Government Shutdown Possible on October 1 as House Republicans Do Not Want Disaster Aid to Pass

No the Spending Issue Was Not Settled in August, and May Never Be



The fought Kaos, Why
Can't they help us now?



The dysfunctional political structure that is known as the Federal Government took another step in confirming its dysfunctional status as the House Republicans passed a temporary funding measure for the government that is in conflict with a Senate proposal.  Although Republican leaders have said they would not shut down the Federal government over spending, the likelihood of that happening has increased.

The issue at hand is a small one, a question over how much emergency funding for disaster relief should be provided, and whether or not other programs should be cut in order to fund that disaster relief.  Historically disaster relief has been easily passed by the Congress, without regard to the spending levels in the budget because the funds are critical to the people affected and relatively small compared to the overall budget.

But times are different, and in today’s Washington environment there is no issue which Republicans cannot use to push their radical political agenda.  An initial vote failed in the House because it did not go far enough in cutting disaster aid and in cutting spending to pay for it, much to the embarrassment of the Republican leaders.  So in true craven manner the Republican leadership made their bill even less acceptable in order to get it passed.

House Republican leaders, trying to recover from a humiliating political defeat, made one change in the bill. The new version would offset more of the cost of disaster assistance by rescinding $100 million from an Energy Department program

That’s right, radical House Conservatives held up their bill to authorize hundreds of  billions in spending over a $100 million issue.  The Senate has passed a different bill

The Senate last week approved a bill that includes $6.9 billion of disaster assistance, nearly twice as much as the House bill.

 The new version of the House bill, like the original, would partially offset the cost of disaster assistance by cutting a separate Energy Department loan program that promotes development of energy-efficient cars.

 This cut infuriates Democrats in the House and the Senate, who say the program is creating thousands of jobs at automakers and auto parts suppliers.

So in order to prevent a government shutdown the two sides have to come together.  But there is this



The Congress next week doing what they do
best when the country needs them



If the Senate balks, it is not clear how the two houses would overcome the resulting impasse and avert a government shutdown.

Most federal agencies need money to continue operations beyond Oct. 1. 

 The disaster relief fund of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is running short of money. And lawmakers were planning to leave town for a recess scheduled for next week

So after taking off almost a month in August the Congress is taking off again, right at the time that authorization is needed for disaster relief and to fund the government after September 30.  How on earth did polling find that anyone, much less 12% approved of Congress?