Thursday, August 1, 2013

Fwd: AUGUST 1, 2013

     If you like government shutdowns, hang on.  One is probably coming.  Congress is getting ready for its annual August recess, which Washington Post columnist Dana Millbank correctly describes as a "five-week vacation," unless, of course, they decide to extend it.

     A reward for accomplishment, for hard work well done?  Oh, no. The score on appropriations bills passed is four out of twelve.  Will the others be passed by the time the new fiscal year starts?  No.

     This kind of budgetary mess is fairly traditional in Congress;  I remember them from when I covered it.  But there's a new element this yearthey'd like to kill Obamacare, the President's health care law which is wtitten so as to be phased in gradually.  Millbank quotes Republican Ted Cruz of Texas:  "We will not vote for a single continuing resolution (a parliamentary device for keeping things going at their existing level) that funds even a penny of Obamacare."

     Whether all House Republicans will obey is a question, of course, but if they could it would be a spectacle to watch.  Can a government which is closed for business pay its bills?  Send out Social Security checks?  Nope.  Stay tuned.

 


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