Senate Kills Two Republican House Bills to Stop Sequestration

Do-nothing Democrat-controlled Senate. You won’t hear Obama berating them about being obstructionists.

From Politico:

On back-to-back votes Thursday, the Senate killed the last two legislative options standing between Congress and tens of billions in across-the-board spending cuts — now expected to take effect by midnight Friday.

President Barack Obama and top House and Senate leaders will meet Friday. But at this stage, the first round of $85.3 billion in reductions appears unstoppable.

In a single stroke, total discretionary appropriations will be rolled back to levels below 2008, the last year of George W. Bush’s presidency. Absent some compromise, the full long-term reduction over nine years will be nearly $1 trillion.

For both Congress and Obama, surrendering to the automatic cuts represents a watershed event and one that won’t end soon. Indeed Thursday’s votes usher in what could be months of turmoil, as the government adjusts like an aircraft carrier turning slowly in the ocean.

Fearful of the political backlash, the Senate Republican leadership mounted a last ditch attempt to cede broad authority to Obama to implement the first reductions over the next seven months. But splits in the GOP doomed any chance of success, and that bill failed 38 to 62 with as many as nine Republicans joining in the opposition.

Notice how Republicans get blamed despite the Democrats controlling the Senate? More Democrats voted NO than Republicans who tried to give Obama responsibility for the cuts he signed into law and threatened to veto any bill stopping these cuts. Shhh, low-information dolts don’t know the truth.

Continue reading>>>

 

Read Full Post »

Another Blank Check: House Repubs Pass “No Budget, No Pay” and Extends Debt Ceiling for 4 Months

More spending and no spending cuts = more deficits and national debt = Greece!

From The Hill:

The House on Wednesday approved a bill extending the nation’s debt limit, raising pressure on the Senate to pass its first budget in nearly four years. The House approved the No Budget, No Pay Act, which also includes a measure withholding senators’ pay until they complete that work, in a 285-144 vote. Among Republicans, 33 voted against it to protest the absence of specific spending cuts alongside suspending the nation’s borrowing limit. But they were more than offset by the 86 Democrats who voted for the measure. The bill extends the debt ceiling through May 18, and requires each chamber to pass a budget by April 15 or have its members face a suspension of pay. Republicans are hoping the bill gives Congress a few months to find a longer-term debt-ceiling agreement that includes significant spending cuts.

Continue reading>>>

Read Full Post »

House Republicans Aim to Block Contriversial Obamacare IPAB Board’s Medicare Cuts

But, but, but Obama, Democrats and their lapdog media said there were no cuts to Medicare.

From The Hill:

House Republicans signaled Thursday they will not follow rules in President Obama’s healthcare law that were designed to speed Medicare cuts through Congress.

The House is set to vote Thursday afternoon on rules for the 113th Congress. The rules package says the House won’t comply with fast-track procedures for the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) — a controversial cost-cutting board Republicans have long resisted.

The rules package signals that Republicans might not bring up Medicare cuts recommended by the IPAB — blocking part of a politically controversial law, and resisting Medicare spending cuts.

The rules could be challenged in court, because they seek to override a law that Congress passed, but unless that happens, the House can likely abide by the rules it adopts Thursday.

House Republicans have tried unsuccessfully to repeal the IPAB, the central cost-cutting feature in the Affordable Care Act. The IPAB was designed to take Medicare payments largely out of Congress’s hands, similar to the independent panel that recommends closing military bases, because lawmakers would rarely sign off on such politically risky moves.

The IPAB is a panel of 15 healthcare experts, which will recommend targeted savings if Medicare spending rises above a certain rate. The panel is not allowed to cut Medicare benefits.

Continue reading>>>

Read Full Post »

WTF? House Passes Bill Eliminating Senate Confirmation for Presidential Appointees

What in the hell are Republicans thinking. Did they forget whose in the White House and the radicals he’s already appointed? The same guy who constantly usurps congressional power and ignore the checks and balances set up by the Constitution.

From DC:

UPDATE: The House passed the legislation Tuesday night by a vote of 261-116. The bill now goes to President Obama’s desk for his signature.

The House of Representatives is set to consider legislation Tuesday that would exempt certain presidential appointees from having to be confirmed by the Senate.

But a number of conservative groups are arguing that the “Presidential Efficiency and Streamlining Act” amounts to Congress neutering itself and giving the executive branch unprecedented power.

Presidential appointees that would no longer require Senate confirmation under the legislation include the treasurer of the United States and the deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

“The United States Constitution does not bestow kingly powers on the President to appoint the senior officers of the government with no process,” wrote Thomas McClusky, the senior vice president for the Family Research Council’s legislative arm, in a Monday memo to lawmakers.

Sources told The Daily Caller that there is concern in the ranks among conservatives opposed to the legislation that House leaders will bring the legislation up for a voice vote to avoid putting members on the record.

“I can tell you that there will be members who want this vote on the record,” an aide to one conservative member told TheDC. “Whether or not they’ll get the chance is still in question.”

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s office didn’t comment on questions Tuesday from TheDC about the bill.

But the intent of the legislation is to help tackle the backlog of presidential appointees needing congressional confirmation. Critics like McClusky argue this is the result of a larger problem.

“If the Senate wants to streamline the process, it should eliminate some of the administration’s positions,” McClusky wrote.

The legislation, sponsored by New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, passed the Senate in June 2011, with 20 Republicans voting against it. The Senate bill has 17 co-sponsors, including both Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

McClusky of FRC Action estimated in his memo that “thousands of positions would be filled by the President without any Senate vetting.”

The legislation would affect appointments across the executive branch, including to the Defense, Homeland Security and Justice departments.

Referencing the Obama administration, McClusky wrote that, “In an administration that’s already circumvented Congress with dozens of controversial ‘czars’ this would mean even less accountability for the White House.”

Continue reading>>>

 

Read Full Post »

Bipartisan House Votes to Repeal ObamaCare

Hey Obama, bipartisanship works.

The Hill:

The House voted again Wednesday to repeal the 2010 healthcare reform law, giving Republicans some revenge against the late June Supreme Court ruling that found the law to be constitutional.

Members approved the bill in a 244-185 vote, after five hours of debate that stretched over two days.

As expected, just a handful of Democrats supported the GOP repeal bill. Five Democrats, Reps. Dan Boren (Okla.), Larry Kissell (N.C.), Jim Matheson (Utah), Mike McIntyre (N.C.) and Mike Ross (Ark.), sided with Republicans in the final vote. Of this group, all but Matheson voted with the GOP in a procedural vote on the bill Tuesday.

Republicans insisted on passing the Repeal of Obamacare Act, H.R. 6079, in reaction to the Supreme Court ruling, even though Democrats pointed out that the bill would be ignored by the Democratic Senate. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) cast the bill as a way to give the Senate another chance to heed the will of Americans who oppose the legislation and see it as something that has led to increased healthcare costs and hindered job creation.

“For those who still support repealing this harmful healthcare law, we’re giving our colleagues in the Senate another chance to heed the will of the American people,” Boehner said, noting the House vote against the law at the start of the 112th Congress. “And for those who did not support repeal the last time, it’s a chance for our colleagues to reconsider.”

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Republicans felt compelled to put members on the record about the healthcare law after the Supreme Court ruling, which surprised both parties.

Continue reading>>>

Read Full Post »

Study: House Republicans Speak at a Higher Grade Level than President Obama

I’ve been exposed

This is how Obama tricked so many idiots into voting for him. Libs are thinking but…but…but, he’s the smartest ever! Haha

From WFB:

A new study conducted by a non-profit organization reveals that House Republicans speak at a higher grade level than President Barack Obama.

Liberals, including MSNBC host Martin Bashir, reveled in a Sunlight Foundation study that found that Republicans spoke at lower reading levels than congressional Democrats. The GOP’s 10^th grade speech level ranks two grades higher than Obama’s rhetoric.

The Washington Free Beacon assessed dozens of Obama speeches from different stages of his career using the Flesch-Kincaid method and found that the pattern of simple speeches did not start with his reelection campaign.

Since taking office, Obama has routinely spoken to the American people in a more simplistic manner than his predecessor, George W. Bush.

Obama’s State of the Union addresses peaked at a 10th grade level in 2009 and declined to an eighth-grade level by 2012. Bush, on the other hand, scored consistently above the 10th grade level with his State of the Union addresses, including a high of 11.84 for his 2005 address.

Continue reading>>>

Read Full Post »

Nancy Pelosi Doesn’t Like JOBS Act Passed by House Republicans and 158 Democrats…All No Votes Came from Democrats

Most of us know who the real party of NO is. Pelosi is scared the bill will actually create jobs, unlike Obama’s $830 billion stimulus and those imaginary “shovel-ready” jobs.

From The Hill:

The House Thursday afternoon overwhelmingly approved legislation aimed at easing the rules for capital formation for small companies, which Republicans hailed as a major job-creation bill but Democrats said is just a minor fix for the economy.

Members approved the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act in a 390-23 vote that saw 158 Democrats join every voting Republican in support of the bill. All “no” votes were Democrats.

“In his State of the Union address, President Obama asked Congress to send him a bill that helps start-ups and entrepreneurs succeed,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said shortly before the final vote. “The JOBS Act that we’ll be voting on today does exactly that.

“I strongly urge Sen. Reid to take up this bill as quickly as possible, and let’s just get it to the president’s desk.” The Senate appears more likely to take up the bill, as the Obama administration supports the measure.

…While the bill was clearly supported by both parties, Democrats argued over the last two days that Republicans should not overstate the impact it would have on jobs.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) mocked the Republicans’ jobs package Thursday, likening the “meager” bill to a “little king.”

Asked during her weekly press conference why Democratic leaders haven’t “trumpeted” the rare bipartisan nature of the Republicans’ effort, Pelosi argued that the legislation is simply too small to have any significant impact on the economy.

Aww, little Nancy wanted to spend more so the Democrats could add even more to the national debt.

Trumpets, she suggested, are reserved to announce major events. “[And] here comes the little king,” she said, after making a trumpet sound of her own from the podium.

Continue reading>>>

Read Full Post »

Obama’s Going to Blow Off His Job Council’s Recommendations Because “Obviously This Is An Election Year”

In typical fashion, Obama appoints a council to do the job he refuses to do. Then the council recommends a way for Obama to do his job only to have Obama ignore those recommendations. Obama did this to his Bowles-Simpson “deficit commission.” Now he’s doing it to his jobs council because they recommended many of the same things Republicans have proposed and passed in the House, only to have them blocked by Senate Democrats.

From RCP:

President Obama met with his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness on Tuesday to review their latest report, “detailing recommendations to the President on strengthening our economy.”

According to the Council’s report, members are pushing for many ideas that are considered to be conservative in nature, including several that have already passed in the Republican-controlled House as jobs bills.

“With this report, President Obama’s own panel of experts has endorsed the approach to job creation House Republicans have been pursuing for more than a year,” Republican House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement.

However, President Obama tried to nix the Council’s ideas by telling them he’ll try his best to get the recommendations done, but told them this is an “election year” and “getting Congress focused on some of these issues may be difficult.”

“I want you to know that obviously this year is an election year, and so getting Congress focused on some of these issues may be difficult. But we have been struck by the degree of capacity we have administratively to at least chip away at some of these problems. Oftentimes, it’s hard to get the kind of comprehensive solutions that you want without legislative involvement. But those small, incremental steps, they add up, and we’re going to continue to make sure that we push that as hard as possible,” Obama told the Council.

Instead of attacking Republicans and calling them “obstructionists,” maybe Obama should attack Democrats in the Senate who have held up economic progress. This jobs report, and Obama’s unwillingness to listen to his very own jobs council, proves two things. 1) Democrats are the real obstructionist and 2) Obama is a political ideologue. This goes against his campaign agenda to paint the Congress as a “do-nothing Republican Congress.”

Continue reading>>>

Read Full Post »

Obama’s Job Council Push House Republican Ideas Obstructed by Senate Democrats

This pretty much exposes that whole Obama/Democrat “Republicans are Obstructionist” claim.

via The Washington Times:

President Obama’s jobs council endorsed a wide range of pro-growth proposals Tuesday that includes building oil pipelines and expanding drilling in the U.S., steps that House Republicans promptly noted are being blocked by SenateDemocrats.

“The Road Map to Renewal” submitted to Mr. Obama by his team of industry leaders embraces more domestic production of fossil fuels. The report doesn’t specifically mention the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline on which the Obama administration has delayed a decision, but it does advocate building more domestic pipelines.

“Policies that facilitate the safe, thoughtful and timely development of pipeline, transmission and distribution projects are necessary to facilitate the delivery of America’s fuel and electricity and maintain the reliability of our nation’s energy system,” the report says.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said the report wasn’t referring to Keystone, which environmental groups are pressuring the administration to reject.

“The jobs council wasn’t talking about Keystone specifically,” Mr. Carneysaid. “The jobs council was talking about the importance of expanding domestic oil and gas production, a goal this president shares.”

Except Obama stopped the pipeline and pushed his decision on it until after the 2012 election after surrendering to environmentalists.

House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, said the presidential jobs council’s recommendations for expanding domestic energy production, cutting government red tape and overhauling business taxes are exactly the policies passed by the House in the past year. Most of those bills have stalled in the Senate.

But Obama and Democrats claim it is Republicans who are obstructionists. The jobs council proves it is Senate Democrats stopping legislation.

…“Nearly 30 House-passed job bills are awaiting action in the Senate, most of which address the recommendations made today,” Mr. Boehnersaid. “With American small businesses still suffering from the misguided policies implemented by the president, there is no excuse for these pro-growth bills to collect dust any longer.”

Among the council’s other recommendations that Republican lawmakers have supported:• Lower corporate tax rates to “internationally competitive levels” while eliminating deductions and loopholes.

• Streamline government rules and regulations to reduce the financial burdens on businesses.

• Take more aggressive action to promote American manufacturing.

• Adopt an “all in” strategy on energy to reduce reliance on foreign oil and move toward cleaner fuel sources.

Continue reading>>>

Read Full Post »

House Republicans Issues Subpoenas for White House/Solyndra Communications….House Democrats Want to Hide the Truth

Sounds like Team Obama, and the Democrats, have something major to hide. The evidence is abundantly clear. Team Obama gave billion of dollars in taxpayer-back loans to politically-connected solar energy firms who donated cash to his campaign. This explains why House Democrats fought hard to keep these subpoenas from being issued.

From WaPo:

Republicans on a House Energy and Commerce Committee panel on Thursday overrode vigorous Democratic objections and took the apparently unprecedented step of authorizing subpoenas for internal White House communications related to a half-billion dollar taxpayer loan guarantee for the failed solar company Solyndra.

What happened to the goal of being transparent?

The move followed a last-minute attempt by the White House to prevent the action, in which administration officials met with committee members and delivered several boxes of e-mails and other documents to committee investigators on Wednesday afternoon.

Why wasn’t this turned over before the threats of subpoenas? Sounds like the White House wanted to delay.

Rep. Diana DeGette (Colo.), ranking Democrat on the panel, called it a “sad day” for the committee and “an act of irresponsible partisanship,” stressing that the committee had never before subpoenaed the White House. She noted the administration had already turned over thousands of pages of documents, and said a subpoena should be issued only after all alternative routes have been abandoned.

A half-BILLION dollars was lost to a corporation that donated money to Obama’s campaign. Obama’s economic advisers, Geithner and Summers, told Obama it was a bad deal but Obama listened to Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Auditors warned about the financial mess Solyndra was in, yet Team Obama approved the loans to promote their stimulus “creating” thousands of green energy jobs. You know, those “shovel-ready” jobs Obama recently admitted weren’t so shovel-ready.

Republicans said they had hoped to avoid the step, but that the committee’s long-running investigation had failed to get to the bottom of why Solyndra, which collapsed in August and is now under criminal investigation, was selected to receive the Obama administration’s first loan guarantee under the stimulus act. President Obama last year visited the company’s California operation, whose biggest investors were venture capital funds linked to Tulsa billionaire George Kaiser, a major Obama fundraiser.

Obama visited Solyndra. Joe Biden visited Solyndra. Solyndra executives visited the White House. George Kaiser visited the White House. Solyndra investors gave Obama campaign money. Obama gave campaign donors taxpayer money. See where I’m going? The Democrats do to and that’s why they fought against the issuing of these subpoenas.

Some Republicans have questioned whether the administration rushed stimulus funding out the door to benefit its political supporters. On Oct. 14, the White House told the committee that it would not comply with a request for all internal White House communications regarding the Solyndra loan.

What? The self-self proclaimed “most transparent administration in history” refused to give up information. Why? Because this is tied to Obama and his communication with campaign donors.

Continue reading>>>

Read Full Post »