ltorlo64
10-16-2013, 07:33 AM
As the budget fiasco continues, and the pressure is being ramped up (as it should be), it is important to remember how these “negotiations” have been handled by the President, Republicans, and Democrats.
Before the government shut down, Republicans in the House offered a budget that did not include funding for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Senate, without voting, did not even discuss this proposal. The only comments were from the President and Senator Reid saying that this proposal was not acceptable and that Republicans in the House wanted to shutdown the government.
Next, Republicans in the House proposed a budget that postponed implementation of the ACA by one year. This had already been done, at least in part, by the President when he put off implementing the Employer Mandate by a year. The President did this without consulting or working with Congress, he just changed existing law. Again, this proposal was not allowed to be debated or voted on in the Senate. The Republicans were accused of not compromising and wanting to shutdown government.
After this the Republicans in the House, since the President and Democrats in the Senate were not offering any proposals, passed various funding bills to fund specific parts of the government. This, again, was not discussed or voted on by the Senate and no counter offers were made.
After this proposal the debt ceiling was added to the issue. Because our government is spending so much more than in brings in we have to borrow money to pay our bills. That should scare everyone. Now that this has been added to the mix the President and the Democrats have said the only acceptable option is to fully fund the ACA and raise the debt limit by almost another trillion dollars. Any proposals that don’t address both are unacceptable.
After 2 weeks of nothing the Senate finally got in the game and have proposed a budget that funds the ACA, gives a break to the Unions by not having them implement the ACA for at least a year (hard to know as there are not much written on this proposal except that it exists) and raises the debt limit enough to get the country to January, where we go through this again. It also sets up a commission to determine where we can cut spending. The issue with this is we ended up with the sequester cuts because a special commission to cut spending couldn’t decide what to cut. I do not hold much hope out for doing the same thing again.
As I look back at the previous 2 months, actually longer, of “negotiations I only see one side negotiating and compromising. It is not the President and the Democrats. This word needs to continue to be pushed out. The Democrats by not acting are not negotiating or compromising. The latest proposal to put off the Unions part of the ACA is not a concession to the Republicans but to the Unions, who support the Democrats but are very unhappy with the ACA. As the various news reports continue to push this as a problem with the Republicans in the House, please keep these issues in mind. The news, Democrats and the President are certainly not.
Before the government shut down, Republicans in the House offered a budget that did not include funding for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Senate, without voting, did not even discuss this proposal. The only comments were from the President and Senator Reid saying that this proposal was not acceptable and that Republicans in the House wanted to shutdown the government.
Next, Republicans in the House proposed a budget that postponed implementation of the ACA by one year. This had already been done, at least in part, by the President when he put off implementing the Employer Mandate by a year. The President did this without consulting or working with Congress, he just changed existing law. Again, this proposal was not allowed to be debated or voted on in the Senate. The Republicans were accused of not compromising and wanting to shutdown government.
After this the Republicans in the House, since the President and Democrats in the Senate were not offering any proposals, passed various funding bills to fund specific parts of the government. This, again, was not discussed or voted on by the Senate and no counter offers were made.
After this proposal the debt ceiling was added to the issue. Because our government is spending so much more than in brings in we have to borrow money to pay our bills. That should scare everyone. Now that this has been added to the mix the President and the Democrats have said the only acceptable option is to fully fund the ACA and raise the debt limit by almost another trillion dollars. Any proposals that don’t address both are unacceptable.
After 2 weeks of nothing the Senate finally got in the game and have proposed a budget that funds the ACA, gives a break to the Unions by not having them implement the ACA for at least a year (hard to know as there are not much written on this proposal except that it exists) and raises the debt limit enough to get the country to January, where we go through this again. It also sets up a commission to determine where we can cut spending. The issue with this is we ended up with the sequester cuts because a special commission to cut spending couldn’t decide what to cut. I do not hold much hope out for doing the same thing again.
As I look back at the previous 2 months, actually longer, of “negotiations I only see one side negotiating and compromising. It is not the President and the Democrats. This word needs to continue to be pushed out. The Democrats by not acting are not negotiating or compromising. The latest proposal to put off the Unions part of the ACA is not a concession to the Republicans but to the Unions, who support the Democrats but are very unhappy with the ACA. As the various news reports continue to push this as a problem with the Republicans in the House, please keep these issues in mind. The news, Democrats and the President are certainly not.