDEX: 11/20/23... 34,947.28; 11/27/23... 34,283.10; 6/27/13… 15,000.00) |
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LESSON for November 20th, 2023 –
“SHUTDOWNERS’ SHUTDOWN!”
What
could have been a bad, very bad, unthankful-for Thanksgiving turned joyful a
week early as Congress... including (or in spite of) the Crazy Eights, Q-Nonnies,
spooky Santos, MTG, the Squad, the Devil, Bob Good and a few dozen faces
without names succumbed to the advice and entreaties of the public, the media
and common sense and decided to act like adults.
Not
adult enough to settle America’s ever mounting debt, revenue and expenditures
crisis, but at least to hold off on the day of reckoning until after the winter
holiday season.. kicking the debt-can a-ways further down the road and into
January (for some gumment agencies), February (for others).
And,
of all people, Don Jones, friends and family have none other to thank but the
merry, mounted munchking “Crusader” Mike Johnson (R-La), our newly-elected (and
perhaps soon-rejected) Speaker, who decided that his faith also included a
faithful currency and fiscal policy as may not yet fulfill several of his
favorite Biblical admonitions but, at least, forestalls the phynancial
apocalypse until another day... perhaps under the watch of another Head of the
Household.
The
six week interval between Congress expelling Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Ca)
birthed hives of dire insects; predictions and prophecies nobody dared wield a
cutlass or a coathanger against.
As
late as last Tuesday, the pessimists were rolling of shutdown scenarios after
newly and precariously installed Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) proposed “a novel
and uncertain path to keep the government operating so legions of federal
employees aren’t left without pay just before the Thanksgiving holiday.”
A WashPost Q&A seminar (Attachment
One) asked and anwered...
·
What will happen if the government
shuts down?
“(C)ertain federal workers —
mostly those involved in national security or vital economic activity —
continue working unpaid. Other government workers are furloughed until their
agencies reopen. Members of Congress continue to get their paychecks.
·
What date would the government shut down?
“The government would shut down on Saturday,
Nov. 18, at 12:01 a.m.”
·
Why is the government about to shut down again?
According to the Post, “lawmakers
extended funding only up to this weekend, passing a bill known as a continuing
resolution, or CR, to keep spending at last year’s levels up to the new
deadline,” according to a deal struck
between President Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)
McCarthy passed a short-term
extension anyway with help from Democrats.
In response, a band of eight GOP hard-liners ousted McCarthy from the speakership and, after three weeks of limbo
in which other candidates failed to secure enough votes, Johnson,
a relative leadership novice, was
elected speaker.
But now he finds himself in a situation similar to the one that doomed
McCarthy:
·
What are Republicans proposing to avert a shutdown?
Johnson proposed a two-tiered, or
“laddered,” stopgap bill to keep the federal government funded. This CR would
fund certain federal agencies and programs until two different deadlines.
“On Jan. 19, funding would expire
for military and veterans programs, agriculture and food agencies, and the
departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. And on Feb. 2,
it would expire for the State, Defense, Commerce, Labor, and Health and Human
Services departments, among others.”
·
What are the next steps ahead of the government shutdown deadline?
“The House on Tuesday is set to
take up its “laddered” funding bill. If it passes, the Senate will probably
vote on it later this week. And if the Senate approves the bill, it will go
to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.”
Said and done.
·
Who would be affected by a
shutdown?
Federal government workers and any Joneses who
utilize their services. (In short,
everyone.)
Further, the Post asked and answered questions about
air travel, the history of shutdowns, handouts like Social Security and
food stamps and, if the
shutdown continues long enough, “it could also affect the broader economy.”
Not mentioned: America’s credit
rating.
Perhaps the most frightening
implication for Americans was the possibility that air traffic controllers,
already depleted, would be forced to work 20 hour, seven day shifts, leading to
delays, cancellations... and perhaps a crash or two.
“Around 4.7 million people are
expected to fly over the five-day period surrounding Thanksgiving,” surmised
The Hill (11/13, Attachment Two)
“More than 50,000 TSA officers and
13,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controllers would
continue to work without pay until the government is funded.
“The TSA workers are among the
lowest paid in the government, however, and during the last shutdown, in 2019,
large numbers called in sick weeks into the shutdown, when they’d
miss pay. That pressure was credited in part with ending that standoff in
Congress.”
The current standoff, until
resolved, could have affected the nation’s airports as regarding...
Longer
screening times
Delays
and cancellations, and
The
economic impact
Would
anybody have welcomed a shutdown?
Well,
some of the hardest-line hardliners (including the so-called “Crazy Eights”)
would have enjoyed their Thanksgiving repasts with a smile and a sneer.
Otherwise,
the biggest winners would have been America’s enemies across the globe...
Russia, China, their satellites and (as the MidEast war cranked up) Iran.
Keeping the government open is
“not a question of preference, it’s a question of necessity,” said Senate Armed
Services chair Jack Reed (D-RI) during the POLITICO Defense Summit, using an
abbreviation for the continuing resolution.
(11/14, Attachment Three)
“The first priority is to get the
CR,” said Reed. “The second priority is
to get funding for Israel and Ukraine … we have to do both.”
"Getting us beyond the
shutdown and making sure that government stays in operation is a matter of
conscience for all of us," Speaker Johnson said, in a press conference on
Tuesday before the House voted.
He acknowledged that he could not
pass the CR without Democratic support.
Representative Kevin Hern, who heads a group of conservative
Republicans, estimated 30 to 40 of them could vote against it.
Reuters (Attachment Four) did note
the effects of the shutdown on America’s credit rating... “The ongoing partisan gridlock led Moody's on
Friday to lower its credit rating outlook on the U.S. to
"negative" from "stable," as it noted that high interest
rates would continue to drive borrowing costs higher,” they reported.
Republicans told Reuters that the
new speaker is unlikely to suffer the same fate as McCarthy. But hardliners
have been quick to see the parallel.
"Here we are. We're doing the
same thing," Representative Chip Roy (R-Tx) told reporters.
“People want to give Mike grace to
be able to move forward. But at the end of the day, we have a job and the clock
is ticking. You’re storming the beaches of Normandy and somebody goes down, you
don’t sit around and form a committee,” the Chipper told the WashPost (which
touted the shutdown as Johnson’s “first test”. (Attachment Five).
Crusader Johnson tried. He tried mightily!
After attending three meetings
with Johnson, Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) eventually blurted out: “What do you want?”
Joyce and the Republican
conference got their answer Saturday. After weeks of listening, Johnson decided
to marry the two major requests of the hard right and pragmatic factions
by extending existing funding levels for some government agencies
into mid-January and the others until early February. The Speaker ultimately
decided to move forward with a stopgap funding proposal meant to appease the hard right
while trying not to alienate the centrists. The result was the two-tiered
funding schedule that did not include other demands from across the GOP
conference, like steep budget cuts, a border security proposal and funding for
Israel or Ukraine.
“Instead of appeasing just one
ideological faction, the proposal has angered the hard right, puzzled the
middle and was mocked by the White House...” House Democratic Leader Hakeem
Jeffries (D-N.Y.) calling the idea “ridiculous.”
But, “(o)f the approximately two
dozen Republican lawmakers and aides interviewed by The Washington Post — many
of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about internal
party discussions — a significant number acknowledged granting Johnson a “grace
period” to find his footing in a job that very few would ever want.”
And the Democratic minority in the
House and majority in the Senate dis-mocked the White House mockery... t.hus,
America’s Thanksgiving (and creditworthiness) was saved by grace.
“Johnson’s lack of intraparty
controversy and personal vendettas is part of why Republicans unanimously
supported him for speaker,” the Post concluded, but added that he faces “a
trust deficit among some pragmatic lawmakers, who believe McCarthy earned their
fealty by helping them get elected.”
“He really has done a good job of
threading the needle between sort of the traditional Republican world and the
‘America First’ Trump world. He’s pretty unique in that he speaks both dialects
fluently,” said Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.), one of Johnson’s few close allies
in the House.
“Is this deja vu or something
new?” CNN asked when Johnson unmasked his scheme.
Turned out to be both.
The something new was Mike. The something old was that “broad outlines of
the government spending fight as it stands in November are the same as they
were in October.” (Attachment Six)
The something borred was more
money... the National Debt (below) stands at over $33T , But
the something blue were the faces of the Crazy Eights after the Speaker cut his
deal with Democrats to unshut the shutdown “with relatively little drama, at
least for now.”
CNN also cited Johnson’s personality, which has rendered him
acceptable, if not endearing, to the hard right, the RINOs and the Democrats.
“The bill will stop the absurd holiday-season
omnibus tradition of massive, loaded up spending bills introduced right before
the Christmas recess,” Johnson said.
And,
responding to the “laddered approach” today, President Joe’s stance had
weakened from mocking to “noncommittal.”
Senate
Democrats have also been noncommittal “but have shown more openness to
Johnson’s approach, perhaps marveling that it does not include spending cuts
prized by Republicans,” or tangential blockades like federalizing the
criminalization of abortion, mining the Mexican border, erasing controls on
dark money donors or allowing local libraries to burn books they deem to be
harmful to children (or adults).
Before the vote, six Republicans
have publicly said they wouldn't support it. Reps. Bob Good of Virginia, Warren
Davidson of Ohio, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Chip Roy of Texas, George
Santos of New York and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania all indicated they will not
support Johnson's plan on the floor. (CBS, Attachment Seven)
Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer
warned Johnson to hold firm against conservatives in his conference who will
surely complain that the short-term funding bill does not include budget cuts.
"I hope Speaker Johnson
recognizes that he will need support from Democrats in both chambers if he
wants to ... avoid causing a shutdown. He needs to stay away from poison pills
and steep hard right cuts for that to happen," Schumer added.
Chuck’s vanquished predecessor,
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) declaimed that "...House Republicans have produced
a responsible measure that will keep the lights on, avoid harmful left in
government funding, and provide the time and space to finish their important
work. I'll support their continuing resolution and encourage my colleagues to
do the same," McConnell said.
Johnson’s stairway (or, at least
ladder) to Heaven engendered ridicule from Congressional Democrats in both
houses until the moment they agreed to vote for it. (Washpost, 11/15, Attachment Eight, above)
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chair of the Appropriations Committee, called it
“the craziest, stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of.” Schumer on Tuesday called
the bifurcated deadlines “goofy.”
But as the prospect of military
vulnerability, unpaid mailmen, air traffic controllers and the such and, most
likely, a ruined Thanksgiving, Murray supported the measure.
“I will vote for this bill to
avoid a senseless shutdown, though I don’t care for this idea of two funding
deadlines and double the shutdown risk,” she said.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said he
was happy to vote for the resolution if it meant placating the volatile House,
which he often describes as the “kids’ table” of Congress.
“If it makes the kids happy, then
what the heck?” Rounds said.
First, of course, the Johnson bill
had to win enough donkey votes to overcome the Crazy Eight resistance.
“It’s never easy to get work done
around here. It’s a lot harder when you have people who, I think, are prone to
emotionally immature decisions,” said a different Johnson... Dusty (R-S.D.) .
“No spending cuts, no right-wing
extreme policy changes, no government shutdown, no votes tomorrow,” House
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters on his way out the door
to a two week vacation. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
“It’s wrong,” retorted Rep. Andy
Ogles, (R-Tn).
Among hardliners steadfast in
opposition, Good was joined by Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Warren
Davidson, Scott Perry, Andrew Clyde and Chip Roy. Indicted Republican George
Santos also said he would not back it.
"I will not support a status
quo that fails to acknowledge fiscal irresponsibility, and changes absolutely
nothing while emboldening a do-nothing Senate and a fiscally illiterate
President," said Perry, who chairs the ultraconservative House Freedom
Caucus, on the X social media platform.
“I want a clean CR,” declared
Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations
Committee.
“It’s a 100% clean. And I 100% oppose,” Roy tweeted.
(NBC, Attachment Twelve)
A Senate Democratic leadership
aide told NBC that: “It’s a good thing the speaker didn’t include unnecessary
cuts and kept defense funding with the second group of programs."
In
a transcript obtained by NPR, Johnson, over strong objections from some in his
own party, passed a short-term extension of government funding through early
next year by relying on Democratic support.
“We
have broken the fever. We are not going to have a massive omnibus spending bill
right before Christmas, and that will allow us to go through the appropriations
process as it should be done,” the Speaker told Eric McDaniel of NPR’s All
Things Considered (Attachment
Thirteen) who pimped his company’s polls that showed “67% of people think it's
more important for Johnson to compromise rather than stand on principle” and
that Americans would “place more blame
on Republicans than on Democrats and President Biden if the government were to
shut down.”
When the House voting ended, the
two-tiered two-step had passed by 336 to 95, well over the two-thirds margin it
needed to get the measure over the line. Just two Democrats voted against the
bill, along with 93 Republicans. (Fox, Attachment Fourteen) CNBC additionally reported (Attachment Fifteen)
that the CR passed in the House with broad bipartisan support, which it needed,
after Republican leaders decided to bring it to the floor under a procedural move that
required a two-thirds majority, and not a simple majority, in order to pass.
And, while the far-right
Washington Times the Chipster’s grievance that: “We promised the American
people that we would stand up to this administration, cut spending, secure the
border... (w)e have delivered on none of that,” they also published Johnson’s
summation of the House vote.
“We’re not surrendering; we’re
fighting,” Mr. Johnson said. “But you have to be wise about choosing the
fights. You’ve got to fight fights that you can win.
“We have broken the fever. We are
not going to have a massive omnibus spending bill right for Christmas,” Mr.
Johnson said. “That is a gift to the American people. Because that is no way to
legislate.”
And when the Senate,
by a resounding 87 to 11 vote, passed the Continuing Resolution can-kick, the
WashTimes... noting and gloating that the House “has
passed 7 of 12 appropriations bills and the Senate just 3 of 12, but none have passed both chambers,”
and that those that have passed the Senate “were
negotiated and approved with bipartisan support while the House’s were Republican-only measures”... bowed to
reality. (Attachment Seventeen)
Those Peanuts of America not busy
watchin’ those ol’ raindrops fall, remain as divided (and as pugilistic) as
their elected representatives...
“We really need to do something
about the growing rat infestation in DC,” posted WashTimes peanut S. – and he
was not alone in expressing disgust with the process, and the results.
“Once again we see the
irresponsibility of the democrats who want to spend and spend and spend...
(w)ho cares if the government shuts down,” opined Statesrights (as the
bipartisan crowd fled Washington for their holidays). “Why should we even pay
our congressional leaders when they are so irresponsible. A vote for democrat
is a vote for the destruction of the United States.”
More venom from the victims of shutdownless
near-future below as Attachment A.
Contra-opining that an omnibus
near the holidays was a “terrible way to run a railroad” Johnson maintained
that his tiered plan marked a “new innovation” that would alter the dynamic.
“We’re not surrendering,” the
speaker said. “We are fighting. But you have to be wise about choosing the
fights.”
The two-part stopgap measure does
kick the can down the road by creating two more shutdown deadlines on Jan. 19
and Feb. 2, splitting funding into two tranches for different government
agencies. But that still allows lawmakers just five working weeks to negotiate
and pass the first four of 12 funding bills by Jan. 19 that comprise the annual
budget – a major hurdle for a bitterly divided Congress.
Since the 1974 Congressional
Budget Act that established the modern-day budget process, Congress has passed
its annual budget by the Oct. 1 fiscal deadline only four times.
CBS confirmed the
WashTimes numbers... admitting that the House has passed seven bills,
while the Senate has passed three that were grouped together in a
"minibus." None have been passed by both chambers – and CBS reported
the Congressional excuse that McCarthy's ouster paralyzed the House from moving
any legislation for three weeks amid Republican Party infighting over who
should replace him and eventually passing a bill that “did not include spending
cuts demanded by conservatives,” nor the aid to Israel and Ukraine the
donkey-boys wanted.
Only one Democratic senator voted
against the measure, CBS took note... Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado...
(November 15th, Attachment Eighteen).
Two
House Democrats also voted against the measure... Jake Auchincloss of
Massachusetts and Mike Quigley of Illinois.
As
for the Democratic left, McDaniel said, on the radio show, (Attachment Thirteen, above) that Schumer
said he was happy to see that the Republican speaker backed off of the idea of
funding cuts and introduced a so-called clean bill without any poison pills
that Democratic lawmakers would feel comfortable supporting. “That's a contrast
to the speaker's first major piece of legislation, which tied a popular
bipartisan idea - aid to Israel - to a conservative policy - cuts to the IRS -
and effectively doomed the bill.
See
how each Senate and House member
voted.
The
successful CR was flown
out to San Francisco, California, Thursday for Biden’s signature, an
administration official said... perhaps in the presence of China’s Xi and a
panda or two... and President Joe, heedless or mindless of the Nazi controversy
now swirling round the former Twitter, declared: “Last night I signed a bill
preventing a government shutdown. It’s an important step but we have more to
do. I urge Congress to address our national security and domestic needs,” Biden
said in a post on X. (CNN, November 17th, Attachment
Nineteen)
Resignation reigned on the RINO
right and among most Democrats as the trotted home for Turkey Day, but a few
MAGAnauts remained seething
"I think its a failure,"
Greene said of Johnson's first big move as Speaker. "I am not carrying on
Nancy Pelosi's budget...I think we should be holding the line." (USA
Today, Attachment Twenty) Similar
expressions of despicability streamed forth from the mouths of Scott Perry
(R-Pa) chair of the House Freedom Caucus who posted on X (probably without
regrets) that the CR “acknowledge(d) fiscal irresponsibility, and changes
absolutely nothing while emboldening a do-nothing Senate and a fiscally
illiterate president.” Roy, Bob Good,
George Santos, Tim Burchett and several other FC’d up pols also gnashed their
teeth at the deal (only George Santos likely wept) while anonymous rats in the
walls muttered threats against Crusader Mike.
But Roy told reporters, including
Caitlin Yilek of CBS (Attachment Twenty One) that he was "not going to go
down that road" when asked whether Johnson, like K-Mac would face a
no-confidence vote.
“We’ll see,” Roy said, according
to the liberal Huffington Post (Attachment Twenty Two). “I tend to try to give
people grace. I gave Kevin grace, I give Mike grace. Tough job. But I strongly
disagree with this play call.”
“Johnson used a special procedure
to circumvent the House rules committee, where Roy and other conservatives had
threatened to block a floor vot,” the Huffers huffed. The procedure, known as “suspending the
rules”, is “usually reserved for non-controversial bills with broad bipartisan
support” and requires the two-thirds supermajority for approval, meaning lots
of Democrats had to back the resolution for it to be adopted.
Which the donkeys did... leaving
Chippy to call the process “asinine”.
And the “hallowed halls of the
U.S. Capitol” also get a little chippy during the venting and voting when “not
one but two near-physical altercations involving lawmakers, showcasing the
escalating animosity within the political landscape.” (Time, Attachment Twenty Three)
The first incident unfolded when
Tennessee’s Burchett, (above), accused the deposed K-Mac of deliberately
elbowing him in the back. According to
Burchett, one of the eight GOP members who voted to remove McCarthy from his leadership post , McCarthy's blow was
“intentional and fueled by personal resentment.” (Time, Attachment Twenty Three)
“I was one of eight that voted him
out,” Burchett declared, labeling McCarthy a "bully". He’s mean “and
he knows it," Burchett added.
Ooooh!!!... not exactly the Texas
Chainsaw Massacre, nor even Will Smith’s bitch-slap of Chris Rock – but hey!
this was the House.
Not to pick posies and play
pansies, the Senate responded with a smackdown of its own... until broken up by
the strong and heroic... Bernie Sanders?
Yup.
The old syrupmaker from Vermont
stepped in when the kennel of goo boiled over between GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin
and labor union leader Sean O’Brien telling the ungentlemanly gentleman from
Oklahoma to sit down.
"You know where to find me.
Anyplace, Anytime cowboy," O'Brien tweeted at Mullin, leading to a heated
exchange during the Senate hearing. Mullin and O'Brien exchanged taunts and
challenges, with Mullin ultimately getting up from his seat, ready to confront
O'Brien physically. Time reported that “Mullin is a former undefeated Mixed
Martial Arts (MMA) fighter, and was inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall
of Fame,” but several talksters noted that moaxes who run afoul of the
Teamsters tend to wind up encased in concrete and dropped in the East River
(or, in this case, the Potomac).
Ever the Senator from Labor, as
well as from the maples of Vermont, Sanders... according to the HuffPost
spoke to CNN’s Anderson Cooper soon after. (Attachent Twenty
Four)
“(I)t’s pretty pathetic,” he told
Cooper. “I mean, we have a United States senator challenging, you know, a
member of the panel who is the head of one of the larger unions in America,
which has just negotiated a very good contract for their workers, the
Teamsters.”
While Senate bills typically take
a long, winding path before they reach a final vote on the floor, Schumer
previously said he planned to work with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to see
if they could expedite it.
"If both sides cooperate,
there's no reason we can't finish this bill even as soon as today, but we're
going to keep working to see what's possible," Schumer said earlier in the
day.
The White House had originally
dismissed the GOP proposal as "unserious," but a White House official
said earlier on Wednesday that President Joe Biden would sign the short-term
funding bill if it passed in the Senate. (ABC, Attachment Twenty Five)
The White House official had
called on the GOP to "stop wasting time on extreme, partisan
appropriations bills" and pass the president's supplemental aid request
for Israel, Ukraine, border security, humanitarian assistance and other
priorities. The House-approved bill does not include that supplemental aid for
Israel or Ukraine.
But after the Senate late
Wednesday approved, in an 87-11 vote, the two-tiered stopgap spending measure,
sending to President Biden’s desk a bill that will keep some agencies funded
into January and others into February, Johnson pitched the proposal as
necessary to “fight for conservative victories” and avoid a year-end package
that lumps all spending bills into one omnibus.
(Government Executive, Attachment Twenty Six)
And despite the
now-doubled deadlines, members of both the House and Senate depart Washington this week for a nearly two-week
paid Thanksgiving recess. Congress is then out again for the last two weeks of
December and the first week of January for the holidays.
A27
substitute
There's
a divide in the House over government spending philosophies, not just
personalities according to the WashTimes’ Susan Ferrechio, who discussed the implications
of the Speakership vote on the eventual can-kick with FOX News national correspondent
Kevin Corke. (Attachment Twenty Eight)
Arguing
that the CR would stop the “absurd holiday-season omnibus tradition of massive,
loaded up spending bills introduced right before the Christmas recess,”
Crusader Mike insisted that eparating out the CR from the supplemental funding
debates “places our conference in the best position to fight for fiscal
responsibility, oversight over Ukraine aid, and meaningful policy changes at
our Southern border."
But some GOP hardliners who voted
against the dealare for extending the "omnibus" priorities they
opposed will also fight on in January and February, and even Johnson, who
crafted the plan, has vowed that he will not support any further stopgap
funding measures, known as continuing resolutions. He portrayed the temporary
funding bill as setting the ground for a spending “fight” with the Senate next
year while, according to Stephen Groves of the AP (November 16th,
Attachment Twenty Nine), America’s lawmakers “sought to keep the holiday season
free from any suspense over a government shutdown.”
GOP leaders called off the week’s
work after the vote, sending lawmakers home early for Thanksgiving. It capped a
period of intense bickering among lawmakers.
“When it returns in two weeks,
Congress is expected to focus on the Biden administration’s requests for
Ukraine and Israel funding. Republican senators have demanded that Congress
pass immigration and border legislation alongside additional Ukraine aid, but a
bipartisan Senate group working on a possible compromise has struggled to find
consensus.
Most Senate Republicans support
the Ukraine funding, said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., but he added, “It is
secondary to securing our own border.”
And, in a weird twist, Time’s
resident pundit Philip Elliott contends that the Congress also gave (perhaps
unintended aid and comfort) to the One Six rioters who, essentially, invaded
the Capitol to find and hang them.
Among the spending cuts included
as part of the shut down the shutdown deal: money for the Department of
Justice’s prosecution for hundreds more Jan. 6th
insurrectionists. “Maybe,” Elliott
muses, you remember that amusing QAnon Shaman who copped a plea deal; “served 27 months of a 41-month sentence—and this
week announced he would run for Congress.”
But “hundreds of others who were
part of the armed mob”... some with knives and sticks and American and MAGA
flags, most just waving their arms... “have yet to face any repercussions.
Officials have said more than 2,500 people breached the Capitol on Jan. 6;
other estimates put the number of potential defendants as high as 3,000.” But, as of November first, just 1,202 people have been harged, according to the DOJ.
(Time, November 16th, Attachment Thirty)
Intrepid, well-paid and dedicated
search and seizure agents are seeking the remaining culprits – seeking them
here, seeking them there – Idaho, Maine and Delaware!
So what does that have to do with
the short-term spending bill Congress just passed to avoid a shutdown? Well, it
includes a 12% cut in funding for federal prosecutors. Do the math!
This means that, of the twelve (or eighteen) hundred suspects still at
large, as many as three hundred... even as many as three hundred sixty... may go unpunished.
The horror! The horror!
One of these criminals might be casing out your community even now...
searching for reptilian space aliens (or a good burger). At your local WalMart. Ranting and raving about the stolen election
on your downtown sidewalks or posting slanderous statements about George Soros on
X. Elon Musk is probably one of Them...
so are Bob Good and Roseanne Barr!
They’re everywhere!
Coming for you!
But, Elliott warns, “there are
real consequences for the ability of federal prosecutors to get the job done
and send a message to those who cheered on such a dark day in American
history.”
Complicating all this, Elliott
swoons, is “a ticking stopwatch that haunts rank-and-file prosecutors. The
standard statute of limitations for most federal offenses is five years, or 60 months. It’s been 34 months since the
attempted insurrection at the Capitol. For the math-challenged among us, that
means half of the window has passed, and as many as two-thirds of potential
targets of prosecution are not even in the system. While those who
are—including the 683 guilty pleas and 127 convictions at contested trials—have
cases that still require DOJ resources to see through.
“For a party (guess who!) that
prides itself as the one linking arms with law-and-order hardliners, excusing
insurrectionists who caused almost $2.9 million in damage to the Capitol is the height
of hypocrisy. Yet, House Republicans not only cut the budget for federal
prosecutors by one-eighth, they then told their colleagues that it should be a
point of pride.
And the donkeys
hee-hemmed-and-hawed and finally caved in and gave in... all in the service of
that Jewish (or Chinese) fiction as is a visible, somewhat viable (if not
exactly balanced) budget.
Show no mercy, (some) Joneses cry
out. Seek them! Find them!
Lock them up!
And then, elect them to Congress
where, as WashPost opinionator Alexandra Petri contends, they’ll fit right
in. And maybe, collateral damage will
take them out!
“There is some sort of fight club
going on, as far as I can tell, if reports of three separate
incidents on Capitol Hill on the same day are to be believed,”
Petri alleged, citing Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Ok.), a former MMA
fighter, challenging the head of
the Teamsters union or deposed (and seething) K-Mac
allegedly “shoving” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tn).
“It’s a ‘Mad Max’ situation on the
floor of the Senate,” Ms. Petri despairs.
“If I kidney-punched him, he’d be
on the ground. ... Let’s be realistic,” McCarthy, formerly speaker of the
House, actually told reporters after Burchett claimed
McCarthy elbowed him in the back.
The Democrats are trumpeting their
nonviolent virtue.
“They should stop acting like
children, except that’s insulting to children,” Sen. Mazie Hirono, Hawaii
Democrat, said of the incidents between lawmakers last week. (US News & World Report, November 16th,
Attachment Thirty Two)
“I used to teach 4-year-olds who
were far better behaved than this,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts
Democrat, said. “I mean, straighten up here.”
That’s homophobic!
“There's been a significant shift
in decorum in the House of Representatives and even the Senate, for that
matter, particularly over the last 20 years, 30 years,” Dan Lamb, a lecturer at
Cornell University who ran for Congress in 2012, says. “It's a slow process,
but it's been a steady process, culminating in some of the actions this week
that make us want to stop and say, ‘Wait a minute? What have we become?’”
“The opportunity for rank-and-file
members like Mullin, for instance, to make a difference as an individual have
been reduced and so they're looking elsewhere for ways to kind of curry favor
with the folks back home and build a base,” says C. Lawrence Evans, a professor
of government at the College of William & Mary. “It's basically performance
art – it’s theater.”
As for what led Congress here,
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) who broke up the Senatorial showdown, says there are a
lot of factors. But one of them is former President Donald Trump.
“If you hear some of the very ugly
things that Trump is saying lately, it would not be surprising that some of his
supporters here start echoing that,” said the Syrup Senator... reporter Kaia
Hubbard citing “experts” who allege that Trumpish styling and profiling “has
become a model, especially in the House, for outsiders to get elected and
establish their status.”
But the brawling and
the bawling of the partisans... Republican Crazy Eights and Freedom cawcussers
who wanted a balanced budget and some poison pills too, as well as Democrats who
wanted to tax the billionairs to provide arms and ammo to Ukraine, Israel and
the oppressed of America’s inner cities... all went for naught as President Joe
signed the can-kick and partisan parties issued statements before decamping
Washington for the holidays.
The bill was flown out
to San Francisco, for Biden’s signature (CNN Attachment Nineteen, above) and
the questing and jousting was over... for two months.
"We're done with the failure
theatre here in Congress – we're not just going to pass bills that don't
address the problems that Americans face," said Scott Perry, chairman of
the hard right House Freedom Caucus.
Beyond the border, foreign
interests were watching, waiting and frowning.
“The historic rebellion left the lower
chamber paralysed for three weeks as Republicans struggled to find a
replacement leader, even as the deadly Hamas attack on
Israel and war in Ukraine spurred calls for quick congressional action,”
reported France 24 (Attachment Thirty Four).
“There have been no shutdowns so
far under Biden,” the French further reported, “although Trump saw two,
including a 35-day shutdown five years ago that was the longest in US history.”
Democrats, meanwhile, according to
Al Jazeera (Attachment Thirty Five) “pressed for their own add-ons – including
aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan – but each now looks set to be dealt with
separately, with a $61bn request from the White House for Kyiv looking
particularly precarious amid conservative opposition.”
Now over the weekend (and through the woods)
to grandmother’s the Joneses go!
|
Our
Lesson: November 13th through November 19th, 2023 |
|
|
|
Monday, November 13, 2023 Dow:
34,338.87 |
It’s
National Kindness Day – but there’s not much of that kind of quality about as
wars continue in Ukraine and the Mideast, a clueless, reeling America
stumbles closer towards another shutdown and the usual stabbers and shooters
and vandals enjoy a bountiful weekend... thugs high and low, including the
son of George Clooney;s agent, accused his family and a Secret Service agent
who shoots three suspects trying to carjack President Joe’s granddaughter
Naomi. And, inevitably, the Trumps... Don Junior
on the stand testifying in his own defense, calling the Trump brand
“spectacular” and “sexy” and referring to Mar-a-Lago as a castle (whose moat
could have used a few more gators to throw the confidencial docts to) and
blaming the unkind lawyers and accountants (but, mindful of the judicial
jihad already underway against the family, swallows the insults against the
court and threats against witnesses). The latest of the latter are Sydney Powell
and Jenna Ellis, aka the “Trouble Twins” who enthusiastically rat out their
boss as an alternative to serious jail time.
While hedging on the dead Venezuelan dictator connection, Sydney
confirms Jenna’s disclosure that Djonald UnAppreciated told his staff that he
would never leave the White House, no matter what the courts or lying
prosecutos or the foolish voters chose.
At least Tim Scott need no longer worry
that mishaps in his administration evoke prosecution... he’s not going to have an administration. He drops out of the Presidential race,
leaving four faces that will never make it to Mount Rushmore. |
|
|
Tuesday, November 14, 2023 Dow:
34,827.70 |
The
kindness comes a day late and a few dollars short... Crusader Mike unveils
his shutdown the shutdown plan and, miracle of miracles, it makes sense (at least
to most beasts in the House). His ploy
is to kick two cans (or maybe cut
the can in half and kick the two halves) separately: by January 19th
and the rest of the budget cuts on Groundhog Day. (Everybody knows there’s going to be a lot
of cutting – they just can’t agree on how to stick it to the suckers and
massage the donor class.) And more kind words and numbers emanate
from the monthly inflation report which... although up, is not up so much as
in previous months. Thanksgiving
thanks for cheaper gas and turkeys. An
early Christmas for the Dow. The kindness does not extend to the
Ukrainian and Palestinian war zones, where Israel raids the largest hospital
in Gaza City, feeding information to the Western media about all the Hamas
terrorists in tunnels far below the building, the cartons of baby food and
blood that really hold weaponry.
President Joe says it looks kosher to him – then heads out to San
Francisco to meet with President Xi of China for the first time in over a
year. An embattled SCOTUS makes an attempt for
self-policing by establishing codes of conduct (but without a clause
regarding enforcement). |
|
|
Wednesday, November 15, 2023 Dow: 34,881.21 |
American
and humanitarian negotiators say that Israel’s raid on the Al Shifa Hospital
might... uh... provoke a new generation of Palestinians to rise up and
revolt. Netanyahu shrugs them off and
escalates the bombing.and is,perhaps, bolstered by the 200,000 attending an
anti-anti-Semitic rally in DC. President Joe denounces anti-Semitism too,
but has other concerns... his meeting with President Xi in a suburb of San
Francisco is, at least, cordial although no substantative issues are
resolved. And China will keep the
pandas. Crusader Mike’s plan passes the House with
Democratic support, leading to furious denouncing and threats of recalling the Speaker a week into his
regime. Fisticuffs break out... K-Mac
elbows a Crazy Eighter and an angry Senator has to be held back from
attacking a labor boss by... Bernie Sanders?
Yep! The Senate is expected to
pass the can kick in time for Biden to sign, seal and deliver it before 12:01
AM Saturday. In other happy news, actor Jeremy Renner
demonstrates his recovery from the smowmobile accident by dancing and running
while Jimmy Kimmel is named to his fourth Oscar ceremony. |
|
|
Thursday, November 16, 2023 Dow:
34,945.47 |
Pro-Hamas
protesters battle police in front of the Democratic National Hdqts. in DC
after a much larger but less violent pro-Israely march. Families of the hostages in Israel, the
U.S. and elsewhere call the proposed deal to swap fifty women and children
for three days of cease fire vague and useless. Newsman John Kirby says that the
anti-Semitism is being promoted, maybe financed, by Elon Musk. President Joe is busy in San Francisco:
meeting, greating and eating with China’s President Xi. Talks about stopping fentanyl exports go
well, talks on Taiwan – not so well... then Biden calls him a
“dictator”. SecState Blinken notes
that “different people think differently.”
Xi does say that unknown pandas might go on a world tour... someday...
and Chinese app TikTok says they are nice because members met for a kidney
transplant. Starbucks’ baristas go on strike on the
company’s much publicized (free) Red Cup Day.
Adnimistrators say that only a “small minority” are disgruntled. Dolly Parton releases her rock album
covering 30 classics like “Satisfaction” with a little help from friends like
Sir Paul and Ringo. |
|
|
Friday, November 17, 2023 Dow:
34,947.46 |
Israeli
troops raiding al-Shaifa hospital find more bodies of murdered hostages so,
after they tell Palestinians to flee from North to South Gaza, they begin
raiding and shelling South Gaza. The
Gaza Health Ministry, run by Hams, claims12,000 civilians now killed, Israel
says many of these are terrorists.
Hostage negotiations stalled by Israeli Knesset infighting reminiscent
of American congress. Back to work for Congress before an even
longer vacation- first order of business is the Ethics Panel finding Rep.
George Santos (R-NY) guilty of just about everything, even using campaign
funds for Botox injections. They will
try to evict him again, but need a 2/3 vote.
He says he will not run for
re-election. Also on the criminality front, Sean “Puff
Daddy” Combs accused of years of rape and abuse by singer Cassie Austin and
many, many others. He responds that
they are trying to blackmail him and/or make money writing tell all
books. In New Hampshire, an active
shooter is taken down after shooting up a mental hospital. Stores like Best Buy and Amazon say that
this is the real Black Friday as
the Christmas deals spew out earlier and earlier and earlier. |
|
|
Saturday, November 18, 2023 Dow:
Closed |
Michael Theodore (“Mickey”) Mouse turns
95... fifteen years years older than President Joe, eighteen years older than former American
President Trump; four years younger
than former American President Jimmy Carter, one year younger than his wife
Roslyn.
Patients and doctors at Gazas al-Shaifa Hospital either choose to or
are ordered to evacuate (except for about 150 of the sickets, including 39
premature babies) as Israeli Defence forces (IDO) conduct raids in the
hospital’s basement, sub-basement and twisty, turny tunnels beneath (which
Israel says are hiding places for Hamas terrorists). Diplomat and partisans now call Gaza an
“enclave”.
Nine miles of magma flow towards the down of Grindvik (Grindlewold?
Griffindor?) in Iceland as what some calls a life-estinguishing volcano is getting ready to erupt. Optimists say it will produce lots of hot,
molten magma, but not so much toxic smoke and gas.
Speaking of cold places, the first jet airplaine lands on the ice in
Arctica. And of hot things: Elon
Musk’s newest SpaceX rocketship explodes on takeoff... perhaps incensed by
the latest round of Elon’s pro-Nazi posts on social media. (Between exploding
rockets and crashing “X”. how long will Musk be the richest man in the
world?) As
President Joe and Dictator Xi wrap up their meetings in San Francisco, Tik
Tok wins support for matching up a kidney patient with a donor (but censure
for hosting the latest college student fad: posting ove letters to America
hating Osame Bin Laden.) Marches and
rallies (but little violence) escalate among both rich, white, guilt-tripping
pro-Hamas college stundent and partisan pro-Israeli opponents. |
|
|
Sunday, November 19, 2023 Dow: Closed |
Former First Lady Roslyn Cartier dies at
96. Tributes pour in.
Hamas claims that the civilian death toll is now over 12,000, Israel says as many as 3,000 of them are
Hamas terrorists. More rockets rain down
on Tel Aviv and Gaza City.
With a failing economy, PM Xi agrees to stop shipping fentanyl to the
USA, as shoppers venture out to snap up holiday bargains.
Sunday talksters debate the MidEast War (Ukraine suffering from
compassion fatigue)., Biden advisor
Jon Finer differentiates between a humanitarian pause (good, especially if
the good guys get hostages out; bad because it allows Hamas to keep on
keeping on).
Media star, Adm. Mike Mullen contends that only military strength will
deter Russian and China imperialism in Ukraine or Taiwan... ordering “Get
ready for War!
|
|
|
A
drop in the inflation rate – fueled by fuel prices – and concomitant rise in
the Dow pushed the Don into the black for the week, and even closer to parity
with its origins more than ten years ago.
The death of Roslyn Carter inspired, or provoked, nostalgia but it has
been long anticipated and of import only in her message and comparisons to
First Ladies of more recent vintage. Thursday is Thanksgiving, so we’ll try to
tilt the Lesson towards positive things Don Jones can give thanks for in
2022-3 unless, of course, some new disaster strikes. |
|
|
|
CHART of CATEGORIES
w/VALUE ADDED to EQUAL BASELINE of 15,000 (REFLECTING…
approximately… DOW JONES INDEX of June 27, 2013) See a further explanation
of categories here… Get thestreet.com for restaurant
bnnkruptcies ECONOMIC INDICES (60%)
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SOCIAL
INDICES (40%) |
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|
ACTS of MAN |
12% |
|
|
1506 |
|||||||
|
World Affairs |
3% |
450 |
10/9/23 |
-0.3% |
11/27/23 |
451.19 |
449,84 |
Icelandic
volcanoes erupt in Grindona (Grindlwold?
Griffindow?) Choices in Argentine elections called “dismal” and a
far-right (libertarian, not necessarily
neo-Nazi wins). In Brazil, Taylor
Swift cancels concerts after fan dies in record 130° (some say 140°) heat
wave. |
|||
|
War and terrorism |
2% |
300 |
11/13/23 |
-0.3% |
11/27/23 |
287.07 |
286.21 |
Anti-Israel,
anti-American sentiment grows after the death of three Palestinian infants in
shutdown. Hostage negotiations stall
as Israeli defense ministry and Knesset pretend to be dysfunctional American
partisans – youngest (10) remains somewhere.
Jewish cemetery vandalized in Cleveland. Yemen joins the war, as Lebanon, Iran anda
the West Bank escalate attacks. |
|||
|
Politics |
3% |
450 |
11/13/23 |
-0.2% |
11/27/23 |
480.44 |
479.48 |
RIP
Roslyn Carter. Tributes pour in. Sydney
Powell, ratting out Trump, says he wanted to seize control of the 2020
voting machines and declare himself re-elected. Don Junior calls Trump properties
“spectacular and sexy” and compares
Mar-a-Lago to a castle and SCOTUS rules him back on the ballot in four of the
five contested states. President Joe
and Dictator Xi agree that fentanyl is bad, disagree on Taiwan, No mention of 24,000 Chinese emigrants
swarming the border into America due to its failing economy. As Punday sundits call a Trump v Biden rematch “baked in”, Tim Scott drops
out, leaving five challgengers to The Donald... Trump-hater Chris Christie (5th
and last in polling) calling for all the “unserious” candidates to just go
away. Like... uh... |
|||
|
Economics |
3% |
450 |
11/13/23 |
+0.4% |
11/27/23 |
427,88 |
429.59 |
Inflation
report released show drop from 3.7 to 3.3 percent with correlating drops in
the mortgage rate and rise in the stock market. Ford and GM re-settle their unsettled settlements,
but failed settlement prompts Stellantis to offer buyouts to workers. More big corporations pull ads from X to
protest Elon Musk’s Nazi posts. |
|||
|
Crime |
1% |
150 |
11/13/23 |
-0.2% |
11/27/23 |
245.76 |
245.27 |
Lunatic terminated
at New Hampshire mental hospital attack.
Children commit crimes (and are
committed upon): youth gang shootings continue, 6 year old dies after
neighbor beats him with a baseball
bat in Texas, pervo priest in Ohio gets life for
molesting boys. Wisconsin worries
include a viral false arrest at a Kenosha Applebee’s and a mad neo-Nazi
protest in Madison. |
|||
|
ACTS of GOD |
(6%) |
|
|
||||||||
|
Environment/Weather |
3% |
450 |
11/13/23 |
-0.1% |
11/27/23 |
397.80 |
397.40 |
NYC
AyGee Letitia James takes time off from Trump trial to sue his beloved Diet
Pepsi for its plastic bottles that pollute the MAGAsphere. Foodies mourn record Mississippi/Louisiana drought killing
crawfish. |
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|
Disasters |
3% |
450 |
11/13/23 |
-0.4% |
11/27/23 |
421.71 |
420.02 |
Massive
Icelandic volcano feared as ending the world.
Copter crash that killed five soldiers off Cyprus ruled not terrorism. Downtown LA freeway fire stalls traffic,
called arson. Six die in Ohio schoolbus/truck crash. |
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|
LIFESTYLE/JUSTICE INDEX |
(15%) |
|
|
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|
Science, Tech, Educ. |
4% |
600 |
11/13/23 |
-0.3% |
11/27/23 |
641.14 |
639.22 |
Clumsy
NASAstronaut drops tool kit that will wander round space for centuries until
it plunges to Earth and burns up.
Clumsy Space X rocket blows up on takeoff making for a dismal week for
Musk. |
|||
|
Equality (econ/social) |
4% |
600 |
11/13/23 |
+0.1% |
11/27/23 |
636.18 |
636.82 |
USA
team’s Emma Harper becomes highest paid soccer coach. Mexico’s first ever “non binary” judge
found dead. Homophobia? |
|||
|
Health |
4% |
600 |
11/13/23 |
+0.3% |
11/27/23 |
471.55 |
472,97 |
Daring
doctors say obesity causes heart attacks.
Really?? Mystery illness
strikes coughing dogs. Human docs and
vaxxers hail thousands of new doses on the way to fight RSV in infants. CDC says flu is up, plague down. TV docs claim Colorado magic mushroom
therapy will cure depression (unless Federal forces show up at the
door). |
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|
Freedom and Justice |
3% |
450 |
11/13/23 |
+0.3% |
11/27/23 |
470.10 |
471.51 |
SCOTUS conjures
up a Code of Conduct lacking one key element: enforcement mechanisms while
overturning a Florida law on drag shows..
Last two prison escapees caught in Pa. – last to be nabbed: the
murderer. Sean Puffy Combs is accused
of rape, settles case for unknown amount of money. Yoga killer in Texas gets 90 years for
dispatching romantic rival. |
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|
MISCELLANEOUS and TRANSIENT INDEX |
(7%) |
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
Cultural incidents |
3% |
450 |
11/13/23 |
+0.4% |
11/27/23 |
510.60 |
512.64 |
Strike’s
over so the big hits (producers hope) are rolling out. This week, it’s Hunger Games Two which
features Songbirds and Snakes.
Nicaraguan wins the Miss Universe crown. Dolly Parton releases her rock and roll
album with Sir Paul and Ringo. Kelcey
brothers will duel in Superbowl rematch tonight. Mom divided. Brand spanking new Vegas Formula One Track
opens with ignominious complications and crashes. |
|||
|
Misc. incidents |
4% |
450 |
11/13/23 |
+0.5% |
11/27/23 |
489.13 |
491.58 |
Titanic menu
sells for only $100,000. Bargain! In
happy news: Jeremy Renner is up, walking and dancing 10 months after
snowmobile accident... Baylor fan sinks 96’ full court basket... loyal dog
remains by corpse of Colorado hiker for two months until rescued. (More next Lesson!) As of Saturday, retailing are calling all
of November and most of December “Black Friday” and peddling merch to the
government as will. RIP: Roslyn (of
course), also Blitz the blood donor dog whose precious bodily fluids saved 60
fellow canines. |
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The Don Jones Index for the week of November 13th through November 19th,
2023 was UP 17.06 points
The Don Jones
Index is sponsored by the Coalition for a New Consensus: retired Congressman
and Independent Presidential candidate Jack “Catfish” Parnell, Chairman; Brian
Doohan, Administrator. The CNC denies,
emphatically, allegations that the organization, as well as any of its officers
(including former Congressman Parnell, environmentalist/America-Firster Austin
Tillerman and cosmetics CEO Rayna Finch) and references to Parnell’s works,
“Entropy and Renaissance” and “The Coming Kill-Off” are fictitious or, at best,
mere pawns in the web-serial “Black Helicopters” – and promise swift, effective
legal action against parties promulgating this and/or other such slanders.
Comments,
complaints, donations (especially SUPERPAC donations) always welcome at feedme@generisis.com or: speak@donjonesindex.com.
ATTACHMENT ONE – From the Washington Post
A government shutdown looms again. Here’s what would happen.
By Jacob Bogage November 14,
2023 at 5:00 a.m. EST
The United States is days away
from a government shutdown if Congress cannot pass legislation to extend
federal funding. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has proposed a novel and
uncertain path to keep the government operating so legions of federal employees
aren’t left without pay just before the Thanksgiving holiday.
Congress narrowly dodged a
government shutdown in September, but Johnson, who has been speaker for less
than a month, is running into the same problems his predecessor faced. Here’s
what you need to know about the brewing fight on Capitol Hill.
Live updates: House to vote on GOP plan to avert
government shutdown
WHAT TO KNOW
·
What will happen if the government shuts down?
·
What date would the government shut down?
·
Why is the government about to shut down again?
·
What are Republicans proposing to avert a shutdown?
·
What are the next steps ahead of the government shutdown deadline?
·
Who would be affected by a shutdown?
What will
happen if the government shuts down?
The government shuts down when
Congress has not approved funds for operations for federal agencies. When that
happens, certain federal workers — mostly those involved in national security
or vital economic activity — continue working unpaid. Other government workers
are furloughed until their agencies reopen. Members of Congress continue to get
their paychecks.
What date
would the government shut down?
The government would shut down on
Saturday, Nov. 18, at 12:01 a.m.
Why is the
government about to shut down again?
When Congress averted a shutdown in late
September, lawmakers
extended funding only up to this weekend, passing a bill known as a continuing
resolution, or CR, to keep spending at last year’s levels up to the new
deadline.
But the overall impasse mostly
dates to a deal struck between President Biden
and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in late spring to raise the
federal debt ceiling, the amount of money the United
States can borrow to pay for spending that Congress has already required.
The hard-right flank of the House
thought McCarthy agreed to spending levels that were too generous — about $1.6
trillion — and demanded that McCarthy abandon the deal and enact sharper budget
cuts. They stood in the way of a new CR in September and forced the country to
the brink of a shutdown, until McCarthy passed a short-term extension anyway
with help from Democrats.
In response, a band of eight GOP
hard-liners ousted McCarthy from the speakership. After three weeks of limbo in
which other candidates failed to secure enough votes, Johnson, a relative leadership
novice, was elected speaker.
But now he finds himself in a situation similar to the one that doomed
McCarthy: The same group of archconservatives oppose any CR without steep
spending cuts. And those members say they are willing to drive the country into
a government shutdown to cut the budget.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E.
Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday that Johnson’s proposal was “promising,” a major
vote of confidence for the bill if it can pass the lower chamber.
The shortest and longest government shutdowns in U.S.
history
What are
Republicans proposing to avert a shutdown?
Johnson has proposed a two-tiered,
or “laddered,” stopgap bill to keep the federal government funded. This CR
would fund certain federal agencies and programs until two different deadlines.
On Jan. 19, funding would expire
for military and veterans programs, agriculture and food agencies, and the
departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. And on Feb. 2,
it would expire for the State, Defense, Commerce, Labor, and Health and Human
Services departments, among others.
Those deadlines in theory provide
the House and Senate time to negotiate a full year’s worth of spending bills,
though the two chambers are nowhere near an agreement. But it could also create
two more financial cliffs that lead to partial government shutdowns.
What are the
next steps ahead of the government shutdown deadline?
Congress must vote to approve
funding for federal agencies, or the government will shut down after midnight
Saturday. The House on Tuesday is set to take up its “laddered” funding bill.
If it passes, the Senate will probably vote on it later this week. And if the
Senate approves the bill, it will go to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
Who would be
affected by a shutdown?
Government shutdowns affect most federal workers.
Hundreds of thousands of them could be sent home unpaid, while those who are
excepted from the shutdown — such as employees in public safety — continue to
work, but unpaid. (Once the shutdown ends, workers are compensated in full for
their missed paychecks.)
See where federal workers live in the U.S.
Postal Service operations will
continue because the agency is largely self-funded through the sale of postage
products. Social Security recipients will continue to receive payments, which
aren’t funded through annual appropriations.
Other impacts can include missed
food-stamp payments and disruptions to environmental and food inspections. If
the shutdown continues long enough, it could also affect the broader economy.
How would a
government shutdown affect holiday travel?
The busy Thanksgiving travel week
starts just after the deadline to keep the government open. While
Transportation Security Administration workers and air traffic controllers
would stay on the job unpaid during a shutdown, wait times for airports could
still get longer — past shutdowns saw more absent workers than normal, and air
travel delays helped push lawmakers and the Trump administration to settle the
last shutdown. Car travel shouldn’t be affected much by a shutdown, if it
happens, unless more people opt to drive rather than fly to avoid potential
flight delays.
Read more
about how a government shutdown could
affect Thanksgiving travel.
When was the
last government shutdown?
The last government shutdown lasted 34
days from
December 2018 into January 2019. President Donald Trump wanted funding for a wall
along the U.S.-Mexico border, but Democrats, who took control of the House
during the shutdown, wanted to fund the government temporarily with no strings
attached. Congress resolved the dispute by passing a three-week continuing
resolution to reopen the government while debate on a border wall continued. It
was the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
Government
shutdown: What to know
The latest: The House is
expected to vote Tuesday on a bill to avoid a government shutdown on Saturday.
That plan would fund some departments through mid-January and the rest through
early February. Follow live updates.
What would be affected in a
shutdown? When funding lapses, many government workers are furloughed
until their agencies reopen. Certain federal workers — mostly those involved in
national security or vital economic activity — continue working unpaid. Our
roundup details what would happen in a shutdown.
History of shutdowns: Which president had the most shutdowns? Here’s a look at the shortest and longest government shutdowns in U.S. history.
ATTACHMENT TWO – From
FROM
THE HILL
Thanksgiving shutdown sets up nightmare scenario for travels
BY TAYLOR
GIORNO -
11/27/23 6:00 AM ET
The government is days away from a
Nov. 18 shutdown, which could force Transportation Security Administration
(TSA) employees and federal air traffic controllers to work without pay just as
the busy Thanksgiving travel season begins.
Around 4.7 million people are
expected to fly over the five-day period surrounding Thanksgiving, the highest
projection in nearly two decades, according to a forecast released Monday by AAA.
These are the
busiest travel days of the year and could coincide with a government shutdown unless
Congress comes together on a deal in the next few days. Absent some kind of new
funding bill, the government would shut down Saturday.
Travel industry officials and
advocates are amping up their warnings, saying the nation risks a messy travel
season if lawmakers are unable to reach a deal.
“We are quickly approaching what
is forecasted to be the busiest travel period since before the pandemic, and
it’s critical that policymakers work together to avoid a shutdown and support
continued, safe, and efficient airport operations,” Kevin M. Burke, president
and CEO of the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA), told The
Hill.
More than 50,000 TSA officers and
13,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controllers would
continue to work without pay until the government is funded.
The TSA workers are among the
lowest paid in the government, however, and during the last shutdown, in 2019,
large numbers called in sick weeks into the shutdown,
when they’d miss pay. That pressure was credited in part with ending that
standoff in Congress.
TSA workers are expected to get
their next paycheck just as the shutdown begins, which could alleviate some
stress in the near term over Thanksgiving, at least.
The Biden
administration warned ahead of the last
near-shutdown, at the end of September, that it could cause delays and longer
wait times at America’s airports.
“Previous shutdowns have affected
every function of aviation and air travel and have specifically harmed regional
airports and put a strain on air traffic controllers nationwide,” Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.),
co-chair of Travel and Tourism Caucus and ranking member of the Commerce,
Science and Transportation aviation safety subcommittee, told The Hill.
Here’s how a shutdown could affect
the nation’s airports.
Longer
screening times
Airports and the TSA have gotten
busier and busier since the end of the coronavirus pandemic.
The TSA screens on average 2.5
million passengers each day, a figure that surpasses pre-pandemic travel
totals.
While the TSA will have airports
staffed for the Thanksgiving season regardless of whether there’s a shutdown,
it’s possible the number of workers showing up to screen travelers will fall
the longer they are going without pay.
“Because fewer workers are on the
job during a shutdown, TSA security lines could be longer, or there could be
flight delays due to fewer air traffic controllers. If you’re flying during a
shutdown, arrive at the airport extra early,” Paula Twidale, senior vice
president of AAA Travel, told The Hill.
The Denver International Airport,
ranked the third-busiest airport in North America for passenger travel in 2022
by the ACI-NA, estimates approximately 500,000 passengers will pass through TSA
checkpoints from Nov. 18-25, said Stephanie Figueroa, a public information
officer at the airport.
While Figueroa stressed it’s still
too far out to have firm figures, she said the airport relies on federal agency
partners including the capacity of TSA officers and air traffic controllers to
keep those passengers moving smoothly.
“The prior shutdown did result in
traveler frustration, with passengers forced to endure increased wait times and
travel delays at many airports, especially as the shutdown continued for an
extended time,” Figueroa said.
Personnel “will do their best to meet
wait time standards of 10 minutes and under for TSA PreCheck lanes and 30
minutes and under for standard screening lanes at security checkpoints,” a TSA
spokesperson told The Hill.
“An extended shutdown could mean
longer wait times at airports.”
The last government shutdown
spanned 35 days, from Dec. 22, 2018, through Jan. 25, 2019, and was the longest
in American history.
During the shutdown, the national
rate of airport screener absences more than tripled from 3 percent to 10
percent, according to a September 2023 analysis by Tourism Economics.
TSA officer call-outs increased by
200 percent to 300 percent at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport,
ranked the second-busiest airport for North American passenger travel by AIC-NA
in 2022, the analysis found.
“It’s very hard for anybody to go
for 20 days, 30 days, 40 days or longer without receiving a paycheck. It impacts
the ability of people to get to work, to pay to put gas in their vehicles, to
pay for parking. It impacts their ability to pay the individuals that provide
care for their children,” the TSA spokesperson said.
Delays and
cancellations
Once passengers make it past
security, air traffic controller shortages mean more flights may get delayed or
canceled.
The U.S. is already experiencing a
shortage of air traffic controllers, in part due to a training backlog created
by COVID. To close the gap, the FAA said it has hired 1,500 controllers this
year and plans to hire an additional 1,800 next year.
A government shutdown would pause
hiring, training and technology upgrades. Certain “safety-critical” workers
including air traffic controllers, technicians and safety inspectors would keep
working, although they wouldn’t be paid until the government reopens.
“Even though the FAA would carry
out its mission, a government shutdown would set the agency back on critical efforts,”
an FAA spokesperson told The Hill. “Even a shutdown for a week would set the
agency back a month.”
With air traffic controller ranks
already down, it could take longer for flights to get off the ground — if they
do at all — if those employees start calling out.
Flight cancellations ticked up to
2.86 percent in January 2019 from 1.14 percent in December 2018 and 1.07 in the
preceding month, according to Bureau of Transportation Statistics
data. The
percentage of outbound delayed flights was actually below the annual average
for both years.
“Critical functions at the FAA can
be suspended during a shutdown, causing significant issues for aircraft
manufacturers and regional airports, and — importantly — passengers needing to
get to their next destination quickly and safely,” Moran said.
The economic
impact
Travel advocates urged lawmakers
to avoid hamstringing the industry during the busy holiday season.
“Travelers, especially heading
into a peak travel season, need certainty that operations will continue without
the interruption or added hassles that a government shutdown could surely
create,” Tori Emerson Barnes, executive vice president of public affairs and
policy at the U.S. Travel Association, told The Hill.
“A completely avoidable shutdown
threatens a steep economic toll on the U.S. travel economy,” Barnes added.
Overall, a shutdown could cost the
travel industry and broader economy as much as $140 million per day, according
to the Tourism Economics analysis. That forecast includes declines in air, rail
and government-related business travel and the closure of attractions including
national parks and museums.
Around $36 million of that total
would hit the air travel industry each day.
“Commercial aviation plays a vital
role in the American economy, supporting 5% of the U.S. GDP and more than 10
million jobs. Failure to adequately fund the FAA and TSA risks our ability to
function efficiently and is not conducive to the growth and vitality of our
airspace,” Marli Collier, a spokesperson for Airlines for America, told The
Hill.
Updated at 7:29 a.m. ET
ATTACHMENT THREE – From
POLITICO
Reed:
Congress needs to avoid a shutdown, then focus on Ukraine, Israel
Keeping the government open is
“not a question of preference, it’s a question of necessity,” the Senate Armed
Services chair said.
By MATT BERG
11/14/2023 01:12 PM EST
Congress must first focus on
avoiding a government shutdown before it can consider sending more assistance
to Israel and Ukraine, Sen. Jack Reed said on Tuesday.
“The first priority is to get the CR,”
Reed (D-R.I.) said during the POLITICO Defense Summit, using an abbreviation
for the continuing resolution, which keeps the government operating under the
previous year’s levels. “The second priority is to get funding for Israel and
Ukraine … we have to do both.”
The chair of the Senate Armed
Services Committee stated his support for keeping the government open just
as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he and the White House
are on board with the House’s CR. Speaker Mike Johnson has pushed
a plan to avert a shutdown that has two deadlines after
the first of the year. The measure does not include funding for Ukraine or
Israel, however.
Keeping the government open is
“not a question of preference, it’s a question of necessity,” Reed said.
He further expressed support for a
supplemental that ties aid to Israel and Ukraine together, which President Joe
Biden requested in a $106 billion package in October.
It’s widely expected that Johnson
will not move a Ukraine funding package, despite saying publicly since he took
the gavel that he would “bifurcate” Israel and Ukraine aid.
As Israel’s fight against the
Hamas militant group continued with no end in sight, the chair of the Senate
Armed Services Committee emphasized the need for Israel to have a “very precise
use of weapons” to minimize civilian harm — warning of the repercussions if the
civilian death toll continues to skyrocket in Gaza.
“Ultimately, they’re going to have
to separate Hamas from the Palestinian people. If they do not do that, Hamas
will transform into something else,” Reed said.
He said he has seen “modest steps”
on Israel’s part to minimize civilian casualties, but that the U.S. is
continuously reminding the country to conduct itself “according to the rules of
war.”
ATTACHMENT FOUR – From
REUTERS
US House to vote on spending bill to avert government shutdown
By David Morgan and Moira Warburton
November 14, 2023 4:38 PM ESTUpdated 24 min ago
WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) -
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson will brave opposition from fellow Republicans
and rely on Democratic votes on Tuesday in a risky tactic to avert a government
shutdown.
The House has scheduled an
afternoon vote on a stopgap spending bill that would extend government funding
beyond Nov. 17, when it is due to run out.
Facing opposition from some
right-wing Republicans, House Speaker Mike Johnson has opted to bring the bill
up directly for a vote on the House floor. That allows him to avoid a potential
procedural roadblock but requires a two-thirds vote for passage — meaning
Democratic support will be needed.
"Getting us beyond the
shutdown and making sure that government stays in operation is a matter of
conscience for all of us," he told a press conference.
To avert a fourth shutdown in a decade,
the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-led Senate must agree on
spending legislation that President Joe Biden can sign into law before current
funding for federal agencies expires on Friday.
Democratic House leaders said on
Tuesday afternoon they would support Johnson's plan, saying they are pleased
that the legislation does not include deep spending cuts or controversial
policies on abortion or other hot-button social issues.
But that comes at the cost of some
Republican support. Representative Kevin Hern, who heads a group of
conservative Republicans, estimated 30 to 40 of them could vote against it.
Congress is in its third fiscal
standoff this year, following a months-long spring impasse over the
more-than-$31 trillion in U.S. debt, which brought the federal government to
the brink of default.
The ongoing partisan gridlock led Moody's on Friday
to lower its credit rating outlook on the U.S. to
"negative" from "stable," as it noted that high interest
rates would continue to drive borrowing costs higher.
Johnson had little senior
congressional leadership experience before being chosen speaker less than three
weeks ago.
With a slim 221-213 majority, he
can afford to lose no more than three Republican votes on legislation that
Democrats oppose.
"When you have a small
majority, it requires some things are going to have to be bipartisan,"
Johnson said.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck
Schumer said he hoped the House would pass the bill and send it to his chamber,
where he said he was working with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to
move it as quickly as possible.
"If this can avoid a shutdown
it would be a good thing," he told a press conference.
McConnell also said he supported
the bill.
Johnson's bill would extend funding
for military construction, veterans benefits, transportation, housing, urban
development, agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and energy and water
programs through Jan. 19. Funding for all other federal operations - including
defense - would expire on Feb. 2.
Johnson's political strategy
echoes the approach taken by his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, who relied on
Democratic votes to pass a stopgap spending bill on Oct 1. That angered some
Republicans, who forced him out of his job a few days later.
Republicans say the new speaker is
unlikely to suffer the same fate as McCarthy. But hardliners have been quick to
see the parallel.
"Here we are. We're doing the
same thing," Representative Chip Roy told reporters.
ATTACHMENT FIVE – From
WashPost
New Speaker Mike Johnson faces first test as government shutdown looms
Johnson must
wrangle his fractious GOP conference as Congress tries to reach a short-term
spending deal
and
November 13, 2023 at 5:00 a.m. EST
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) spent
his first two weeks atop the House Republican leadership rung rarely opining
and instead just listening.
In his first meeting with one of
the conference’s five ideological factions, Johnson listened as the House
Freedom Caucus passionately argued to curb spending, prioritize
national security in upcoming fiscal fights and temporarily set two deadlines
to fund the government into early next year.
Days later, moderate Republicans
implored Johnson to avoid making swing-district lawmakers take tough votes or
face an embarrassing defeat when they revolted on the House floor. He then
listened as appropriators — tasked with assigning how federal funds are spent
each year — pleaded that he avoid a government shutdown by ignoring the
two-tier proposal and instead passing a clean extension of current funding
levels, arguing that the hard right would probably vote against any
short-term measure.
After attending three meetings
with Johnson, Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) eventually blurted out: “What do you want?”
Joyce and the Republican
conference got their answer Saturday. Johnson ultimately decided to move forward with a stopgap funding
proposal meant
to appease the hard right while trying not to alienate the centrists. The
result was a two-tiered funding schedule that does not include other demands
from across the GOP conference, like steep budget cuts, a border security
proposal and funding for Israel or Ukraine.
Instead of appeasing just one
ideological faction, the proposal has angered the hard right, puzzled the
middle and was mocked by the White House. But it may attract enough support,
including from Democrats in the House and Senate, to land on the president’s
desk this week.
How Johnson handles the threat of
a government shutdown at the end of the week is his first major test
and will set the stage for the rest of his speakership.
He faces the herculean task of
uniting an ideologically fractious conference that has been pulled further
apart after a contentious speakership fight that exposed and strengthened
lingering resentments, policy differences and doubt that Republicans can
ever find consensus again. Johnson has never served in a highly placed
leadership role that would have forced him to know a broad swath of the
conference, and he has stepped into the fray at a time when a leader is
critical not only to the functioning of American government but also to
decisions related to aiding foreign democracies.
What happens during a government
shutdown
2:31
Washington Post senior political
reporter Rhonda Colvin breaks down what a government shutdown is and how the
timing now could hurt the economy. (Video: Rhonda Colvin, Lindsey Sitz/The
Washington Post, Photo: Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)
Of the approximately two dozen
Republican lawmakers and aides interviewed by The Washington Post — many of
whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about internal party
discussions — a significant number acknowledged granting Johnson a “grace period”
to find his footing in a job that very few would ever want. But how he manages
the demands from across the conference could abruptly end the honeymoon period
as soon as this week.
“People want to give Mike grace to
be able to move forward. But at the end of the day, we have a job and the clock
is ticking. You’re storming the beaches of Normandy and somebody goes down, you
don’t sit around and form a committee,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) said about
Johnson’s approach to listening and incorporating requests. “Time is ticking
and we got to go get it done.”
For Roy, who is a member of the
Freedom Caucus, that grace period has ended. He announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he will
oppose the stopgap funding bill because it’s “clean.”
After weeks of listening, Johnson
decided to marry the two major requests of the hard right and pragmatic
factions by extending existing funding levels for some government agencies
into mid-January and the others until early February. If adopted, the plan
would force the House and Senate to find compromise on their full-year
appropriation bills to fund the government for the 2024 fiscal year before
those deadlines.
Johnson’s choice on stopgap
funding comes after he already shepherded House passage of a $14 billion aid
package to Israel by reallocating funds already appropriated to the Internal
Revenue Service — a decision many Republicans lauded him for.
But hard-right members immediately
rejected the short-term funding plan over the weekend, frustrated that it
doesn’t include border policy provisions, spending cuts or funding for
Israel. There is also widespread recognition from lawmakers and senior aides
that it will need Democratic votes to pass.
When asked last week whether he
would support a staggered continuing resolution, or CR, with no other policy
riders attached to it, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called
the idea “ridiculous.”
But now that the plan is official
and a shutdown looms, Democrats are signaling an openness to the idea by not
broadly criticizing it. A senior House Democratic aide said leadership is
“still discussing” how to approach the measure. They appreciate that there are
no conservative poison pills attached but think the staggered approach is
overly complicated. Democrats also worry that they could lose their leverage to
pass emergency funding for Ukraine and Israel.
The lack of spending cuts and
decision to fund the Defense Department until February have also appeased some
Senate Democrats who were wary of the two-tier approach. Democrats historically
fear that Republicans would be willing to shut down the entire government if
defense funding is complete. This proposal keeps defense funding on the table
to provide incentive to fund the rest of the government.
“It’s a good thing the Speaker didn’t include
unnecessary cuts and kept defense funding with the second group of programs,” a
Senate Democratic leadership aide said.
Besides averting a government
shutdown, Johnson also must overcome deep policy disputes to finish passing
full-year funding bills and approve must-address reauthorizations touching
farming and federal aviation before year’s end. Meanwhile, he has to navigate
waning support for Ukraine aid while managing ongoing demands for the passage
of a border security bill.
“This will be a very heavy lift and
Johnson will need to expand tons of political capital,” one House Republican
lawmaker said of Johnson’s attempt to pass the stopgap bill. “Maybe he gets
there in this honeymoon phase.”
House GOP
tensions linger during fiscal debate
Several Republican lawmakers noted
that unlike former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was ousted after passing a short-term funding bill
that relied on Democratic support, Johnson is starting the job without any
enemies — in part because many members do not know him outside of his
reputation as a policy-driven and religious conservative. Though Johnson’s lack
of intraparty controversy and personal vendettas is part of why Republicans
unanimously supported him for speaker, he faces a trust deficit among some
pragmatic lawmakers, who believe McCarthy earned their fealty by helping them
get elected and ensuring they return.
Johnson has the most to prove with
governing-minded Republicans as he has been largely embraced by the hard-right
faction, a group he has aligned himself with since being elected to Congress in
2016. Though McCarthy incorporated members of the Freedom Caucus into weekly
meetings — unlike his GOP predecessors — lawmakers within the group were struck
by Johnson’s decision to meet with them first only days after becoming speaker.
“I’m really, really pleased to see
that he is being so inclusive, specifically with the Freedom Caucus,” said Rep.
Matthew M. Rosendale (R-Mont.), who was one of eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy
as speaker last month.
Johnson earned praise for his
earlier decision to pair aid for Israel with rescinding
Democratic-approved funds to hire more IRS employees. Doing so is projected to
add to the deficit, but Republicans celebrated it as a show of unity since it
paired the desire of many to help a foreign ally while assuaging fiscal
conservatives’ concerns.
“He really has done a good job of
threading the needle between sort of the traditional Republican world and the
‘America First’ Trump world. He’s pretty unique in that he speaks both dialects
fluently,” said Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.), one of Johnson’s few close allies
in the House.
But others are not convinced yet,
fearing Johnson may be giving lip service to all factions ahead of making
decisions that will result in broken promises. Some Republicans have taken
his tendency to seek overwhelming input as his — or any Republican in his
position’s — inability to successfully weave concerns into a solution that does
not ultimately irk the hard-right flank.
“Johnson is allowing the inmates
to run the asylum,” one senior GOP leadership aide said.
Before Johnson made his decision
on a proposal to avert a government shutdown, many governing-minded Republicans
said that he should ultimately support passage of a clean funding extension
until January that possibly tacks on Israel aid, because members of the Freedom
Caucus would not move to oust him immediately if he did. While several Freedom
Caucus members said they would not make a motion to vacate Johnson from
the speakership, several privately admitted a decision to pass a clean funding
extension — ostensibly with the help of Democrats — would start to test their
patience.
Johnson will have to continue
reassuring both factions of the conference as he moves ahead on tackling
must-address issues.
He had been telegraphing to
pragmatic lawmakers in private conversations that he does not support a
government shutdown and wants to fund aid to Israel and Ukraine through
offsets, a position that fiscal conservatives across the conference support. In
one conversation with a vulnerable Republican, Johnson assured them he could
not allow the government to shut down because he could not bear running into
military service members at his local grocery store and knowing they are not
getting paid.
During a luncheon with the
centrist Republican Governance Group, several lawmakers asked him to avoid
making them vote on abortion-related issues because it could
hurt their reelection chances, according to four people present. In response,
Johnson said he had met earlier with several antiabortion groups and told
them not to expect the GOP majority to pass a federal abortion ban or similar
measures because vulnerable Republicans could not handle the political
implications. He also noted that a federal abortion bill would not pass a
Democratic Senate, according to a person in the room.
Some Republicans left the
gathering concerned that Johnson had suggested siding with the base on other
issues, particularly on how to navigate the looming funding deadline. Most,
however, are taking him at his word.
“Why wouldn’t I trust him? I don’t
have any other reason not to,” Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (Ore.), a vulnerable
Republican incumbent, said after attending the meeting. “So I’m giving the new
speaker the benefit of the doubt. If that’s what he says, that’s what I’m going
to go off of unless he proves differently.”
Other moderate Republicans have
described their group as “free agents” now since their loyalty to McCarthy
had forced them to take tough votes for the sake of party unity. They made
clear to Johnson that they will vote against controversial bills more often,
especially if he puts issues on the House floor that go against the desires of
their constituents.
“The reality is to get his job
done and function, he’s going to need a bunch of us. And that’s something that
I think he understands, and something he’s got to figure out,” said Rep. David
G. Valadao, who represents a swing-district in California.
The demands from across the
conference have already tested Johnson. Since ascending to the speakership, he
has had to pull consideration of a bill funding the transportation and housing
departments for a full year because New York Republicans are protesting a deep
slash to Amtrak funding while the Freedom Caucus is pushing for those cuts.
Eight swing-district Republicans were planning to vote against the financial services appropriation
bill because it
would have rolled back a law in Washington, D.C., that forbids discrimination
against women based on reproductive decisions they make. Republican leaders
ultimately delayed consideration of that bill because hard-right lawmakers were
also set to vote against it after an amendment by Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-Fla.) to
strip funding for the new FBI headquarters was not adopted.
Overcoming those contentious
policy differences ahead of the next fiscal deadline if Congress extends it
into the new year is just part of the struggle that Johnson and the GOP
leadership team must overcome. Failure to do so, several Republican lawmakers
mused, could cost them their majority in 2024.
“I don’t think the Lord Jesus
himself could manage this group,” Rep. Troy E. Nehls (R-Tex.) said as his cigar
burned outside the Capitol. “I tell you, we keep it up, we won’t keep the
House.”
ATTACHMENT SIX – From
CNN
Mike Johnson adds an interesting twist to the familiar government
shutdown plotline
Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf, CNN
Published 4:28 PM EST, Mon
November 13, 2023
Is this deja vu or something new?
The broad outlines of the
government spending fight as it stands in November are the same as they were in
October.
►A deadline
looms. Funding expires after Friday, November 17, and lawmakers do not
have a definitive plan to pass a stopgap government funding bill.
►The House speaker is
suggesting a temporary fix. But he is not insisting on spending cuts in
this particular stopgap bill.
►Republicans are split,
again. A faction of right-wing Republicans already opposes the
direction their leaders are heading. Read more from CNN’s Lauren Fox.
►Democrats will be needed to
make a majority. Averting a partial government shutdown will again require
the votes of Democrats voting with Republicans.
But while a similar brew of
factors cost former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy his job a little more than a
month ago, there are some important differences that mean McCarthy’s
replacement, Mike Johnson, may be on course to avoid a partial government
shutdown with relatively little drama, at least for now.
The first is that Johnson, not
McCarthy, is doing the negotiating. Still relatively unknown outside of Capitol
Hill, Johnson appears to have enough credibility with the right-wing of the
party. Anti-spending lawmakers are publicly opposing his approach but not
currently threatening his position.
The second important detail is
that Johnson has proposed a twist, which he’s calling the “laddered approach.”
Rather than a single bill for all
government funding, he is suggesting a two-pronged approach that would fund some of the
government – military construction, Veterans Affairs, transportation, housing
and the Energy Department – until January 19 and the rest of the government
until February 2.
A separate request from the White
House for additional military support for Israel and Ukraine is not addressed.
“The bill will stop the absurd
holiday-season omnibus tradition of massive, loaded up spending bills
introduced right before the Christmas recess,” Johnson said in a statement
Saturday, in which he also argued the delay would better position Republicans
to fight for spending cuts next year.
The White House initially blasted
the approach because it would avert what has traditionally become an
end-of-year blitz to pass a government funding bill and instead creates the
likelihood of a drawn out spending fight early next year.
But speaking to reporters in the
Oval Office on Monday, President Joe Biden was noncommittal.
“We’ll see what happens,” Biden
said, noting that negotiations were happening on Capitol Hill.
“I’m not going to make a judgment
what I’d veto, what I’d sign,” Biden said. “Let’s wait and see what they come up
with.”
CNN’s Manu Raju reported Monday
that Senate Democrats have also been noncommittal but have shown more
openness to Johnson’s approach, perhaps marveling that it does not include
spending cuts prized by Republicans.
Pick the phrase you’d like to qualify
that optimism about the current trajectory. The devil is in the details, which
we’re still learning. Time will tell, and time is running short.
A procedural vote Tuesday will
identify how many Democrats Johnson will need to pass his version of the bill.
CNN has identified eight House Republicans currently opposed to Johnson’s
laddered approach, and he can only afford to lose four. If Johnson opts to pass
the bill without a majority built only of Republicans, it would require a large
number of Democrats to set aside House rules.
Regardless, the idea that
lawmakers could avert a spending fight crammed into the end of the year is
unfamiliar, even if the prospect of continuing the spending standoff on repeat
early next year is not appetizing to Democrats.
ATTACHMENT SEVEN – From
ABC
With GOP opposition, Speaker Mike Johnson would need Democratic votes
to pass plan to avert shutdown
With a slim majority, Johnson can
afford to lose only a few GOP votes.
ByLauren Peller, Sarah Beth Hensley , and Mariam Khan
November 13, 2023, 5:16 PM
·
·
·
·
The House is set to vote Tuesday
on a plan newly-elected Speaker Mike Johnson has pitched to avert a looming government shutdown -- yet enough of his
Republican hard-liners have now said they'll oppose the funding measure that
he'll have to rely on Democratic votes to pass it.
Johnson told his GOP conference
over the weekend that he is moving forward with a two-step government plan that
he has described as a "laddered CR" or continuing resolution that
would keep the government funded at 2023 levels.
Now it looks as if Johnson will
have to look across the aisle to pass his plan since six Republicans have
publicly said they won't vote for it. Reps. Bob Good of Virginia, Warren
Davidson of Ohio, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Chip Roy of Texas, George
Santos of New York and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania have all indicated they will
not support Johnson's plan on the floor.
MORE: Speaker Mike Johnson pitches Republicans on plan to avert
government shutdown
With a slim GOP majority, Johnson
can afford to lose only a handful of Republican votes if all members are
present. Democratic leaders are not taking an official position just yet on
Johnson's government funding plan, saying in a letter Monday that they are
"carefully evaluating" it.
On Monday, Senate leadership
seemed to back Johnson's short-term funding plan. Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took to the floor in separate but
similar speeches about Johnson's proposal.
"For now, I am pleased that
Speaker Johnson seems to be moving in our direction by advancing a CR that does
not include the highly partisan cuts that Democrats have warned against,"
Schumer said Monday on the Senate floor. "The speaker's proposal is far
from perfect, but the most important thing is that it refrains from making
steep cuts, while also extending funding for defense in the second tranche of
bills."
Schumer warned Johnson to hold
firm against conservatives in his conference who will surely complain that the
short-term funding bill does not include budget cuts.
"I hope Speaker Johnson
recognizes that he will need support from Democrats in both chambers if he
wants to ... avoid causing a shutdown. He needs to stay away from poison pills
and steep hard right cuts for that to happen," Schumer added.
McConnell also spoke on the Senate
floor, saying he backs the proposal and will urge his Republican colleagues to
vote for it.
"House Republicans have
produced a responsible measure that will keep the lights on, avoid harmful left
in government funding, and provide the time and space to finish their important
work. I'll support their continuing resolution and encourage my colleagues to
do the same," McConnell said.
Johnson's financial plan is his
first major test as speaker since he was elected last month after the historic
ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Johnson is facing a similar challenge
as McCarthy: working to pass a clean CR while carefully maneuvering between
moderates and hard-liners in his conference. He also finds himself, like
McCarthy, needing Democratic votes to help keep the government open.
It's possible Johnson won't face
the same fate as McCarthy as Republicans have repeatedly said they hope to give
Johnson some leeway to find his footing.
MORE: The government could shut down after next Friday. House Republicans
still need a plan
The laddered CR has two different
deadlines to keep different parts of the government functioning: Jan. 19 and
Feb. 2. If the House passes the plan, the Senate would then have to act by
Friday night to avert a shutdown.
"The bill will stop the
absurd holiday-season omnibus tradition of massive, loaded up spending bills
introduced right before the Christmas recess," Johnson said in a
statement. "Separating out the CR from the supplemental funding debates
places our conference in the best position to fight for fiscal responsibility,
oversight over Ukraine aid, and meaningful policy changes at our Southern
border."
The proposal has been panned by
several from his own party.
ATTACHMENT EIGHT – From
AP
House readies vote to prevent a government shutdown as Speaker Johnson
relies on Democrats for help
BY LISA
MASCARO AND STEPHEN GROVES
Updated 4:45 PM EST, November 14,
2023
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House
prepared on Tuesday for a vote to prevent a government shutdown, with new Republican Speaker Mike Johnson forced
to reach across the aisle to Democrats when hard-right conservatives revolted
against his plan.
To keep the federal government
running into the new year, Johnson was willing to leave his right-flank
Republicans behind and work with Democrats — the same political move that cost
the last House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, his job just weeks ago.
This time, Johnson of Louisiana appeared
on track for a temporarily better outcome as some Republicans showed signs of
unrest but stopped short of threatening to remove the speaker, who has been on
the job for just three weeks. The Senate would act next, ahead of Friday’s
shutdown deadline.
“Making sure that government stays in
operation is a matter of conscience for all of us. We owe that to the American
people,” Johnson said at a news conference at the Capitol.
But the new Republican leader
faces the same political problem that led to McCarthy’s
ouster —angry, frustrated, hard-right GOP lawmakers rejecting his approach,
demanding budget cuts and determined to vote against the plan. Without enough
support from his Republican majority, Johnson had little choice but to rely on
Democrats to ensure passage to keep the federal government running.
Shortly
before the Tuesday evening vote, House Democratic leaders issued a joint
statement saying that the package met all their requirements and they would
support it.
Under his proposal, Johnson is
putting forward a unique — critics say bizarre — two-part process that temporarily funds some federal
agencies to Jan. 19 and others to Feb. 2. It’s a continuing resolution, or CR,
that comes without any of the deep cuts conservatives have demanded all year. It
also fails to include President Joe Biden’s request for nearly $106 billion for Ukraine, Israel, border security and
other supplemental funds.
“We’re not surrendering,” Johnson assured
after a closed-door meeting of House Republicans Tuesday morning, vowing he
would not support another stopgap. “But you have to choose fights you can win.”
Johnson, who announced his endorsement Tuesday of Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for
president, hit the airwaves to sell his approach and met privately Monday night
with the conservative Freedom Caucus.
Johnson says the innovative
approach would position House Republicans to “go into the fight” for deeper
spending cuts in the new year, but many Republicans are skeptical there will be
any better outcome in January.
The House Freedom Caucus announced
its opposition, ensuring dozens of votes against the plan.
“I think it’s a very big mistake,”
said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the hard-right group of lawmakers.
“It’s wrong,” said Rep. Andy
Ogles, R-Tenn.
It all left Johnson with few other
options than to skip what’s typically a party-only procedural vote, and rely on
another process that requires a two-thirds tally with Democrats for passage.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries
in a letter to Democratic colleagues noted that the GOP package met the
Democratic demands to keep funding at current levels without steep reductions
or divisive Republican policy priorities.
“Extreme MAGA Republicans have
repeatedly demonstrated that they cannot govern without House Democrats,”
Jeffries said on NPR. “That will be the case this week in the context of
avoiding a government shutdown.”
Winning bipartisan approval of a
continuing resolution is the same move that led McCarthy’s hard-right flank to oust him in October, days after the
Sept. 30 vote to avert a federal shutdown. For now, Johnson appears to be
benefiting from a political honeymoon in one of his first big tests on the
job.
“Look, we’re going to trust the
speaker’s move here,” said Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-Ga.
But Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene,
R-Ga., a McCarthy ally who opposed his ouster, said Johnson should be held to
the same standard. “What’s the point in throwing out one speaker if nothing
changes? The only way to make sure that real changes happen is make the red
line stay the same for every speaker.”
The Senate, where Democrats have a
slim majority, has signaled its willingness to accept Johnson’s package ahead
of Friday’s deadline to fund the government.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called
the House package “a solution” and said he expected it to pass Congress with
bipartisan support.
“It’s nice to see us working
together to avoid a government shutdown,” he said.
But McConnell, R-Ky., has noted
that Congress still has work to do toward Biden’s request to
provide U.S. military aid for Ukraine and Israel and for other needs. Senators are trying
to devise a separate package to fund U.S. supplies for the overseas wars and to
bolster border security, but it remains a work in progress.
If approved, passage of the
continuing resolution would be a less-than-triumphant capstone to the House
GOP’s first year in the majority. The Republicans have worked tirelessly to cut
federal government spending only to find their own GOP colleagues are unwilling
to go along with the most conservative priorities. Two of the Republican bills
collapsed last week as moderates revolted.
Instead, the Republicans are left
funding the government essentially on autopilot at the levels that were set in
bipartisan fashion at the end of 2022, when Democrats had control of Congress
but the two parties came together to agree on budget terms.
All that could change in the new
year when 1% cuts across the board to all departments would be triggered if
Congress failed to agree to new budget terms and pass the traditional
appropriation bills to fund the government by springtime.
The 1% automatic cuts, which would
take hold in April, are despised by all sides — Republicans say they are not
enough, Democrats say they are too steep and many lawmakers prefer to boost
defense funds. But they are part of the debt deal McCarthy and Biden struck earlier this year. The idea
was to push Congress to do better.
___
Associated Press writers Kevin
Freking Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
ATTACHMENT NINE – From
WASHPOST
Senate passes bill to avert government shutdown, sending it to Biden to
sign
The move just
days before a weekend deadline funds the federal government into January and
February
By Jacob Bogage
Updated November 15, 2023 at
11:18 p.m. EST|Published November 15, 2023 at 2:43 p.m. EST
Senate Majority Leader Charles E.
Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Nov. 15 that avoiding a government shutdown was possible
because of bipartisan cooperation.
The Senate passed legislation
Wednesday to extend funding for federal agencies, sending the bill to avert
a government shutdown to President Biden’s desk just days before the
weekend deadline.
The bill, which passed by an 87-11
vote, represents a marked de-escalation between congressional Democrats and new
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). Without the new spending measure, called a
continuing resolution or CR, the government would have shut down just after
midnight Saturday, forcing federal workers — including military members and
airport security agents — to work without pay or go on furlough on the eve of
the Thanksgiving holiday.
Johnson rebuffed calls from the
House GOP’s hard-right flank to include draconian spending cuts and
controversial policy provisions, so the bill could attract Democratic votes in
the lower chamber, which passed the legislation Tuesday. Those concessions were
enough to win easy bipartisan support in the Senate, which is far less
concerned with spending debates.
“I have good news for the American people:
This Friday night, there will be no government shutdown,” Senate Majority
Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the Senate floor Wednesday evening.
“Because of bipartisan cooperation, we are keeping the government open.”
The legislation finances the
government at current spending levels and staggers expiration dates for the
funding. Roughly 20 percent of the federal government would be financed through
Jan. 19 and the remaining 80 percent until Feb. 2.
The structure had drawn ridicule
from Senate Democrats almost until the moment they agreed to vote for it. Sen.
Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chair of the Appropriations Committee, called it “the
craziest, stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of.” Schumer on Tuesday called the
bifurcated deadlines “goofy.”
But Wednesday night, Murray
supported the measure.
“I will vote for this bill to
avoid a senseless shutdown, though I don’t care for this idea of two funding
deadlines and double the shutdown risk,” she said just before the vote. “But
the big picture I am focused on right now is what happens next, because
avoiding a shutdown is so very far from mission accomplished. We have a lot of
work to do after the dust settles and before the next shutdown deadline comes
up.”
The “laddered” deadlines in the
bill are designed to allow the House and Senate to pass and negotiate full-year
spending bills — though the two chambers are nowhere near an agreement on those
— and avoid a massive year-end spending bill called an omnibus. Conservative
Republicans especially recoiled at the $1.7 trillion spending bill enacted in
late December 2022.
Here’s how
each Senate and House member voted
Johnson assembled the two-step
measure rapidly after winning the speaker’s gavel Oct. 25. A band of far-right
GOP rebels had ousted his predecessor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), from the
speakership weeks earlier after he relied on Democratic votes to pass
legislation to keep the government open at the end of September.
“What Johnson is trying to do is
fundamentally the correct thing, which is not jam members into a Christmas
omnibus that just allows, frankly, a lot of really bad spending priorities
making final package,” said Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who voted against the
bill. “I don’t like CRs as sort of a matter of principle, but I think this is a
guy who’s trying to do the right thing and came into a situation where he had
very little time to work with.”
The two deadlines — and the continued
House GOP demands for cuts — could still mean two more standoffs that lead to
at least partial government shutdowns early next year.
“It’s always ‘compared to what?’
around here. Compared to the alternatives that some of the far-right House
members were pushing for, this is better,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said.
“I would prefer to see one deadline, but this is better than the alternatives
and, yes, we will be back.”
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said he
was happy to vote for the resolution if it meant placating the volatile House,
which he often describes as the “kids’ table” of Congress.
“If it makes the kids happy, then
what the heck?” Rounds said. “It’s Thanksgiving, and you know what? If you want
to eat your dessert before you eat your turkey, that’s fine. But it will make
it a bigger problem down the road.”
House Democrats claimed the
package as a win — and a way to leave Washington early to celebrate the
holiday.
“No spending cuts, no right-wing
extreme policy changes, no government shutdown, no votes tomorrow,” House
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
Indeed, the House recessed early
Wednesday and won’t return until the week after next.
Under the bill, funds would expire
for military and veterans programs, agriculture and food agencies, and the
Transportation and Housing and Urban Development departments Jan. 19. They
would expire for the State, Defense, Commerce, Labor, and Health and Human
Services departments, among others, on Feb. 2.
Funding the government after those
deadlines, though, may prove difficult. Archconservative deficit hawks and
mainstream appropriators are worlds apart on spending levels in the House,
foreshadowing problems in finding a compromise that both chambers can accept.
President Biden had agreed with
McCarthy, Johnson’s predecessor, on an overall spending level for the fiscal
year during negotiations in late spring over the debt ceiling, but House Republicans now want
to spend less than that.
Johnson has said he will not bring
up a short-term extension of fiscal levels again — a move that exerts pressure
on both chambers to finish their appropriation bills to keep the government
funded through September. Appropriators have expressed confidence that they
could find consensus on several funding bills, but that requires top leaders to
settle on a top-line number that lawmakers can use to compromise — something
that rankles the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, which feels slighted by
Johnson’s resolution.
“We want the message to be clear
to the American people and to our leadership, we’re done with the failure
theater here,” said Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), chair of the Freedom Caucus.
“We’re not going to pass bills that don’t address the problems that America
faces.”
Members of the Freedom Caucus sank
a rule Wednesday to govern debate over a contentious appropriation bill funding
the Justice Department and other measures in retribution for Johnson not
incorporating more of their demands into the stopgap measure.
Many House Republicans saw their
move as a double standard, since the conference has incorporated a number of
the far right’s spending cut demands in an effort to pass all appropriation
bills and get them one step closer to negotiating with the Senate.
“It’s never easy to get work done
around here. It’s a lot harder when you have people who, I think, are prone to
emotionally immature decisions,” Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) said.
Senate Democrats plan to take up
Biden’s request for $106 billion in emergency assistance for Ukraine, Israel
and humanitarian aid upon returning from Thanksgiving recess, lawmakers said,
and to consider appropriations bills afterward. The House has already approved
about $14 billion in aid for Israel, pairing it with cuts to the IRS that the
White House and the Senate say are unacceptable, and leaving Ukraine aid out
entirely.
When Congress returns, there won’t
be much time before the new funding deadlines expire to pass year-long spending
legislation. If those year-long laws aren’t enacted, across-the-board 1 percent
spending cuts are set to kick in at the end of April as part of the debt limit
deal.
Senate Democrats are hoping to use
the January and February deadlines to compel lawmakers to enact a larger annual
spending package. House Republicans aim to use the threat of cuts, called
sequestration, to force Biden and Schumer to negotiate on terms more favorable
to conservatives.
“I think that the 1 percent cuts
are harmful. There are clearly going to be House Republicans that support that
approach as their default,” Van Hollen said. “But I think you’ll find, on a
bipartisan basis, real concern about the cuts to national security that will be
implemented. That will be the debate going forward.”
But some GOP hard-liners see a
broader path to secure spending cuts deeper than those in the April
sequestration.
“There are going to be multiple
points of leverage,” Vance said. “There’s, of course, the president’s desired
Ukraine supplemental. There will be a funding fight over the mandatory
sequestrations from the Fiscal Responsibility Act. There will still be a number
of leverage points over the next few months. I don’t think we’ve given up all
of our leverage. The question is whether Republicans, especially House
Republicans, have the willpower to run the process.”
Jacqueline Alemany, Mariana
Alfaro, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Liz Goodwin, Paul Kane, Theodoric Meyer and
Marianna Sotomayor contributed to this report.
ATTACHMENT TEN – From
USA
TODAY
House Speaker Mike Johnson's plan to avert a government shutdown gets
blowback from conservatives, but support from Democrats
By Ken Tran & Riley Beggin
Live updates:House will vote on continuing resolution to avert
government shutdown. How it affects you
WASHINGTON – House
Speaker Mike Johnson’s proposal to fund the government is facing serious pushback from a handful of ultraconservative
lawmakers, setting
up yet another showdown within the House Republican conference ahead of a
potential government shutdown Friday.
The newly installed speaker
has proposed a two-step extension of current funding levels to
appease members who oppose a massive spending package passed just before
Christmas. Part of the government – including public health, military
construction, housing, transportation, agriculture and energy programs – would
be funded until Jan. 19, with the rest funded through Feb. 2.
The House plans to vote on the
proposal as early as Tuesday.
The resistance Johnson, R-La., is
seeing from hard-right GOP members reflects the deep divisions that have roiled
the House Republican conference ever since they took control of the lower
chamber in January.
“I will not support a status quo
that fails to acknowledge fiscal irresponsibility, and changes absolutely
nothing while emboldening a do-nothing Senate and a fiscally illiterate
president,” Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., chair of the House Freedom Caucus said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The continuing resolution’s two phased-approach
“doesn’t change” the fact that the plan still continues current funding levels,
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, another member of the Freedom Caucus, told reporters
Monday, noting “it’s still a clean CR.”
Perry and Roy, along with other
House conservatives including Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Andrew Clyde of
Georgia, Bob Good of Virginia and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia outnumber
Johnson’s razor-thin, three-seat majority in the House.
Get in the conversation with
political analysis, election news and breaking insights from our politics team.
"I think its a failure,"
Greene said of Johnson's first big move as Speaker. "I am not carrying on
Nancy Pelosi's budget...I think we should be holding the line."
As a result of the stiff
opposition Johnson’s continuing resolution is facing, the plan must also gain
support from Democrats, who refuse to support an extension that includes
conservative policy priorities−putting Johnson in between two factions
with the power to derail federal funding.
The good news for Johnson however
is that the White House and Democrats haven't ruled out the continuing
resolution even though the two-phased approach isn’t their preference because
it retains funding at current levels. Their openness to Johnson's proposal lowers
the prospect of a government shutdown but it is unclear just how much
Democratic support Johnson will need on the House floor.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer, D-N.Y. said on the Senate floor Monday he was “pleased that Speaker
Johnson seems to be moving in our direction by advancing a CR that does not
include the highly partisan cuts that Democrats have warned against,” but added
that the plan is “far from perfect.”
President Joe Biden told reporters
Monday that he hasn’t made up his mind on the tiered extension: “Let’s wait and
see what they come up with,” he said.
The president’s open-ended answer
is a markedly different response to Johnson’s continuing resolution compared to
other GOP-backed legislation that he has issued veto threats to.
But Democrats are not necessarily
happy about the development. The leading Democrat on the House Rules Committee,
Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, said the “bizarre” version of a continuing
resolution represents “a last minute hail mary” that will only make a future
shutdown more likely.
Republicans “have made clear that
in a divided government, they will refuse to work with anyone outside their
caucus,” he said. “Same circus, new ringmaster.”
Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the most
senior House Democrat and a member of the Appropriations Committee said the
plan is likely to pass, but called it a "sad thing" for the House:
"We are setting up ongoing crisis so that we will never come to rest and
make a decision, which is bad for government, bad for the American people, and
bad for the image of America."
The anger the continuing resolution has drawn from
conservative members has
prompted concerns that a handful of them could tank the bill in a procedural
vote known as a rule vote, which traditionally passes along party lines
regardless of support for the legislation. Hard-right members have broken that
precedent multiple times this year, shooting down multiple GOP-backed bills
unamicable to their conservative demands.
House GOP leadership moved to put
the continuing resolution on the floor under suspension, a procedural move that
dodges a rule vote but requires the funding plan to pass with two-thirds
support of the lower chamber instead of a simple majority, meaning the
continuing resolution will require heavy Democratic support.
Johnson's move to put the bill
under suspension is expected to receive heavy blowback from conservatives. Roy
told reporters "it would be a very bad idea" for the continuing
resolution to avoid a rule vote.
Why is
Congress facing a government shutdown?
Despite the vocal
opposition, most members are preparing to help Johnson pass a “clean” funding
extension just weeks after they toppled former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for doing the same
thing.
The federal budget is due every
year at the end of September. But this year, Washington faced a separate
deadline: A default on the national debt, which was narrowly avoided through a deal struck between McCarthy
and Biden.
As a part of that deal,
Congressional Republicans convinced the White House to agree to significant
cuts in discretionary spending for the 2024 fiscal year and to limit spending
to 1% growth in fiscal year 2025.
But when the time came to pass
that budget, McCarthy told appropriators to set spending levels below what he
agreed to with Biden, under pressure from the right wing of his caucus and
against the protests of Democrats.
As the fiscal year came to a close
in September, GOP hardliners resisted a stopgap spending measure. House
Democrats eventually helped McCarthy pass a funding extension through Nov. 17 – prompting the mutiny that
led to McCarthy’s ouster.
After three long weeks without a
Speaker, Johnson took the leadership mantle with just over three more weeks
until that deadline, setting up a new budget fight.
How would a
government shutdown affect me?
While there’s plenty to be
resolved before the deadline Friday night, members have a powerful incentive to
come to an agreement and avoid a shutdown.
If Congress can’t pass all 12
appropriations bills by the deadline, federal agencies must stop any work that
isn’t considered essential.
Essential services include air
traffic control and law enforcement – those employees continue to work, but
don’t get paid until the shutdown is over, so it could eventually lead to
flight delays and other inconveniences if the funding gap stretched on and
people stopped reporting to work, affecting more Americans beyond just federal
employees.
Social Security, Medicare and
Medicaid benefits would continue, but other services could be delayed such as
benefit verifications or the issuance of Medicare replacement
cards. Passport and visa services would also likely slow down.
Food assistance – the Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program – could be impacted quickly, as backup funding
would likely dry up quickly and require states to fund the program themselves
until Congress approves a budget.
ATTACHMENT ELEVEN – From
Reuters
US House speaker's plan to avoid shutdown gains some Democratic support
By David Morgan and Moira Warburton
November 13, 20234:57 PM
ESTUpdated 26 min ago
WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - U.S.
House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson's plan to avoid a partial government shutdown secured tentative support from top
Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer on Monday, even as some of Johnson's hardline
Republican colleagues pushed back against it.
Senate Majority Leader Schumer,
whose support would be critical to pass the measure to head off a government
shutdown beginning on Saturday, said he was "pleased" that Johnson's
proposal did not include sharp spending cuts.
"The speaker's proposal is
far from perfect, but the most important thing is it refrains from making steep
cuts," said Schumer, who stopped short of backing the idea.
However, before the bill can move
to the Senate, it will need to clear the House, where at least seven of
Johnson's fellow Republicans signaled opposition to his two-step continuing
resolution, or "CR," which would keep federal agencies operating at
current funding levels.
Representative Chip Roy, a
prominent hardliner, blasted the measure for its absence of spending cuts and
conservative policies, and because it would extend food assistance for poor
families to Sept. 30. Without changes, the Texas Republican said he would
oppose efforts to bring the bill to the floor.
"We got nothing -
nothing," Roy told reporters. "I'm certainly talking to my colleagues
about our concerns. And I certainly hope that this bill is not going to proceed
as it's currently structured."
Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries
said he was "carefully evaluating" Johnson's proposal.
Despite an unusual structure that
sets different funding deadlines for different parts of the government,
Johnson's CR amounts to a "clean" bill without spending cuts, policy
provisions or other strings attached - the kind of measure that led to the
historic ouster of his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, by his
right flank.
Congress is engaged in its third
fiscal showdown this year, following a months-long spring standoff over the
nation's more than $31 trillion in debt, which brought the federal government
to the brink of default.
The ongoing partisan gridlock, accentuated by fractures
within the narrow 221-212 House Republican majority, led Moody's late on Friday
to lower its U.S. credit rating outlook to "negative"
from "stable," as it noted that high interest rates would continue to
drive borrowing costs higher. The nation's deficit hit $1.695 trillion in the
fiscal year ended Sept. 30.
The plan would need to pass the
Democratic-majority Senate and be signed into law by President Joe Biden by
midnight on Friday to avoid disrupting pay for up to 4 million federal workers,
shuttering national parks and hobbling everything from financial oversight to
scientific research.
'CLEAN' BILL
Johnson's plan seems geared to
find support from two warring Republican factions: hardliners who wanted
different funding deadlines for different federal agencies and centrists who
called for a "clean" vehicle without spending cuts or conservative
policy riders that Democrats would reject.
His bill would extend funding for
military construction, veterans benefits, transportation, housing, urban development,
agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and energy and water programs
through Jan. 19. Funding for all other federal operations, including defense,
would expire on Feb. 2.
The bill is intended to pressure
the House and Senate to agree on spending bills for fiscal 2024 by the assigned
dates. Johnson warned Democrats that House Republicans would impose a full-year
CR for 2024 "with appropriate adjustments to meet our national security
priorities" if Congress fails to reach agreement on full-year spending.
The approach quickly came under
fire from the White House and members of both parties.
Among hardliners in opposition,
Good was joined by Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Warren Davidson,
Scott Perry, Andrew Clyde and Chip Roy. Indicted Republican George Santos also
said he would not back it.
"I will not support a status
quo that fails to acknowledge fiscal irresponsibility, and changes absolutely
nothing while emboldening a do-nothing Senate and a fiscally illiterate
President," said Perry, who chairs the ultraconservative House Freedom
Caucus, on the X social media platform.
The White House over the weekend
blasted the plan as chaotic, but there were also indications that it could
provide a path forward for Congress, given Johnson's decision to assign defense
spending to Feb. 2. Democrats had worried that Republicans would put defense
and other party priorities in the first tranche and then let the remaining
programs shut down.
"This latest proposal is very
much untested," said White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on
Monday, adding that they would watch lawmakers negotiations play out.
BENCHMARK OF
SUCCESS
House Republicans are aiming for a
Tuesday vote. But it is unclear whether their conference, which has spent the
past 10 months at war with itself over spending and culture war issues, can
muster the 217 votes needed to pass the measure without Democratic support,
which many Republicans view as the benchmark of success.
Failure to hit that benchmark led
to McCarthy's ouster, but some House Republicans suggested Johnson deserved
more time.
The brutal
infighting among Republicans this year, including the party's own rejection
of three seasoned nominees for House speaker,
coincides with falling federal revenues and mounting costs for interest, health
and pension outlays.
Lawmakers are at odds over
discretionary spending for fiscal 2024. Democrats and many Republicans want to
stick to the $1.59 trillion level that Biden and McCarthy set in their debt
ceiling agreement earlier this year. Hardliners have pushed for a figure $120
billion lower. In recent days, they have signaled a net willingness to
compromise.
But the political fracas is
focused on just a fraction of the total U.S. budget, which also includes
mandatory outlays for Social Security and Medicare. Total U.S. spending topped
$6.1 trillion in fiscal 2023.
Reporting by David
Morgan and Moira Warburton, additional reporting by Steve Holland; Ed
ATTACHMENT TWELVE – From
NBC
House Republicans unveil their plan to avert a government shutdown next
week
Congress has until Friday night to
keep the government funded. The House plans to vote on its short-term funding
bill as early as Tuesday.
Nov. 11, 2023, 3:26 PM EST
By Scott Wong and Julie
Tsirkin
WASHINGTON — House Republicans on
Saturday unveiled their stopgap funding bill to avert a government shutdown set
to begin next weekend. But with just five legislative days left until the
deadline, Congress has little room for error.
Just two and a half weeks into the
job, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., opted to go with a two-step continuing
resolution, or CR, over a more typical funding extension covering the entire
federal government. The untested funding approach is aimed at appeasing
far-right agitators in his GOP conference who despise CRs.
The House is expected to vote as
early as Tuesday to give members 72 hours to read the text of the bill, according to two people familiar with
matter. The plan does not include budget cuts or aid for Israel.
Under the two-step strategy —
which Johnson and others have dubbed a “laddered CR” but which others have
likened to a step stool — several spending bills needed to keep the government
open would be extended until Jan. 19, while the remaining bills would go on a
CR until Feb. 2.
GOP hard-liners had been pushing
Johnson to include budget cuts as part of his two-tiered CR plan, a source
involved in discussions said. One House Republican, Chip Roy of Texas, quickly
voiced his opposition to the bill shortly after it was released.
“It’s a 100% clean. And I 100% oppose,” Roy tweeted. “My opposition to the clean CR just announced by the
Speaker to the @HouseGOP cannot be overstated. Funding Pelosi level spending
& policies for 75 days — for future “promises.”
The plan is designed to avoid a
messy showdown right before the holidays and buy Johnson and House Republicans
more time to pass individual spending bills but also create a sense of urgency
with staggered funding cliffs. But it remains to be seen whether the plan can pass
the House, much less the Democratic-controlled Senate, which has dismissed the
two-tiered approach.
“This two-step continuing
resolution is a necessary bill to place House Republicans in the best position
to fight for conservative victories,” Johnson said in a statement after he
announced the plan. “The bill will stop the absurd holiday-season omnibus
tradition of massive, loaded up spending bills introduced right before the
Christmas recess.”
He added: “Separating out the CR
from the supplemental funding debates places our conference in the best
position to fight for fiscal responsibility, oversight over Ukraine aid, and
meaningful policy changes at our Southern border.”
The laddered plan has the backing
of Congress’ most conservative members, including Republicans who normally
never vote for stopgap bills. If Johnson could get a temporary funding bill
passed with only Republican votes, it would help him notch an early win among
conservatives.
“I like the ladder approach,” said
Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., a member of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus. “I
think if we try to pass some appropriations bills, we’re doing better than
we’ve done in the past.”
But Democrats in both chambers
have made it abundantly clear that they hate the idea, as does the White House
— all of whom want a simple extension of government funding without any
gimmicks. Democrats’ unified opposition to the laddered CR could mean the House
will ultimately have to swallow whatever clean or relatively clean CR the
Senate passes.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN Democrats signal support for Speaker Johnson's plan to avert a government
shutdown
“I want a clean CR,” declared
Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations
Committee.
After the release of the plan,
however, a Senate Democratic leadership aide said Saturday: “It’s a good thing
the speaker didn’t include unnecessary cuts and kept defense funding with the
second group of programs." A source familiar with the matter added that
Johnson moved in the direction of Democrats with his plan.
Still, Democratic leader Hakeem
Jeffries of New York all but ruled out the two-tiered approach when he was
pressed Thursday. “A continuing resolution that is at the fiscal year 2023
levels is the only way forward, because that’s the status quo,” he said,
advocating for a clean CR.
Across the Capitol, Senate
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., teed up a vote on a separate stopgap
measure, setting the wheels in motion for action next week. The Democratic-led
Senate is eyeing a clean continuing resolution that would run through mid-January,
without additional funding for Ukraine, Israel and the border, according to two
sources directly involved in the process.
But Schumer would most likely need
a time agreement from all 100 senators to fund the government by Friday’s
deadline, which Senate hard-liners will be reluctant to give.
“I implore Speaker Johnson and our
House Republican colleagues and learn from the fiasco of a month ago.
Hard-right proposals, hard-right slash and cuts, hard-right poison pills that
have zero support from Democrats will only make a shutdown more likely,”
Schumer said in a floor speech.
What’s clear is that after last
month’s public GOP civil war over the speaker’s gavel,
Republicans have little appetite for shutting down the government. Even some
hard-core conservatives, like Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., said they are willing to
vote for a CR to keep the government open and don’t care how it’s structured.
“I’m open to supporting a CR, and
if you’ve been following me, that’s a 180-degree turn,” said Bishop, a Freedom
Caucus member who is running for North Carolina attorney general.
He said his wife recently asked
what was happening in Congress this week. He replied: Figuring out “what the
features of the CR are going to be.”
“I just don’t think that Americans
care that much,” Bishop added
ATTACHMENT THIRTEEN – From
NPR
Congressional spending
bill will avoid a government shutdown — for now
November 14, 20234:36 PM ET
Heard on All Things Considered
By
Eric McDaniel
Congress is
moving forward with a spending bill approach that could lead to rolling
shutdown deadlines next year.
It appears
Congress will avoid a government shutdown. Republican Speaker of the House Mike
Johnson, over strong objections from some in his own party, passed a short-term
extension of government funding through early next year by relying on
Democratic support.
(SOUNDBITE OF
ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MIKE JOHNSON:
We have broken the fever. We are not going to have a massive omnibus spending
bill right before Christmas, and that will allow us to go through the
appropriations process as it should be done.
CHANG: That's
Johnson speaking to reporters earlier today. The Senate is expected to take up
the bill later this week ahead of the Friday deadline to avoid a government
shutdown. NPR congressional reporter Eric McDaniel is there on Capitol Hill and
joins us now. Hey, Eric.
ERIC
MCDANIEL, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.
CHANG: OK, so
tell us more about what's inside this spending bill.
MCDANIEL: So
Speaker Mike Johnson's proposal extends current levels of funding for another
two months. That's pretty normal. But it actually works in kind of a weird, new
way, where some parts of the federal government run out of money on January 17.
Some of the least controversial spending bills, like funding for veterans,
agriculture, transportation would expire first.
CHANG: OK.
MCDANIEL:
Lawmakers think it will be a little bit easier to pass those - long-term
funding for those bills. Then it goes to the harder bills, including the
Department of Defense and everything else. Those bills expire - funding for
those agencies expires on February 2. The goal here is to move beyond the
short-term bills and buy time for the House and Senate to pass the full suite
of federal spending bills.
CHANG: OK,
but wait. This isn't how Congress normally funds the government, right? So why
did Speaker Johnson decide to do it this way?
MCDANIEL: So
he was adopting an idea from hardline members of his own conference - folks in
the House Freedom Caucus - in an effort to get their backing for a short-term
funding measure. It's worth saying, though, they oppose this bill, upset that
it doesn't cut spending or contain any conservative policy priorities. But
measures like that would doom the bill in the Democratic-controlled Senate, so
Speaker Johnson took an approach that was able to get Democratic support in
order to keep the government open. And according to a new NPR poll that is
coming out tomorrow, 67% of people think it's more important for Johnson to
compromise rather than stand on principle. Admittedly, Republicans are split on
that in our poll respondents, as are Republican lawmakers in the House. Our
poll also found that Americans would place more blame on Republicans than on
Democrats and President Biden if the government were to shut down.
CHANG: OK, so
tell me this. Why would Democrats go along with this?
MCDANIEL:
Well, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was happy to see that the
Republican speaker backed off of the idea of funding cuts and introduced a
so-called clean bill that Democratic lawmakers would feel comfortable
supporting. That's a contrast to the speaker's first major piece of
legislation, which tied a popular bipartisan idea - aid to Israel - to a
conservative policy - cuts to the IRS - and effectively doomed the bill.
Schumer says he'll now work with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top
Republican in the Senate, to get it through that chamber by Friday.
CHANG: OK. So
a Friday shutdown is not likely at this point. But does it seem like House
Republicans can set aside their differences in order to pass the full spending
bills before the next deadline comes up in just a few months? What do you
think?
MCDANIEL:
It's going to be really hard is what I think. They already had to pull two
spending bills before a vote last week because they didn't have enough
Republican support to pass. In one case, moderates were upset over language
restricting abortion access here in D.C. And even beyond the policy stuff,
things are really, really tense here. This fall we've had a funding fight
followed by a Republican leadership fight followed by a funding fight. And all
that tension is still simmering and occasionally bubbling over into physical
confrontation. So I'll just put it this way. If you think your Thanksgivings
are tense...
CHANG:
(Laughter).
MCDANIEL:
...Knock back a Wisconsin Old-Fashioned and be glad you're not a House
Republican.
CHANG: Nice.
That is NPR congressional reporter Eric McDaniel. Thank you, Eric.
MCDANIEL:
Thanks, Ailsa.
ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN – From
FOX
House passes bill to avert government shutdown, Speaker Johnson notches
first big legislative win
Senate
Majority Leader Schumer vowed to take up the bill as soon as possible
Published November 14,
2023 5:50pm EST
The
House of Representatives passed a bill to avert a pre-holiday season government
shutdown on Tuesday night along strong bipartisan lines.
It passed 336
to 95, well over the two-thirds margin it needed to get the measure over the
line. Just two Democrats voted against the bill, along with 93
Republicans.
It’s now
headed to the Democratically-controlled Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer, D-N.Y., indicated he would take it up as soon as possible.
Fiscal year
2023 government funding had been extended through Nov. 17 to give Congress more
time to pass 12 individual appropriations bills setting up the next year’s
spending priorities. But faced with another looming deadline, House and Senate
leaders agreed another short-term extension, known as a continuing resolution
(CR), was needed.
The bill’s
passage was the first big legislative test for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who
took on the role less than a month ago shortly after ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy,
R-Calif., was ousted.
Despite more
Democrats voting for it than Republicans, Johnson did net a win in getting a
majority of his GOP Conference to support the CR.
Johnson’s
plan, released on Saturday, creates two separate deadlines for funding
different parts of the government to set up more targeted goals to work toward.
It would also
in theory prevent Congress from lumping all 12 spending bills into a massive
"omnibus" package, such as the one passed by House and Senate
Democrats last year but opposed by the GOP.
It first forces
lawmakers to reckon with some of the traditionally less controversial
appropriations bills — those concerning military construction and Veterans
Affairs; Agriculture; Energy and Water; Transportation and Housing and Urban
Development — by Jan. 19. The remaining eight appropriations bills must be
worked out by Feb. 2.
But members
on the right of Johnson’s GOP conference balked at the bill over its lack of
any spending cuts and conservative policy riders.
However, it’s
been tacitly approved by Senate leaders — meaning Johnson’s first major act as
speaker likely will avert a government shutdown, if President Biden signs on.
"Both
[Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.] and I want to avoid a shutdown
— so getting this done, obviously, before Friday midnight," Schumer said
at a press conference on Tuesday.
"You know,
the Senate has lots of arcane rules, but McConnell and I are going to work
together — we talked about this yesterday — to get it done as quickly as
possible."
Democrats had
been wary of Johnson's decision to split up funding deadlines, but overall the
majority appeared relieved to not be forced to vote for a CR that tops out
below fiscal 2023 funding levels.
Elizabeth
Elkind is a reporter for Fox News Digital focused on Congress as well as the
intersection of Artificial Intelligence and politics. Previous digital bylines
seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
ATTACHMENT FIFTEEN – From
CNBC
House passes bill to avoid government shutdown, Senate to vote next
PUBLISHED TUE, NOV 14 2023 5:50 PM
ESTUPDATED TUE, NOV 14 20236:17 PM EST
By Chelsey Cox
KEY POINTS
·
The House
passed a bill to fund the government through early next year.
·
The bill
needed support from both Republicans and Democrats, a challenge in a deeply
divided chamber.
·
The
Senate will take up the bill next, where leaders on both sides have signaled support. WASHINGTON — The House approved a
bill Tuesday that would avert a government shutdown, sending the measure next
to the Senate, where it is expected to pass.
The “laddered” continuing
resolution, or CR, will fund parts of the government until Jan. 19 and others
until Feb. 2. Once it is approved by the Senate, the bill goes to
President Joe Biden, who has signaled he is open to signing it.
Without a funding bill in place
that has been passed by both chambers and signed by the president, the
government will shut down at 11:59 p.m. ET Friday.
The CR passed in the House with
broad bipartisan support, which it needed, after Republican leaders decided
to bring it to the floor under a procedural move that required a
two-thirds majority, and not a simple majority, in order to pass.
The final tally was 336 in favor
and 95 opposed, with 127 Republicans joining 209 Democrats to pass the bill.
But the most surprising figure was how many Republicans broke with party
leaders and voted against it: 93, vs. just 2 Democratic “nays.”
For newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., the bipartisan vote sends
an early signal to the Senate and the White House that he is willing to reach
across the aisle to pass pragmatic legislation when it’s necessary.
But it could also spell trouble
for Johnson within his own caucus. It was just over a month ago that a group of
ultra conservatives helped to oust Johnson’s predecessor, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
One of their chief frustrations with McCarthy, they said, was that he didn’t
take a harder line on spending bills.
Under Johnson’s two stage funding
expiration plan, certain federal programs like the Food and Drug Administration,
military construction, veterans benefits, transportation, housing, urban
development, agriculture, energy and water programs would be funded through
Jan. 19. For everything else, Feb. 2 would the cutoff date.
Johnson said his novel plan would
give the House the time it needs to move full-year agency funding bills through
the regular appropriations process.
Despite initial reservations,
Democrats publicly backed the bill on Tuesday in an effort to
avert a shutdown.
House Democrats “have repeatedly
articulated that any continuing resolution must be set at the fiscal year 2023
spending level, be devoid of harmful cuts and free of extreme right-wing policy
riders,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y, said in a statement of
support.
The conservative House Freedom
Caucus on Tuesday released a statement opposing the resolution “as
it contains no spending reductions, no border security, and not a single
meaningful win for the American people.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer, D-N.Y., said if the bill passed the House, he and Republican Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., would move it swiftly through the Senate.
“Senate Leader [Mitch] McConnell
and I will figure out the best way to get this done quickly,” said Schumer.
ATTACHMENT SIXTEEN – From
WashTimes
Johnson paves way out of government shutdown; Dems, senators back
By Susan Ferrechio and Alex Miller - The
Washington Times - Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Newly minted House Speaker Mike
Johnson pushed a two-part, temporary spending
measure across the finish line in the House on
Tuesday, calling his approach one that will “break the fever” that has
led Congress to annually rush
through a bloated year-end funding bill.
It would beat a Friday shutdown
deadline and keep the government funded until early next year.
The Republican-led
House passed the bill on a 336-95 vote over objections from hard-line
conservatives. It passed thanks to the support of more than 200 Democrats, who
were satisfied that it did not cut spending and, like Republicans, are eager to
avoid a politically damaging government shutdown.
Senate Democrats have largely
endorsed the House measure. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky
Republican, virtually guaranteed that Congress would clear the bill
for President Biden’s signature this week and extinguish the threat of a
holiday government shutdown.
Mr. McConnell called Mr. Johnson’s
plan a “responsible measure that will keep the lights on and avoids a harmful
lapse in federal spending.”
The House bill
funds some federal agencies until Jan. 19 and others, including military
spending, through Feb. 2. The measure does not include emergency spending for
wars in Ukraine or Israel, nor does it fund additional border security that
many Republicans sought. It temporarily extends critical government programs,
including the National Flood Insurance Program and Community Health Centers.
House and
Senate lawmakers now face a two-part deadline to work out how to fund the
government for the remainder of the year amid deep partisan differences over
spending and policy.
“It buys us time to agree on a
top-line funding level and negotiate final bills with the Senate,” said House
Appropriations Committee Chairman Kay Granger, Texas Republican.
While hard-line conservatives rejected
the bill, Mr. Johnson defended the “laddered” spending measure as one that
stops a “harmful” government shutdown while giving Republicans time to “have
stringent fights on principle and philosophy” as they work out funding the
government for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
That time will be spent seeking
additional border security policies, providing adequate oversight of the
funding request Mr. Biden seeks for the war in Ukraine, which many Republicans
oppose, and providing aid for Israel to wage war against the terrorist
organization Hamas, the Louisiana Republican said.
The funding measure lost the
support of 93 Republicans, many of whom said the new speaker caved to Democrats
to avoid a government shutdown. Less than one month ago, eight hard-line
conservatives used an obscure House rule to
throw out Speaker Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, after he worked with
Democrats to temporarily extend government funding.
“We promised the American people
that we would stand up to this administration, cut spending, secure the
border,” Rep. Chip Roy, Texas Republican, said in opposition to the bill. “We
have delivered on none of that.”
Mr. Johnson pointed out that he
has been speaker for just three weeks and the House Republican
majority on Tuesday was a razor-thin three votes.
“We’re not surrendering; we’re
fighting,” Mr. Johnson said. “But you have to be wise about choosing the
fights. You’ve got to fight fights that you can win.”
As he concludes his first month
as House speaker,
Mr. Johnson has kept the government’s lights on but faces the same dilemma as
his predecessor in trying to find a pathway to full-year funding for the
government.
The House has passed
seven fiscal 2024 spending measures, but internal divisions have blocked
progress on some of the remaining five bills. Across the Capitol, Democrats who
control the Senate oppose the reduced spending levels and policy riders passed
in the House measures.
In addition to the
January and February spending deadlines in the House-passed
spending bill, Congress faces a 1%
across-the-board cut in all non-mandatory spending if the Senate and House do not pass all 12 government spending bills by the
end of the year.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut,
the top Democrat on the appropriations committee, wondered aloud on
the House floor how the fractious Republican majority would provide a
path forward on spending.
“What is going to change in this
next go-around?” Ms. DeLauro said.
Mr. Johnson said his two-step plan
has already changed the mindset in Washington by interrupting the longtime
pattern of passing a massive spending bill just before year’s end, stuffed with
nearly every government spending measure and far too long for lawmakers to read
before voting on it. The big “omnibus” packages are often topped off with
hundreds of billions of dollars in last-minute spending and blamed in part for
the nation’s staggering $33.6 trillion debt.
“We have broken the fever. We are
not going to have a massive omnibus spending bill right for Christmas,” Mr.
Johnson said. “That is a gift to the American people. Because that is no way to
legislate.”
ATTACHMENT SEVENTEEN – From
THE
WASHINGTON TIMES
Shutdown narrowly averted as
Senate passes short-term spending bill, sends to Biden for signature
By Ramsey Touchberry - November 15, 2023
The Senate approved
a House-passed temporary government-funding measure Wednesday
night, sending the legislation to President Biden for his signature and
narrowly avoiding a midnight Friday shutdown deadline.
The Democratic-led chamber passed
the bill by an 87-11 margin. Known as a so-called “clean continuing
resolution,” it does not include any spending cuts.
The Senate voted down an
amendment from Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, to slash spending across
the board by approximately 1%.
Mr. Biden is expected to swiftly
sign the legislation.
But Washington’s work on funding
the government long-term is far from over.
The two-part stopgap measure kicks
the can down the road by creating two more shutdown deadlines on Jan. 19 and
Feb. 2, splitting funding into two tranches for different government agencies.
That allows lawmakers just five working weeks to negotiate and pass the first
four of 12 funding bills by Jan. 19 that comprise the annual budget, a major
hurdle for a bitterly divided Congress.
Both chambers continue to struggle
to pass their own budgets, a precursor for going to conference and hashing out
their differences.
·
Trump in, Ronna out: The path to
victory in 2024 presidential election
·
Mayorkas unaware that Clapper,
Brennan signed Hunter Biden laptop disinformation letter
·
Speaker Johnson lands on two-step
stopgap bill ahead of deadline to fund government
Despite the
deadlines, the House and Senate depart
Washington this week for a nearly two-week Thanksgiving recess. Congress is
then out again for the last two weeks of December and the first week of January
for the holidays.
In the latest sign
of House Republicans’ internal struggles, conservatives again tanked
a portion of the GOP’s annual budget proposal on Wednesday.
Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana
Republican, canceled the week’s remaining votes and sent members home until
after Thanksgiving.
The House has
passed 7 of 12 appropriations bills and the Senate just 3 of 12, but none have passed both chambers.
Those that have passed the Senate were
negotiated and approved with bipartisan support while the House’s were Republican-only measures.
“One of the biggest
challenges, obviously, is there’s a difference in numbers between the House and
the Senate,” said Senate Minority
Whip John Thune, South Dakota Republican. “At some point, you have to have an
alignment of incentives and interests.”
Since the 1974 Congressional Budget Act that established the modern-day budget process, Congress has passed its annual budget by the Oct. 1 fiscal deadline only four times.
ATTACHMENT EIGHTEEN – From
cbs
Senate votes to pass funding bill and avoid government shutdown. Here's
the final vote tally.
BY CAITLIN YILEK UPDATED ON: NOVEMBER 15, 2023 / 11:59
PM EST / CBS NEWS
Washington — The Senate easily passed a
stopgap funding bill late Wednesday night, averting a government shutdown and
punting a spending fight in Congress until early next year.
The bill heads to President
Biden's desk after it passed the Senate in an 87-11 vote. Only one Democratic
senator voted against the measure, Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who said in
a statement that he voted against Wednesday’s funding package because it did
not include aid for Ukraine.
The House passed the bill, known as a continuing resolution, Tuesday
night, sending it to the Senate ahead of a Friday deadline. Without a funding
extension, the government was set to shutdown Saturday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson
unveiled the measure less than a week before funding from a short-term bill
passed in September was set to expire.
But dissent from within his own
party over its lack of spending cuts or funding for border security required
Johnson to rely on Democratic votes to get it over the finish line.
What's in the
continuing resolution?
The two-step bill extends appropriations dealing with
veterans programs, transportation, housing, agriculture and energy until Jan. 19.
Funding for eight other appropriations bills, including defense, would be
extended until Feb. 2.
It does not include supplemental
funding for Israel or Ukraine.
House Minority Leader Hakeem
Jeffries originally called the two-step plan a nonstarter, but later said
Democrats would support it given its exclusion of spending cuts and
"extreme right-wing policy riders." All but two Democrats voted to pass the measure: Jake Auchincloss
of Massachusetts and Mike Quigley of Illinois, while
dozens of Republicans opposed it.
In the Senate, Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer said he hoped there would be a strong bipartisan vote for the
House bill.
"Neither [Senate Minority
Leader Mitch] McConnell nor I want a shutdown," Schumer said
Tuesday.
Mr. Biden is expected to sign the
bill.
Why is the
government facing another shutdown?
Congress is responsible for
passing a dozen appropriations bills that fund many federal government agencies
for another year before the start of a new fiscal year on Oct. 1. The funding
bills are often grouped together into a large piece of legislation, referred to
as an "omnibus" bill.
The House has passed seven bills,
while the Senate has passed three that were grouped together in a
"minibus." None have been passed by both chambers.
In September, Congress reached a
last-minute deal to fund the government through Nov. 17 just hours before it
was set to shutdown.
Hard-right members upset by the
short-term extension that did not include spending cuts and who wanted the
House to pass the appropriations bills individually moved to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as their leader.
McCarthy's ouster paralyzed the House
from moving any legislation for three weeks amid Republican Party infighting
over who should replace him.
By the time Johnson took the
gavel, he had little time to corral his members around a plan to keep the
government open, and ended up in the same situation as McCarthy — needing
Democratic votes to pass a bill that did not include spending cuts demanded by
conservatives.
ATTACHMENT NINETEEN – From
CNN
Biden signs stopgap spending bill, averting government shutdown
By Jalen Beckford and Kaanita
Iyer, CNN Updated 8:17 AM EST, Fri
November 17, 2023
President Joe Biden on Thursday
signed the stopgap spending bill into law, averting a shutdown for now and
setting up a contentious fight over funding in the new year.
The measure, which passed both chambers
with bipartisan support in a major victory for House Speaker Mike Johnson, is
an unusual two-step plan that sets up two new shutdown deadlines in January and
February.
The plan is not a full-year
spending bill and only extends funding until January 19 for priorities
including military construction, veterans’ affairs, transportation, housing and
the Energy Department. The rest of the government – anything not covered
by the first step – will be funded until February 2.
Democrats have once again conceded aid for Ukraine after additional military assistance
wasn’t included in the stopgap bill that passed in September. The measure also
doesn’t include military support for Israel.
While conservatives had initially
pushed for a two-step approach, they ultimately opposed the plan
as it did not include the deep spending cuts they had demanded. Instead, it
extends funding at current levels, which allowed Johnson to get Democrats on
board.
The measure passed with a vote of 336 to 95 in the House on
Tuesday with more Democrats than Republicans voting in support. The Senate passed the bill 87 to 11 on Wednesday.
“Last night I signed a bill preventing a
government shutdown. It’s an important step but we have more to do. I urge
Congress to address our national security and domestic needs,” Biden said in
a post on X.
Johnson’s plan allows Congress to
avoid having to pass a major spending bill before the winter holidays, but the
lack of support from members of his own party will set up a leadership test for
the recently elected speaker.
His predecessor, Rep. Kevin
McCarthy, was ousted after putting the previous stopgap bill
on the House floor at the end of September, though the move averted a shutdown. But many House Republicans have signaled
that Johnson will be spared the same fate as McCarthy, arguing that he has not
been on the job long and inherited problems that were not of his own making.
ATTACHMENT TWENTY – From
USA
TODAY
House Speaker Mike Johnson's plan to avert a government shutdown gets
blowback from conservatives, but support from Democrats
Ken Tran abd Riley Beggin
WASHINGTON – House Speaker
Mike Johnson’s proposal to fund the government is facing serious pushback from a handful of ultraconservative
lawmakers, setting
up yet another showdown within the House Republican conference ahead of a
potential government shutdown Friday.
The newly installed speaker
has proposed a two-step extension of current funding levels to
appease members who oppose a massive spending package passed just before
Christmas. Part of the government – including public health, military
construction, housing, transportation, agriculture and energy programs – would
be funded until Jan. 19, with the rest funded through Feb. 2.
The House plans to vote on the
proposal as early as Tuesday.
The resistance Johnson, R-La., is
seeing from hard-right GOP members reflects the deep divisions that have roiled
the House Republican conference ever since they took control of the lower
chamber in January.
“I will not support a status quo
that fails to acknowledge fiscal irresponsibility, and changes absolutely
nothing while emboldening a do-nothing Senate and a fiscally illiterate
president,” Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., chair of the House Freedom Caucus said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The continuing resolution’s two
phased-approach “doesn’t change” the fact that the plan still continues current
funding levels, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, another member of the Freedom Caucus,
told reporters Monday, noting “it’s still a clean CR.”
Perry and Roy, along with other
House conservatives including Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Andrew Clyde of
Georgia, Bob Good of Virginia and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia outnumber
Johnson’s razor-thin, three-seat majority in the House.
"I think its a failure,"
Greene said of Johnson's first big move as Speaker. "I am not carrying on
Nancy Pelosi's budget...I think we should be holding the line."
As a result of the stiff
opposition Johnson’s continuing resolution is facing, the plan must also gain
support from Democrats, who refuse to support an extension that includes
conservative policy priorities−putting Johnson in between two factions
with the power to derail federal funding.
The good news for Johnson however
is that the White House and Democrats haven't ruled out the continuing
resolution even though the two-phased approach isn’t their preference because
it retains funding at current levels. Their openness to Johnson's proposal
lowers the prospect of a government shutdown but it is unclear just how much Democratic
support Johnson will need on the House floor.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer, D-N.Y. said on the Senate floor Monday he was “pleased that Speaker
Johnson seems to be moving in our direction by advancing a CR that does not
include the highly partisan cuts that Democrats have warned against,” but added
that the plan is “far from perfect.”
President Joe Biden told reporters
Monday that he hasn’t made up his mind on the tiered extension: “Let’s wait and
see what they come up with,” he said.
The president’s open-ended answer
is a markedly different response to Johnson’s continuing resolution compared to
other GOP-backed legislation that he has issued veto threats to.
But Democrats are not necessarily
happy about the development. The leading Democrat on the House Rules Committee,
Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, said the “bizarre” version of a continuing
resolution represents “a last minute hail mary” that will only make a future
shutdown more likely.
Republicans “have made clear that in
a divided government, they will refuse to work with anyone outside their
caucus,” he said. “Same circus, new ringmaster.”
Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the most
senior House Democrat and a member of the Appropriations Committee said the
plan is likely to pass, but called it a "sad thing" for the House:
"We are setting up ongoing crisis so that we will never come to rest and
make a decision, which is bad for government, bad for the American people, and
bad for the image of America."
The anger the continuing resolution has drawn from
conservative members has
prompted concerns that a handful of them could tank the bill in a procedural
vote known as a rule vote, which traditionally passes along party lines
regardless of support for the legislation. Hard-right members have broken that
precedent multiple times this year, shooting down multiple GOP-backed bills
unamicable to their conservative demands.
House GOP leadership moved to put
the continuing resolution on the floor under suspension, a procedural move that
dodges a rule vote but requires the funding plan to pass with two-thirds
support of the lower chamber instead of a simple majority, meaning the
continuing resolution will require heavy Democratic support.
Johnson's move to put the bill
under suspension is expected to receive heavy blowback from conservatives. Roy
told reporters "it would be a very bad idea" for the continuing
resolution to avoid a rule vote.
Why is
Congress facing a government shutdown?
Despite the vocal
opposition, most members are preparing to help Johnson pass a “clean” funding
extension just weeks after they toppled former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for doing the same
thing.
The federal budget is due every
year at the end of September. But this year, Washington faced a separate
deadline: A default on the national debt, which was narrowly avoided through a deal struck between McCarthy
and Biden.
As a part of that deal,
Congressional Republicans convinced the White House to agree to significant
cuts in discretionary spending for the 2024 fiscal year and to limit spending
to 1% growth in fiscal year 2025.
But when the time came to pass that
budget, McCarthy told appropriators to set spending levels below what he agreed
to with Biden, under pressure from the right wing of his caucus and against the
protests of Democrats.
As the fiscal year came to a close
in September, GOP hardliners resisted a stopgap spending measure. House
Democrats eventually helped McCarthy pass a funding extension through Nov. 17 – prompting the mutiny that
led to McCarthy’s ouster.
After three long weeks without a
Speaker, Johnson took the leadership mantle with just over three more weeks until
that deadline, setting up a new budget fight.
How would a
government shutdown affect me?
While there’s plenty to be
resolved before the deadline Friday night, members have a powerful incentive to
come to an agreement and avoid a shutdown.
If Congress can’t pass all 12
appropriations bills by the deadline, federal agencies must stop any work that
isn’t considered essential.
Essential services include air
traffic control and law enforcement – those employees continue to work, but
don’t get paid until the shutdown is over, so it could eventually lead to
flight delays and other inconveniences if the funding gap stretched on and people
stopped reporting to work, affecting more Americans beyond just federal
employees.
Social Security, Medicare and
Medicaid benefits would continue, but other services could be delayed such as
benefit verifications or the issuance of Medicare replacement
cards. Passport and visa services would also likely slow down.
Food assistance – the Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program – could be impacted quickly, as backup funding
would likely dry up quickly and require states to fund the program themselves
until Congress approves a budget.
ATTACHMENT TWENTY ONE – From
CBS
House Speaker Mike Johnson's plan to avert government shutdown faces
hurdles
BY CAITLIN YILEK UPDATED ON: NOVEMBER 13, 2023 / 5:07 PM
Washington — House Speaker Mike
Johnson's plan to keep the government open past Friday faces several hurdles
this week as time runs out to avert a shutdown.
Johnson unveiled his stopgap bill on Saturday that would
extend government funding at current levels for some agencies until Jan. 19,
while others would be funded until Feb. 2. It does not include steep spending
cuts demanded by conservatives, but it also does not provide funding for
Ukraine, Israel and the southern border.
"The bill will stop the
absurd holiday-season omnibus tradition of massive, loaded up spending bills
introduced right before the Christmas recess," the Louisiana Republican
said in a statement of the two-step plan.
The House Rules Committee is
meeting Monday afternoon to take up the bill. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, a member
of the committee, was one of the first Republicans to come out against
Johnson's plan.
"I can swallow temporary
extension if we are getting actual 'wins' on … well … ANYTHING. But not just a
punt," he wrote ahead of the committee's meeting.
Even if the bill makes it out of
committee, it could still fail on the House floor. Johnson can afford to lose
only four Republican votes before he needs to rely on Democrats to help pass
the bill.
In addition to Roy, Republican
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Warren Davidson of Ohio, George Santos
of New York, Bob Good of Virginia and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania have said
they oppose the measure. So, if they all follow through in voting against the
bill, Johnson will need Democratic support to pass it.
Before the start of a new fiscal
year on Oct. 1, Congress is responsible for passing a dozen appropriations
bills that fund many federal government agencies for another year. The bills
are often grouped together into a large piece of legislation, referred to as an
"omnibus" bill.
The House has passed seven bills,
while the Senate has passed three that were grouped together in a
"minibus." None have made it through both chambers.
Congress passed a last-minute deal
in September to keep the federal government open through mid-November just
hours before a shutdown was set to take effect.
The bipartisan deal angered
hard-right members who were opposed to any short-term extension that funded the
government at current levels, and wanted the House to instead take up individual
spending bills. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's detractors then ousted him from the role, which paralyzed the lower
chamber from moving any legislation for three weeks as Republicans failed to
come to a consensus over who should replace him.
Weeks later, Johnson is in the
same predicament.
Roy told reporters Monday that he
was "not going to go down that road" when asked whether Johnson could
face a no-confidence vote if the House passes the bill.
Johnson acknowledged earlier this month that
there was "a growing recognition" that another stopgap spending bill,
known as a continuing resolution, is needed to avert a government shutdown,
adding that Republicans were considering a new approach to temporarily funding
the government.
He referred to the approach as a
"laddered" continuing resolution that would set different lengths of funding
for individual appropriations bills. The bill he rolled out Saturday extends
appropriations dealing with veterans programs, transportation, housing,
agriculture and energy until Jan. 19. Funding for eight other appropriations
bills, including defense, would be extended until Feb. 2.
Last week, House Minority Leader
Hakeem Jeffries of New York called the "laddered" approach a
"nonstarter." But the bill's exclusion of spending cuts and
amendments could make it more appealing to Democrats. Jeffries has said such a
bill "is the only way forward."
A White House statement on
Saturday condemning the bill as an "unserious proposal" stopped short
of a veto threat. President Biden signaled Monday that he could be open to
signing it if it passes Congress.
"I'm not going to make a
judgment on what I'd veto and what I'd sign, let's wait and see what they come
up with," Mr. Biden told reporters.
Senate Democrats have mostly held
back from criticizing it. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday called
the bill "far from perfect," but said the "most important
thing" is that it excludes steep cuts and defense spending is included in
the February extension.
The Senate was set to hold a
procedural vote Monday night on a legislative vehicle for its short-term funding
extension, but delayed the vote.
Jack Turman contributed
reporting.
ATTACHMENT TWENTY TWO – From
HUFFPOST
Hard-Line Republicans Furious At Speaker Mike Johnson For Avoiding
Shutdown
House Democrats provided most of
the support for Johnson’s stopgap funding bill, which GOP spending foes said
didn't do anything to cut spending.
By Arthur Delaney and Jonathan Nicholson Nov 14, 2023, 12:10 PM EST
|
WASHINGTON ― Far-right
Republicans were incensed at House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) successful bid
to fund the government with support from Democrats.
The House on Tuesday passed
Johnson’s so-called two-step stopgap bill that would fund certain parts of the
government into mid-January and others into early February, setting up
potential partial government shutdowns unless spending agreements are reached.
But it was Johnson’s method to get
the bill through the House, as well as the fact it contained no spending cuts,
that angered some House Republicans. Johnson relied overwhelmingly on Democratic
votes instead of those from his own party.
The House Freedom Caucus, a bloc
of several dozen lawmakers, formally opposed the measure, though it did not say
it would retaliate against Johnson. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) suggested, however,
that there could be consequences.
“We’ll see,” Roy told reporters.
“I tend to try to give people grace. I gave Kevin grace, I give Mike grace.
Tough job. But I strongly disagree with this play call.”
Johnson used a special procedure
to circumvent the House rules committee, where Roy and other conservatives had
threatened to block a floor vote. The procedure, known as suspending the rules,
is usually reserved for non-controversial bills with broad bipartisan support.
It requires a two-thirds supermajority for approval, meaning lots of Democrats
will have to back the resolution for it to be adopted.
House Democrats provided
the bulk of the support in a 336 to 95 vote Tuesday. If approved by the Senate
and signed by President Joe Biden, the bill would fund smaller federal
agencies like the departments of Transportation, Agriculture and Veterans
Affairs, and several others through Jan. 19. Other agencies, including the two
biggest in the Defense and Heath and Human Services Departments, would be
funded through Feb. 2.
Without an extension, the
government faces a midnight deadline Friday night for shutting down.
Roy said it was “asinine” to use suspension,
and suggested that he might withhold support from future Johnson priorities.
“It’s hard to fundraise and vote for certain things when you’re getting rolled
on other things,” he said.
Johnson defended his choice and
touted what he said was a new spin on the usual stopgap bill formula.
“We’re not surrendering, we’re
fighting. But you have to be wise about choosing the fights,” Johnson said at a
press conference. He added that the idea of setting different dates for
different portions of the government to shut down if no agreement is reached is
“an important innovation” that changes the dynamics of the debate.
McCarthy was ousted in part
because the stopgap funding bill he passed using Democratic votes also had no
spending cuts, like Johnson’s measure. But Johnson said he’s not worried he
will face the same fate as McCarthy.
“I’m not concerned about it at all,” Johnson
said. “Kevin should take no blame for that. Kevin was in a very difficult
situation when that happened. This is a different situation.”
McCarthy, in a recent interview
with CNN’s Manu Raju, also said Johnson’s job is safe, with House Republicans
wary of trying to oust another speaker soon after the three-week House shutdown
that happened as they struggled to replace McCarthy with Johnson.
“Who are they going to replace him
with?” McCarthy asked.
Several conservatives who oppose
Johnson’s continuing resolution said they don’t think the speaker will face any
serious retaliation, since he’s only been in the job for a few weeks.
“The team’s down 30 to nothing in
the fourth quarter, you put in the backup quarterback, and you want to hold him
accountable for the three quarters of failure that got you behind?” Rep. Bob
Good (R-Va.) said, explaining why the team shouldn’t bench Johnson.
Still, Good likened the vote to
both a fumble and an interception. “But I’m not cutting the guy,” he said.
ATTACHMENT TWENTY THREE – From
TIME
Lawmakers Almost Came to Physical Blows at the Capitol. Twice
BY NIK POPLI NOVEMBER 14, 2023 1:34 PM EST
The hallowed halls
of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday witnessed not one but two near-physical
altercations involving lawmakers, showcasing the escalating animosity within
the political landscape.
The first incident unfolded when Rep.
Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, accused former House Speaker Kevin
McCarthy of deliberately elbowing him in the back. Burchett, one of the eight
GOP members who voted to remove McCarthy from his
leadership post in October, was speaking to reporters after a
closed-door Republican conference meeting when the incident occurred. According
to Burchett, McCarthy's blow was intentional and fueled by personal resentment.
“I was one of eight that voted him out,”
Burchett declared, labeling McCarthy a "bully" and emphasizing the
personal nature of the attack. "He’s mean and he knows it," Burchett
added, suggesting McCarthy's actions were inappropriate and describing the
encounter as "a little heated."
But McCarthy denied any deliberate
physical contact, telling CNN that the hallway was
tight and attributing the incident to the confined space. In an earlier interview on the network, McCarthy said he was
surprised by Burchett's vote to oust him, considering the Tennessee Republican
had previously supported his bid for the speakership.
The tension on Tuesday didn't stop
at the House. In a separate incident at a Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma
Republican, and Teamsters President Sean O'Brien nearly came to blows. The
confrontation stemmed from a series of provocative tweets exchanged between the
two, culminating in a direct challenge to settle their differences physically.
"You know where to find me.
Anyplace, Anytime cowboy," O'Brien tweeted at Mullin, leading to a heated
exchange during the Senate hearing. Mullin and O'Brien exchanged taunts and
challenges, with Mullin ultimately getting up from his seat, ready to confront
O'Brien physically. Mullin is a former undefeated Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
fighter, and was inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont
independent who caucuses with Democrats, intervened at the last minute,
admonishing Mullin to sit down and preventing the situation from escalating further.
"You're a United States senator, sit down," Sanders ordered Mullin as
he stood up to approach O’Brien. This was not the first clash between Mullin
and O'Brien, as their longstanding animosity had previously spilled into public
view on social media.
The two incidents on Capitol Hill
underscored the deepening divisions and personal animosities within the
political arena just days ahead of a potential government shutdown, raising
concerns about the state of civility and decorum among elected officials. A recent poll from Pew found that positive views of many
governmental and political institutions are at historic lows, with just 16% of
the public saying they trust the federal government always or most of the time.
ATTACHMENT TWENTY FOUR – From
HUFFINGTON
POST
Bernie Sanders Uses 2 Words To Shred Senate Skirmish He Shut Down
The Vermont senator stepped in
when tensions boiled over between GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin and labor union
leader Sean O’Brien.
By Lee Moran Nov 15, 2023, 08:27 AM
EST
Sen. Bernie
Sanders (I-Vt.) summed up as “pretty pathetic” the near-fistfight he was forced to
break up during
a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
Sanders stepped in after things got heated between former MMA fighter
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and Teamsters labor union leader Sean O’Brien
during a meeting of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, of
which Sanders is the chair. Watch their exchange above.
Sanders spoke
to CNN’s Anderson Cooper soon after.
“Well, it’s pretty pathetic,” he
told Cooper. “I mean, we have a United States senator challenging, you know, a
member of the panel who is the head of one of the larger unions in America,
which has just negotiated a very good contract for their workers, the
Teamsters.”
Sanders lamented, “This is what
goes on in a Senate hearing, and that’s why the American people are getting
sick and tired at what goes on here in Congress” when the country faces
numerous other crises such as wealth inequality and climate change.
The former Democratic presidential
candidate then accused the media of playing a role by focusing on controversial
moments in hearings rather than the substance of what was being discussed.
ATTACHMENT TWENTY FIVE – From
ABC
Senate passes short-term government funding bill averting shutdown
The vote took place in a late
night session on Wednesday.
By Mariam Khan, Lauren
Peller, and Sarah Beth Hensley November 15, 2023, 11:52 PM
Senate leaders voted Wednesday
night in favor of the short-term government funding bill the House passed Tuesday night ahead of Friday's shutdown
deadline.
House Speaker Mike Johnson pitched a two-step plan that he described as a
"laddered CR" -- or continuing resolution -- that will keep the
government funded at 2023 levels. The bill extends government funding until
Jan. 19 for the Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
and Energy departments, as well as for military construction. The rest of the
government is funded until Feb. 2.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer previously announced that the upper chamber intended to work with
Republicans to pass the bill as early as Wednesday.
MORE: Democrats help Johnson pass GOP bill to avoid government shutdown
While Senate bills typically take
a long, winding path before they reach a final vote on the floor, Schumer
previously said he planned to work with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to see
if they could expedite it.
"If both sides cooperate,
there's no reason we can't finish this bill even as soon as today, but we're
going to keep working to see what's possible," Schumer said earlier in the
day.
The government was set to shut
down at the end of the day Friday, but since there was zero appetite for a
shutdown ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, movement was expected to progress
faster than usual.
The White House had originally
dismissed the GOP proposal as "unserious," but a White House official
said earlier on Wednesday that President Joe Biden would sign the short-term
funding bill if it passed in the Senate.
The White House official had
called on the GOP to "stop wasting time on extreme, partisan
appropriations bills" and pass the president's supplemental aid request
for Israel, Ukraine, border security, humanitarian assistance and other
priorities. The House-approved bill does not include that supplemental aid for
Israel or Ukraine.
ATTACHMENT TWENTY SIX – From
GOVERNMENT
EXECUTIVE
Congress averts shutdown after Senate approves two-tiered CR
President
Biden is expected to sign the measure to keep agencies funded past Friday.
NOVEMBER 15, 2023 11:19 PM ET
ERIC KATZ
The Senate late Wednesday approved
in an 87-11 vote a two-tiered stopgap spending measure, sending to President
Biden’s desk a bill that will keep some agencies funded into January and others
into February.
The spending package won broad
bipartisan support after the House approved it on Tuesday. Senate leadership
worked into the night to reach an agreement to quickly pass the bill, allowing
senators to head home for the Thanksgiving break.
The continuing resolution follows
a plan House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., unveiled over the weekend, averting a
funding lapse that would have otherwise taken place late Friday by dividing
government funding into two buckets. The first bucket would fund the
departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Energy, Veterans
Affairs and Agriculture and would run through Jan. 19. The second measure would
fund the rest of government through Feb. 2.
It does not include any spending
cuts or policy provisions related to the border, as Johnson had also floated,
which caused nearly half of House Republicans to vote against it earlier this
week. Many Democrats and the White House initially opposed the two-tiered
approach, but they ultimately praised Johnson’s decision not to pursue cuts as
part of the CR and Biden is expected to sign the measure into law.
Johnson pitched the proposal as necessary
to “fight for conservative victories” and avoid a year-end package that lumps
all spending bills into one omnibus. Many lawmakers had expressed concerns the
bill would create two separate shutdown deadlines going forward, but Democrats
in both chambers nearly universally backed the measure as it represented a
“clean” CR to avoid a shutdown.
The Senate rejected an amendment
to the CR from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., that would have cut discretionary
spending by 1%.
“I am heartened, cautiously so,
that Speaker Johnson is moving forward with a CR that omits precisely the sort
of hard-right cuts that would have been non-starters for Democrats,” Senate
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor earlier this week. He added the
measure is not his preferred approach, but it would avert a shutdown without
spending cuts or “poison pill” riders.
Congress will now face two
separate deadlines to pass full-year fiscal 2024 appropriations bills. Johnson
said he would not put another short-term bill up for a vote.
The House has passed seven of the
12 annual appropriations bills that Congress must approve each year. It is
considering bills at far lower funding levels than those agreed to in the debt limit
deal it struck with President Biden earlier this year and is passing them along
party-line votes. The Senate has passed three of the fiscal 2024 bills, lumped
into one package, but did so with broad, bipartisan support and in alignment
with the Fiscal Responsibility Act's spending caps.
While Johnson agreed to keep
funding levels stable into 2024, he made clear on Tuesday he will push for
significant cuts and policy changes as lawmakers pivot to negotiations over
full-year appropriations. He added an omnibus near the holidays was a “terrible
way to run a railroad” and his tiered plan marked a “new innovation” that would
alter the dynamic.
“We’re not surrendering,” the
speaker said. “We are fighting. But you have to be wise about choosing the
fights.”
ATTACHMENT TWENTY SEVEN –
REMOVED
ATTACHMENT TWENTY EIGHT – From
Fox
Speaker Johnson rolls out plan to avoid government shutdown, prevent
'spending monstrosity'
Johnson's
plan would have two different funding deadlines aimed at preventing a 'spending
monstrosity' just before Christmas
By Elizabeth Elkind Fox News
Published November 11, 2023 4:32pm EST
The
Washington Times national politics correspondent Susan Ferrechio and FOX News
national correspondent Kevin Corke discuss how Rep. Jim Jordan’s, R-Ohio,
hardball tactics may have backfired in the Speaker race.
Speaker Mike
Johnson, R-La., unveiled a short-term spending plan on Saturday aimed at
averting a government shutdown when federal funding runs
out on Nov. 17.
The two-step
proposal would fund part of the government until Jan. 19, and the rest until
Feb. 2. A senior GOP aide told Fox News Digital on Friday that they are aiming
for a Tuesday House-wide vote.
Supporters of
a staggered short-term bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), argue it
puts targeted pressure on lawmakers to achieve their goals at an incremental
rate.
Johnson’s CR
includes no additional funding for Ukraine or Israel, but it does extend key
programs under the Farm Bill, another must-pass piece of legislation that
expires this year.
SPEAKER JOHNSON DRAWS BATTLE LINES
AHEAD OF GOVERNMENT SPENDING SHOWDOWN
The
speaker said his plan would avoid forcing lawmakers to make rushed decisions up against the
holiday season by extending funding through the new year. He also championed
its exclusion of President Biden’s $106 billion supplemental aid request for
Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the southern border.
In a one-page
summary of the plan, Johnson's office said the approach would "prevent
another irresponsible ‘Christmas omnibus’ spending monstrosity."
"This
two-step continuing resolution is a necessary bill to place House Republicans
in the best position to fight for conservative victories," Johnson said in
a statement after it was unveiled.
GOP REBELS' FAITH IN SPEAKER JOHNSON
ON SPENDING FIGHT COULD AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
"The
bill will stop the absurd holiday-season omnibus tradition of massive, loaded
up spending bills introduced right before the Christmas recess. Separating out
the CR from the supplemental funding debates places our conference in the best
position to fight for fiscal responsibility, oversight over Ukraine aid, and
meaningful policy changes at our Southern border."
The plan
first forces lawmakers to reckon with some of the traditionally less
controversial appropriations bills — those concerning military construction and
Veterans Affairs; Agriculture; Energy and Water; Transportation and Housing and
Urban Development. The remaining eight appropriations bills must be worked out
by Feb. 2.
House
Republicans have pledged to pass 12 individual spending bills for the next
fiscal year as opposed to a mammoth "omnibus" funding bill, which the
previous Democratically-controlled Congress passed last year.
SENATE PASSES STOPGAP MEASURE IN 88-9
VOTE, AVERTING SHUTDOWN WITH THREE HOURS TO SPARE
A majority of
Republican lawmakers, including Johnson allies, have signaled they understand a
CR is needed to give themselves more time to cobble together a deal and avoid a
shutdown.
But some GOP
hardliners are already coming out against it for extending the "omnibus"
priorities they opposed.
"My
opposition to the clean CR just announced by the Speaker to the [House GOP]
cannot be overstated. Funding [former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.]
level spending & policies for 75 days - for future ‘promises,’’ House Freedom
Caucus Policy Chair Chip Roy, R-Texas, wrote on X after a House GOP
members-only conference call.
Fox News' Chad Pergram
contributed to this report
Elizabeth
Elkind is a reporter for Fox News Digital focused on Congress as well as the
intersection of Artificial Intelligence and politics. Previous digital bylines
seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
ATTACHMENT TWENTY NINE – From
AP
Congress approves
temporary funding and pushes the fight over the federal budget into the new
year
The House voted overwhelmingly
Tuesday to prevent a government shutdown after new Republican Speaker Mike
Johnson was forced to reach across the aisle to Democrats when hard-right
conservatives revolted against his plan. (Nov. 15)
Updated 8:48 AM EST, November 16,
2023
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ending the
threat of a government shutdown until after the holidays, Congress gave final
approval to a temporary government funding package that pushes a confrontation
over the federal budget into the new year.
The Senate met into Wednesday
night to pass the bill with an 87-11 tally and send it to President Joe Biden
for his signature one day after it passed the House on an overwhelming bipartisan vote. It provides a funding patch into
next year, when the House and Senate will be forced to confront — and somehow overcome
— their considerable differences over what funding levels should be.
In the meantime, the bill removes
the threat of a government shutdown days before funding would have expired.
Without enough GOP support, Speaker Johnson had to rely on Democrats to
avoid a government shutdown
“This year, there will be no
government shutdown,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said at
a news conference after the bill’s passage.
The spending package keeps
government funding at current levels for roughly two more months while a
long-term package is negotiated. It splits the deadlines for passing full-year
appropriations bills into two dates: Jan. 19 for some federal agencies and Feb.
2 for others, creating two deadlines where there will be a risk of a partial
government shutdown.
“Everybody is really kind of ready
to vote and fight another day,” Republican Whip John Thune, the No. 2
Republican, said earlier Wednesday. The Senate is heading for a vote on a
temporary government funding package as lawmakers sought to keep the holiday
season free from any suspense over a government shutdown. Senators were trying
to speed forward on the funding package on Wednesday.
The two-step approach was not
favored by many in the Senate, though all but one Democrat and 10 Republicans
supported it because it ensured the government would not shut down for now.
Sen. Patty Murray, the Washington Democrat who chairs the Senate Appropriations
Committee, voted for the bill but said it would eventually “double the shutdown
risk.”
The spending bill also does not
include the White House’s nearly $106 billion request for wartime aid for
Israel and Ukraine, as well as humanitarian funding for Palestinians and other
supplemental requests. Lawmakers are likely to turn their attention more fully
to that request after the Thanksgiving holiday in hopes of negotiating a deal.
House Speaker Mike Johnson,
who crafted the plan, has vowed that he will not support any further stopgap
funding measures, known as continuing resolutions. He portrayed the temporary
funding bill as setting the ground for a spending “fight” with the Senate next
year.
The new speaker, who told
reporters this week that he counted himself among the “arch-conservatives” of
the House, is pushing for deeper spending cuts. He wanted to avoid lawmakers
being forced to consider a massive government funding package before the
December holidays — a tactic that incenses conservatives in particular.
But Johnson is also facing
pushback from other hardline conservatives who wanted to leverage the prospect
of a government shutdown to extract steep cuts and policy demands.
Many of those conservatives were
among a group of 19 Republicans who defied Johnson Wednesday to prevent floor
consideration of an appropriations bill to fund several government agencies.
GOP leaders called off the week’s
work after the vote, sending lawmakers home early for Thanksgiving. It capped a
period of intense bickering among lawmakers.
“This place is a pressure cooker,”
Johnson said Tuesday, noting that the House had been in Washington for 10 weeks
straight.
The House GOP’s inability to
present a united front on funding legislation could undercut the Louisiana
congressman’s ability to negotiate spending bills with the Senate.
Republicans are demanding that
Congress work out government funding through 12 separate bills, as the
budgetary process requires, but House leadership has so far been forced to pull
two of those bills from the floor, seen another rejected on a procedural vote
and struggled to win support for others.
When it returns in two weeks,
Congress is expected to focus on the Biden administration’s requests for
Ukraine and Israel funding. Republican senators have demanded that Congress
pass immigration and border legislation alongside additional Ukraine aid, but a
bipartisan Senate group working on a possible compromise has struggled to find
consensus.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch
McConnell in a floor speech pledged that Republicans would continue to push for
policy changes on the U.S. border with Mexico, saying it is “impossible to
ignore the crisis at our southern border that’s erupted on Washington
Democrats’ watch.”
One idea floating among
Republicans is directly tying Ukraine funding levels with decreases in the
number of illegal border crossings. It showed how even longtime supporters of
Ukraine’s defense against Russia are willing to hold up the funding to force
Congress to tackle an issue that has flummoxed generations of lawmakers: U.S.
border policy.
Most Senate Republicans support
the Ukraine funding, said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., but he added, “It is
secondary to securing our own border.”
But the U.S. is already trimming
some of the wartime aid packages it is sending Ukraine as funds run low, National
Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said from San Francisco, where he
accompanied President Joe Biden for a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders.
He said the pot of money available
for Ukraine is “withering away, and with it will be a deleterious effect on
Ukraine’s ability to continue to defend itself.”
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said
in a statement that he voted against Wednesday’s funding package because it did
not include aid for Ukraine.
Schumer said the Senate would try
to move forward on both the funding and border legislation in the coming weeks,
but warned it would require a compromise and implored the House speaker,
Johnson, to once again work with Democrats.
“I hope the new speaker continues
to choose the bipartisan approach,” Schumer said.
ATTACHMENT THIRTY – From
TIME
While Dodging a Shutdown, Congress May Have Just Given Some Jan. 6
Rioters a Break
BY PHILIP ELLIOTT NOVEMBER 16, 2023 1:54 PM EST
Congress just averted a shutdown by
agreeing to keep federal spending at current levels for a few more weeks. But
look under the hood of that agreement and you’ll find lots of money was moved
around within agencies in ways that affect how they operate. One potential
ripple effect: the Department of Justice may find itself paring back its
efforts to hold hundreds of Jan. 6 insurrectionists accountable for their
actions.
At first glance, this may not seem
like not such a big deal, given the stream of headlines of convictions secured
against Jan. 6 players. Maybe you remember the QAnon Shaman copping a plea
deal; he served 27 months of
a 41-month sentence—and this week announced he
would run for Congress. But hundreds of others who were part of the armed mob
who tried to short-circuit Congress’ duty to ratify Donald Trump’s loss have
yet to face any repercussions. Officials have said more than 2,500 people
breached the Capitol on Jan. 6; other estimates put the number of potential
defendants as high as 3,000.
As of Nov 1., just 1,202 people
have been charged, according to the DOJ.
The FBI says it has video of 13 suspects who violently assaulted federal
officers and two more who attacked journalists, and agents are still trying to
identify members of both groups.
So what does that have to do with
the short-term spending bill Congress just passed to avoid a shutdown? Well, it
includes a 12% cut in funding for federal prosecutors. That number was also
almost one-fifth lower than what the DOJ said it needed. Soon after Jan. 6 in
2021, when the agency said it was preparing to handle an “increasing number of
cases and defendants” related to domestic terrorism, a Democratic-controlled
Congress upped their funding for federal prosecutors to $2.8 billion. Last year,
that fell to $2.6 billion. And now, it looks like House Republicans managed to
carve that down to $2.3 billion over the next year, a reduction likely to mean
hundreds of fewer lawyers and other workers available to take on the
department’s caseload.
And as some House Republicans
complain that new House Speaker Mike Johnson rolled over for Democrats by not
demanding more cuts, official talking points from
the GOP caucus list all the ways they pushed their policy goals through this
spending bill, including, right there on page six, that they managed to roll
back DOJ’s reach of prosecutions. That suggests the agency will have a tough
time restoring that funding when it’s time to try to pass a longer-term budget
early next year.
This may all seem like an
accountant’s fever dream but a snooze for most Americans. But there are real
consequences for the ability of federal prosecutors to get the job done and
send a message to those who cheered on such a dark day in American history.
As anyone who spends their time
around law enforcement will tell you, trials are costly, not just in money but
also time. And defendants in these cases are guaranteed the right to a speedy
trial. Without a bench of seasoned prosecutors standing by to promptly handle
these cases, the defense lawyers can credibly argue their clients are being
denied just due process. Not to mention the courts themselves, which don’t
exactly have a lot of slack in courtrooms that are scheduled in six-minute
intervals. Which is also why many of these cases lay languishing without accountability.
Complicating all this is a ticking
stopwatch that haunts rank-and-file prosecutors. The standard statute of
limitations for most federal offenses is five years,
or 60 months. It’s been 34 months since the attempted insurrection at the
Capitol. For the math-challenged among us, that means half of the window has passed,
and as many as two-thirds of potential targets of prosecution are not even in
the system. While those who are—including the 683 guilty pleas and 127
convictions at contested trials—have cases that still require DOJ resources to
see through.
For a party that prides itself as
the one linking arms with law-and-order hardliners, excusing insurrectionists
who caused almost $2.9 million in
damage to the Capitol is the height of hypocrisy. And more broadly, choking off
cash to a department that is a cornerstone of protecting democracy is not a good look for either party. Yet, when given
the chance, House Republicans not only cut the budget for federal prosecutors
by one-eighth, they then told their colleagues that it should be a point of
pride.
ATTACHMENT THIRTY ONE – From
WashPost
Opinion: Congressional Fight Club is not a thing we need!
By Alexandra Petri November 15, 2023 at 3:59 p.m. EST
Is Congress okay? (I should say, specifically,
congressmen and, more specifically, Republicans.) What is
happening?
They are fighting now? There
is some sort of fight club going on, as far as I can tell, if reports
of three separate incidents on Capitol
Hill on the
same day are to be believed. (Okay, one of those might have been one lawmaker
telling another, “You look like a Smurf,” but the others had more of a violence
vibe.) Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a former MMA fighter, challenged the head of the Teamsters
union to
throw down in the middle of a committee hearing on Tuesday. Elsewhere, Rep.
Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) allegedly “shoved” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.). I know that people are always
asking questions like, “Are men okay?” and I think the word “Congress”
can easily be added to those sentences. Seriously, are congressmen okay? What
are congressmen doing? Why are congressmen acting like this?
An ugly scene highlights House GOP's descent into
infighting
Some of them are apparently taking
a page out of the Preston Brooks playbook — you do NOT want to be
taking a page out of the Preston Brooks playbook; it is a bad playbook — and
whaling on one another openly, or threatening to? (That can’t be the right
spelling of “whaling,” can it?) Do you know what happened to the country after
Preston Brooks started hitting Charles Sumner with a cane on the floor of the
Senate? It was not good, that’s for sure.
The last thing we need right now
is to see a headline like “Congressman Jabs Opponent” or “Congressman Pushes
Back” or “Congressman Fights Potential Nominees” and be UNABLE TO TELL WHETHER
IT CONTAINS METAPHORS. Do you know what a devastating impact this would have on
the day-to-day vocabulary of congressional correspondents? Now, every time I
see a member of Congress is making a motion to the floor, or, worse, a motion
to table, I will be nervous. Motions to vacate the chair will seem even more
ominous!
Are we going to start getting
fundraising emails from our elected representatives with subject lines like:
“THE FIRST RULE OF CONGRESSIONAL FIGHT CLUB” and body text like, “Dear
Constituent, I need protective garb if I’m going to be able to legislate! It’s
a ‘Mad Max’ situation on the floor of the Senate, and if I want to get my bill
out of Appropriations, I’m going to have to fight it out!”
“P.S. Please don’t tell Kevin McCarthy I
talked about Fight Club; I am not supposed to!”
Is this yet another thing I am
going to have to worry about when sending people to Congress — that they will
have to be able to hold their own if other lawmakers come at them from behind
with a folding chair?
Come on. This is not the criteria
I want to consider when electing someone to represent me in the nation’s
legislature. I think we have been selecting for the wrong skill set for some
time now, sending the people most enraged by the notion that Congress
occasionally passes legislation. I understand that many lawmakers are not there
to pass legislation and that they need other ways to spend time. But I never
thought they would start physically challenging one another.
“If I kidney-punched him, he’d be
on the ground. ... Let’s be realistic,” McCarthy, formerly speaker of the
House, actually told reporters after Burchett claimed
McCarthy elbowed him in the back. To adapt a line from Gore Vidal, “Once again,
Kevin McCarthy fails at speaking.” He is just pushing — specifically Burchett.
I understand that there are limits
to using your words, and that, for many of these congressmen, those limits are
reached early. And an uncharitable but fair thing you could say about this
Congress is that it is like you threw a party and the theme was “collect in a
room all the people least likely to legislate.” But come on.
I look away from Congress for one
fraction of an instant and suddenly they are carrying on like a Hieronymus Bosch painting? This is Congress now? I am
tired
ATTACHMENT THIRTY TWO – From
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT
What Have We Become?’ How Congress Came To Be So Boorish
The behavior of this Congress is a
stark departure from expectations for lawmakers in recent history. But this
week it seemed to reach new heights.
By Kaia Hubbard Staff Writer Nov. 16, 2023, at 6:10 p.m.
How Congress Came To Be So Boorish
They’re having outbursts in
inappropriate settings, spouting off insults – even comparing one’s appearance
to a tiny, blue cartoon character – and being accused of shoving their
frenemies in basement hallways.
They’re members of Congress.
“They should stop acting like children, except
that’s insulting to children,” Sen. Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Democrat, says of the
incidents between lawmakers this week.
“I used to teach 4-year-olds who
were far better behaved than this,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts
Democrat, says. “I mean, straighten up here.”
Even before this week, a number of
vulgar refrains, heated exchanges and a near physical altercation punctuated
this Congress after festering in recent years. Analysts explain that for some
who are disinterested in – and incentivized against – serious governing, the
repercussions of their childishness matter little if it gives them a
platform.
“There's been a significant shift
in decorum in the House of Representatives and even the Senate, for that
matter, particularly over the last 20 years, 30 years,” Dan Lamb, a lecturer at
Cornell University who ran for Congress in 2012, says. “It's a slow process,
but it's been a steady process, culminating in some of the actions this week
that make us want to stop and say, ‘Wait a minute? What have we become?’”
Indeed, this Congress seemed to
kick off with drama baked in. An unprecedented 15-round speaker fight began a
session that featured abundant name-calling and heckling, climaxing in one
lawmaker being physically restrained as he lunged toward Rep. Matt Gaetz, who
had withheld his vote for Rep. Kevin McCarthy over what the former speaker
called a personal grievance.
It didn’t stop there. There was
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s featuring of nude photos of Hunter Biden in a
committee hearing and reports of the Georgia Republican at another time calling
Rep. Lauren Boebert, Colorado Republican, a “little b—-” on the House floor.
There were shouts of “shame!” from Democrats when House Republicans voted to
censure Rep. Adam Schiff, California Democrat. And there was laughter as
Greene, on another occasion, told Democrats to have some decorum.
So this week – when Rep. Tim
Burchett, who voted to oust McCarthy, accused the former speaker of elbowing
him in a “clean shot to the kidneys” in a Capitol hallway, and when a heated
exchange ensued at a committee meeting between Rep. Jared Moskowitz and
Chairman James Comer, who said the New York Democrat looked like a “Smurf,” and
when Sen. Markwayne Mullin threatened to fight a witness – the drama wasn’t
new. But it seemed to reach new heights.
The picture of this Congress is a
stark departure from expectations for lawmakers in recent history. Even as
recently as 2009, when a South Carolina Republican shouted “you lie!” during an
address from then-President Barack Obama, he was formally rebuked by the House
for committing a “breach of decorum and degraded the proceedings of the joint
session, to the discredit of the House.”
But that move nearly 15 years ago
seemed to mark a moment when things changed, says Lindsey Williams Drath, CEO
of the centrist political party known as the Forward Party.
“That was the moment where I
thought, ‘This is different,’” Drath, who worked for nearly two decades in GOP
politics, says. “And I've really seen a lot change since then.”
Despite the reprimand, Republicans
would go on to regain control of the House the following year, as Drath says
voters “rewarded the Republican Party for that performative behavior.”
To be sure, experts note that in
the last couple of decades, elections have changed how candidates act – and
perhaps what voters expect of them – as they’ve been incentivized to cater to
the small swath of the electorate on the far extremes.
“For a lot of members, Congress is
not a legislature so much as it is a reality television show about a
legislature,” C. Lawrence Evans, a professor of government at the College of
William & Mary, says. “It's basically performance art – it’s theater.”
Adding to the pressure in
primaries to cater to the most extreme wings of each party is the demands of
divided government and subsequent changes to how Congress operates in recent
years, as key decisions are baked into massive bills that can get through the
chambers – though they’re often crafted and negotiated by leadership behind
closed doors, restricting the ability of individual members to legislate.
Political
Cartoons on Congress
“The opportunity for rank-and-file
members like Mullin, for instance, to make a difference as an individual have
been reduced and so they're looking elsewhere for ways to kind of curry favor
with the folks back home and build a base,” Evans says.
The combination has seemed to
create a troubling outcome: Not only do some lawmakers seem not to care about
being chastised for boorish behavior or grow concerned over its impact on the
functioning of government, they’re actually rewarded for it.
Some attributed the outbursts this
week to lawmakers being in session for too long, especially in the House, where
a grueling speaker election and spending fight kept members in town for
10-straight weeks, which Speaker Mike Johnson said creates a “pressure cooker.”
Gaetz, who filed an ethics complaint against McCarthy over the incident, joked
that he assumes “Mercury’s in retrograde, maybe a full moon.” And Sen. Cynthia
Lummis, Wyoming Republican, says that “something was in the water around here,”
calling it a “one-off day.”
But others saw it as evidence of a
growing problem in Congress.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont
independent, who chastised Mullin as he stood up during the hearing and seemed
to talk him down, says that it’s a “very sad state of affairs that instead of
focusing on the enormous crises facing America in so many areas that people are
grandstanding and even threatening physical altercations at a hearing.”
As for what led Congress here,
Sanders says there are a lot of factors. But one of them is former President
Donald Trump.
“If you hear some of the very ugly
things that Trump is saying lately, it would not be surprising that some of his
supporters here start echoing that,” Sanders says.
Experts say that the brash style
that Trump employs has become a model, especially in the House, for outsiders
to get elected and establish their status – regardless of their interest in
legislating. At its fringes might be the likes of the “QAnon shaman” who
stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 and is now running for Congress to represent
Arizona. But it also appears to have roots in a corrosive lack of trust in
government.
The developments this week have
invoked comparisons to a pre-Civil War era in Congress, when lawmakers feuded –
even dueled – over their views of slavery, like the infamous caning of Sen.
Charles Sumner.
“As a former staff member, you
know, we made jokes about that – ‘Well, at least they're not caning,’” Lamb
says. “But now they're going back and saying, ‘Well, look, it's been like this
before, it’s just how we govern.’ That’s a troubling analogy to make.”
ATTACHMENT THIRTY THREE – From
CNN
Biden signs stopgap spending bill, averting government shutdown
By Jalen Beckford and Kaanita
Iyer, CNNUpdated 8:17 AM EST, Fri November 17, 2023
President Joe Biden on Thursday
signed the stopgap spending bill into law, averting a shutdown for now and
setting up a contentious fight over funding in the new year.
The measure, which passed both
chambers with bipartisan support in a major victory for House Speaker Mike
Johnson, is an unusual two-step plan that sets up two new shutdown deadlines in
January and February.
The plan is not a full-year
spending bill and only extends funding until January 19 for priorities
including military construction, veterans’ affairs, transportation, housing and
the Energy Department. The rest of the government – anything not covered
by the first step – will be funded until February 2.
Democrats have once again
conceded aid for Ukraine after additional military assistance
wasn’t included in the stopgap bill that passed in September. The measure also
doesn’t include military support for Israel.
While conservatives had initially
pushed for a two-step approach, they ultimately opposed the plan
as it did not include the deep spending cuts they had demanded. Instead, it
extends funding at current levels, which allowed Johnson to get Democrats on
board.
The measure passed with a vote of 336 to 95 in the House on
Tuesday with more Democrats than Republicans voting in support. The Senate passed the bill 87 to 11 on Wednesday.
The bill was flown out
to San Francisco, California, Thursday for Biden’s signature, an
administration official said.
“Last night I signed a bill
preventing a government shutdown. It’s an important step but we have more to
do. I urge Congress to address our national security and domestic needs,” Biden
said in a post on X.
Johnson’s plan allows Congress to
avoid having to pass a major spending bill before the winter holidays, but the
lack of support from members of his own party will set up a leadership test for
the recently elected speaker.
His predecessor, Rep. Kevin
McCarthy, was ousted after putting the previous stopgap bill
on the House floor at the end of September, though the move averted a shutdown. But many House Republicans have signaled
that Johnson will be spared the same fate as McCarthy, arguing that he has not
been on the job long and inherited problems that were not of his own making.
ATTACHMENT THIRTY FOUR – From
Al
Jazeera
House passes stop-gap bill to avert
US government shutdown
Bill
extending funding into early 2024 was passed with Democrat support and needs to
be signed off by midnight on Friday.
Published On 15 Nov 202315 Nov 2023
The United States’s House of Representatives has passed a
temporary spending bill to avert a government shutdown that could have left as
many as 1.5 million public workers without pay.
The legislation, which would extend government funding until
mid-January, now heads to the Senate, where Democrats have a slim majority and
Republicans have also voiced support.
US government shutdown averted. What happens next?
US government shutdown imminent as lawmakers scramble
to reach agreement
With a US government shutdown imminent, what happens
to the economy?
What is a US government shutdown and who will be
affected?
To prevent a shutdown, the measure must
be signed by President Joe Biden before current funding for federal agencies
expires at midnight on Friday.
The 336-95 vote was a victory for new House Speaker Mike
Johnson, who was forced to reach across the aisle to Democrats when hard-right
conservatives revolted against his plan.
“Making sure that government stays in operation is a matter
of conscience for all of us. We owe that to the American people,” Johnson said
earlier on Tuesday at a news conference.
Johnson was elected as speaker less
than three weeks ago, following weeks of tumult that left the chamber without a
leader, even as the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war spurred calls for
quick congressional action.
With a slim 221-213 majority, he can afford to lose no more
than three Republican votes on legislation that Democrats oppose.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said in a
statement after the vote that he was pleased the bill passed “with a strong
bipartisan vote,” adding that he would work with his Senate Republican
counterpart, Mitch McConnell, to pass it “as soon as possible”.
The stopgap spending bill would extend government funding at
current levels into early 2024 in a two-part process that temporarily
funds some federal agencies to January 19 and others to February 2, giving
lawmakers more time to craft the detailed spending bills that cover everything
from the military to scientific research.
The bill passed with 209 Democratic and 127 Republican
votes, while 93 Republicans and two Democrats voted against it.
Some hardline Republicans said they were frustrated that the
bill did not include the steep spending cuts and border security measures they
sought.
Democrats, meanwhile, pressed for their own add-ons –
including aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan – but each now looks set to be
dealt with separately, with a $61bn request from the White House for Kyiv
looking particularly precarious amid conservative opposition.
Johnson’s predecessor as speaker, Kevin McCarthy, was
removed by a handful of hardline Republicans after
a similar vote in September to avert a shutdown that also relied on Democratic
votes.
ATTACHMENT “A” – FROM VARIOUS PARTISAN PEANUT
GALLERIES...
FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Sort by
Recent
stosh
7h
We really need to do something
about the growing rat infestation in DC.
WAHRHEIT
11h
The deficit and debt are not a crisis,
as the Republicans would have you believe, but they need to be addressed. In
his State of the Union speech, Biden should outline the Democrat’s approach to
taxes and spending. The plan should address both and entail a glide path to
stabilize our finances over time. This will offer a stark contrast to the
Republicans who are only offering deep cuts — an approach that Americans will
not accept. This is a wonderful time to demonstrate responsible governing.
Statesrights
11h
Once again we see the irresponsibility
of the democrats who want to spend and spend and spend. Who cares if the
government shuts down. It's only a partial shutdown. Why should we even pay our
congressional leaders when they are so irresponsible. A vote for democrat is a
vote for the destruction of the United States.
1
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WAHRHEIT
11h
The problem with the hard right is
that they have a tiny 3 seat majority in the House, and they do not control the
Senate or the White House. But they do not want to accept that, they want to
act like they have a supermajority, where no compromise is required.
FROM
the HUFFINGTON POST
·
Ronnie Goodson
1 day ago
Bernie Sanders is, of course, correct
that the national Media does focus on those controversial moments in hearings,
and in general when it comes to covering the government, rather than the
overall substance of any issue under discussion. For the national Media 'if it
bleeds it leads' is the rule t...
o
Nevada Smith
1 day ago
Good post and you hit the
proverbial nail on the head.
The media in some ways have lost
their way.
29
2
3
o
hugh macarthur
10 hours ago
It's sad but in politics facts only
matter in Dem primaries. Elections are about gut not brain . If politics was
rational would any Rep have been elected since Nixon?
3
1
Show 1 more
·
cpsummer P
1 day ago
It's a shame that Bernie has to be
a daddy and try to control the children in the room, please do your research
and vote adults back into office, otherwise we as a nation will continue to
decline.
50
1
·
Tom Distad
22 hours ago
Bernie has stayed on point for a
couple of decades; financial inequality IS one of our most serious issues, the
cause of many of our problems...
22
o
Frank Jones
19 hours ago
The rich usually get richer that's
capitalism it takes money to make money but after Reagan and all the tax breaks
for the wealthy things got very lopsided.
You don't give tax breaks to
people that already have lots and lots of money that makes no sense, all it
does is increase the national debt fr...
See more
8
1
1
·
Noman Atall
1 day ago
"The caning of Charles Sumner
is probably the most famous violent attack in Congress, but it is far from the
only one. In the three decades leading up to the Civil War, there were more
than 70 violent incidents between congressmen, writes Yale history professor
Joanne B. Freeman in The Field of Blo...
See more
29
o
Andrew Crowder
1 day ago
Everyone should call it out that
the caning of which Mullin apparently approved was in support of slavery.
7
1
·
Grayson Lily
1 day ago
Love me some Bernie. Republicans
want chaos and Bernie is an adult willing to remind others that they should act
like adults.
69
4
·
Harold Myerson
1 day ago
"The former Democratic
presidential candidate then accused the media of playing a role by focusing on
controversial moments in hearings rather than the substance of what was being
discussed." -L. Moran
It's not an accusation. It's a
fact! The story is about the confrontation rather than the substa...
See more
14
1
1
·
David Lightwood
1 day ago
This is where Bernie shines. His
wheelhouse.
And of course this roided out
stunt eclipsed everything of real importance in the media. They love this
stuff, they created it all. It's all amateur night and they are the ones
selling the tickets and handing out the prizes. That certainly includes
Cooper...
See more
29
3
o
OhG Orland
1 day ago
I stopped taking Cooper seriously
after he defended CNN’s free hour ad starring Trump. Not a serious media
outlet.
16
3
·
Joseph Tomberlin
1 day ago
I had a retired judge friend once
tell me to never name a child with any variation of Wayne, Da-Wayne, Sha-Wayne,
La-Wayne etc. They’re always in trouble and the judge saw more of these in
court than any other name. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) just adds to that body
of evidence.
23
2
o
Joseph Tomberlin
1 day ago
And apologies to all the good
Wayne’s out there, and congratulations on beating the meme.
3
1
Show 1 more
·
Ellen Zepp
21 hours ago
Sit down. You are a United States
Senator!
That says it all.
I hope republican voters saw this.
Violence is the answer to MAGAs
getting what they want.
No one in their right mind should
be voting for ANY PRESIDENT (Democrat or Republican) who can't face a loss and
resorts to violence to retain power.
14
1
1
·
Lynne Willey
1 day ago
No wonder the Republican was
angry, the union had a win for workers.