Federal government to shut down March 4th 2011?
By DAVID ESPO
AP Special Correspondent
Feb 17, 2011
WASHINGTON (AP) - In a deepening struggle over spending, Republicans and Democrats swapped charges Thursday over a possible government shutdown when money runs out March 4 for most federal agencies.
"Read my lips: We're going to cut spending," declared House Speaker John Boehner. He pledged that the GOP-controlled House would refuse to approve even a short-term measure at current funding levels to keep the government operating.
The Ohio Republican prefaced his remarks by accusing Democrats of risking a shutdown "rather than to cut spending and to follow the will of the American people."
But moments later, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., retorted that Boehner was resorting "to threats of a shutdown without any negotiation." Officials added that Democrats would seek a short-term bill without any cut in spending levels, a position sharply at odds with Boehner's.
The sparring occurred as the House labored to complete work on veto-threatened legislation to cut more than $61 billion from the budget year that's more than a third over. That bill also would provide funding to keep the government operating until Sept. 30.
Working through dozens of amendments, the House voted 244-181 in early evening to block the FCC from implementing "network neutrality" regulations. The rules prohibit phone and cable companies from discriminating against Internet content and services, including online calling and Web video services that may compete with their core operations.
With that one bill at the center of a political dispute - the House has repeatedly worked well past midnight on the legislation this week - Boehner chose the moment to open a second front. To underscore the budget-cutting commitment by the 87 conservative new members of his rank and file, he announced that Republicans would move quickly this spring on companion legislation to cut "wasteful mandatory spending" by the federal government.
He provided no details, but party officials said they expected the effort to begin shortly after the House returns from next week's recess.
The current legislation is sweeping in scope, containing cuts to literally hundreds of domestic programs, from education to environmental protection, nutrition and parks.
In addition, it has become a target for first-term conservative Republicans eager to demonstrate their budget-cutting bona fides and for other lawmakers hoping to change the course of government in ways large or small.
Republicans led the way on a 250-177 vote to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from imposing limits on mercury pollution from cement factories. Supporters said the new rules would send American jobs overseas, where air quality standards are more lax or non-existent.
An attempt by Democratic Rep. Barney Frank to increase funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission was turned back, despite arguments that lax enforcement of Wall Street contributed to the financial meltdown of two years ago. The vote was 270-160.
Controversial social issues also came into play.
Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., a strong foe of abortion, proposed to block Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal funds. The organization provides a variety of women's health services, and its website says abortion is a "safe and legal way to end pregnancy."
Critics of the proposal noted that federal law already prohibits the use of government funds for abortions in most circumstances.
House leaders had originally hoped to complete work on the bill by day's end, but even after long hours in session this week, that appeared increasingly unlikely.
Among the dozens of proposals yet to be voted on was an attempt to block the use of funds to implement the year-old health care law, and a move to prevent the Federal Communications Commission from implementing proposed new regulations known as network neutrality.
At 359 pages, the legislation would eliminate some programs while reducing many more.
Among those targeted for elimination are the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees AmeriCorps and Senior Corps and currently has a budget in excess of $1 billion.
Funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would also be wiped out, at $86 million.
The spending bill bears the strong imprint of the newly elected Republicans, many of whom were backed by tea party supporters and are sworn to reduce deficits.
An attempt by GOP leaders to send a smaller package of spending cuts to the floor was rebuffed last week by the newcomers, who said they would accept nothing less than a measure that met their commitment to the voters last fall. As candidates, they promised to cut Obama's budget request by $100 billion, a figure that translates to $61 billion from current levels.
While passage in the House is assured, the legislation faces a rocky reception in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Democrats there have not yet said what level of cuts, if any, they will accept through Sept. 30. Nor has the White House.
As a result, the expectation is widespread that no final compromise will be reached before the March 4 deadline, leaving lawmakers and the White House to work out a stopgap bill - or perhaps even a series of them - while negotiating over the comprehensive measure.
Boehner's statement that he will accept no short-term bill without spending cuts is in keeping with the mood of his rank and file. At the same time, it underscores a strategic calculation among Republicans that the way to exert maximum pressure on the White House is to demand at least a modest reduction in spending at each opportunity.
At the same time, Boehner has said repeatedly the Republicans do not desire a government shutdown, an experience he has some experience with.
He was a junior member of the GOP leadership in 1995 when then-Speaker Newt Gingrich led Republicans into a confrontation over spending that resulted in twin government shutdowns.
The stalemate ended in a Republican retreat, and helped then-President Bill Clinton resurrect his presidency after sweeping defeats in the 1994 congressional elections.
Boehner's statement that Republicans intend to cut "wasteful mandatory spending" before writing a 2012 budget this spring came as a surprise to some GOP aides.
They said planning was not far along, and offered no details on the overall amount of savings anticipated.
Among the items under consideration for cuts is a prevention and public health fund established under the health care law approved last year. Alexa Marrero, a spokeswoman for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, called it a "massive slush fund" for the Health and Human Services Department.
Last year, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the cost of the program at nearly $13 billion over a decade.
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INSIDER-Uncle Sam braces for government shut-down showdown
NEW YORK Feb 18 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to prevent a government shutdown, but a compromise on spending appears no where in sight.
The U.S. government faces a March 4th deadline to resolve their differences over spending priorities.
The U.S. House of Representatives is nearing passage of a GOP budget bill that includes $61 billion dollars in spending cuts. But Senate Democrats have vowed to block the bill.
"A federal shutdown is always a possibility, but I think both sides are hoping to avoid it," Brian Riedl of the Heritage Foundation told Reuters Insider in a special report.
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Government shutdown is likely, Pelosi aide says
By JONATHAN ALLEN
2/18/11
A high-ranking aide to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told chiefs of staff of Democratic lawmakers that a government shutdown is more likely than not, according to attendees.
Speaking at a regular meeting of the top aides to House Democrats, Pelosi’s floor director, Jerry Hartz, offered, unprompted, his assessment that the odds favor inaction before the government runs out of money, sources said.
That became the focal point of the meeting, sources said, with the other aides asking only questions about “the possibility of a government shutdown and the logistics” — i.e., what it would mean for their offices and government services — according to one chief of staff who spoke to POLITICO on the condition of anonymity.
The aide said the message of a likely shutdown did not appear geared toward ginning up the staffers for political purposes.
“It was genuine,” the aide said.
A spokesman for Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) responded to the news of the meeting, saying Republicans have no plans to close the government’s doors.
“This is just another example of Washington Democrats rooting for a government shutdown, hoping to take partisan advantage,” said spokesman Michael Steel. “Republicans, on the other hand, are listening to the American people, who want us to cut spending — not shut the government down.”
In fact, during a closed-door meeting Friday afternoon between Republican leaders and GOP freshman lawmakers Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told the rookies that Nancy Pelosi’s warning of a government shutdown is reckless, according to a source inside the room.
Republicans, however, are clearly trying to gird their new lawmakers how to deal with the politics of a potential government shutdown.
“Republicans are not about a shut down — if that is the Democrats’ intention, that is unfortunate,” Cantor told the freshman lawmakers, according to the source. “When you go home and talk to your constituents, let’s show them how united we are, and let’s them that we are changing Washington and finally getting this government’s fiscal house in order.”
A spokesman for Pelosi pushed back on the accusation, saying Democrats are not rooting for a shutdown.
“The last thing the American people need is for congressional Republicans or Democrats to draw a line in the sand that hinders keeping the government open,” said Nadeam Elshami.
One aide, who was not at the meeting, said Hartz’s remarks were misinterpreted. “He was saying what would happen if the worst occurs, which has already been advocated by some Republicans. He wasn’t predicting anything,” that aide said. “Democrats are committed to work responsibly with Republicans to ensure that critical services to our constituents are not cut.”
Yesterday Pelosi told reporters that if there is a government shutdown, responsibility will fall on Republicans’ shoulders.
“It is a failure. It’s really a failure to say we have taken the leadership of the Congress of the United States and the first thing we’re going to do is shut down the government to the detriment of our people, to our security and to our country’s future,” she told reporters.
“I would hope that instead of having ultimatums and statements of ‘I’m not going to do this’ or ‘I’m not going to do that’ that we will really have a process, go forward with an approach that talks about how to keep government open, not how we intend to shut it down,” she said.