Meet the "Government Shutdown Prevention Act of 2011" EDIT: They passed it!

[werepossum]

Reid did try to pass an Omnibus bill post 2010 election that was filibustered.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/16/angry-reid-pulls-11t-omnibus-spending-bill/

You may want to start reading your own links.

Senate Democrats conceded defeat Thursday and pulled their $1.1 trillion spending bill loaded with earmarks from the chamber floor, stymied by Republicans who unified to block the massive bill in the final days of a contentious session of Congress.

Angered at what happened, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, said nine Republicans, who had earlier promised to vote for the bill, had withdrawn their support in the last 24 hours. And he berated fellow lawmakers for ceding spending authority to the executive branch.

But Republicans said one lesson they learned from last month’s election that big spending bills - in this case, a 1,924-page measure Democrats produced just two days earlier - shouldn’t be jammed through the chamber with short-circuited debate.

“The reason he doesn’t have the votes is because members on this side of the aisle increasingly felt concerned about the way we do business,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican.

ANY trillion dollar bill produced two days before a vote should be filibustered by both sides as a matter of principle. If we must destroy the country, let's at least read the bills so we know how we're doing it rather than passing them and then learning what's in them.

 

[Jhhnn]

BS
Moron alert.....

Saw your reflection?

 

[her209]

You may want to start reading your own links.

ANY trillion dollar bill produced two days before a vote should be filibustered by both sides as a matter of principle. If we must destroy the country, let's at least read the bills so we know how we're doing it rather than passing them and then learning what's in them.

I was responding to pcgeek's claim that the Democrats didn't do anything.



So in your opinion, how long should they wait from when the bill is produced to when its voted on? I want a number.

 

[Tom]

I'm pretty sure spending bills have to originate in the House, so the onus is on whoever controls the House.

It's a technicality since the Senate and the President also have a say; but it's an important technicaity in terms of the political consequences for failure.

 

[her209]

I'm pretty sure spending bills have to originate in the House, so the onus is on whoever controls the House.

It's a technicality since the Senate and the President also have a say; but it's an important technicaity in terms of the political consequences for failure.

Technically speaking the President begins the budget process by submitting a budget to the House. They can take it and tweak it or scrap it and do their own thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_budget_process

 

[werepossum]

I was responding to pcgeek's claim that the Democrats didn't do anything.



So in your opinion, how long should they wait from when the bill is produced to when its voted on? I want a number.

An hour a page would be the least amount I'd find acceptable. A Senator or Representative has to gather staff, print the bill, have staffers read different portions, meet on Cliff notes, read important sections, do some research, and decide a position. Bills need to be much smaller, so that there is less pork, fewer (or no) earmarks, no hidden surprises, fewer special interest bonuses. We have built these huge bureaucracies, and neither side wants to let them do the jobs for which they are nominally responsible.

 

[Matt1970]

So in your opinion, how long should they wait from when the bill is produced to when its voted on? I want a number.

How about a week for every 1000 pages. That will give people a chance to read it and debate it and none of this "we have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it" - Nancy Pelosi.

 

[werepossum]

I'm pretty sure spending bills have to originate in the House, so the onus is on whoever controls the House.

It's a technicality since the Senate and the President also have a say; but it's an important technicaity in terms of the political consequences for failure.

The Senate has more than a say; look at any significant House spending bill and you'll find a Senate version. Look at that Senate version and you'll find an amendment completely changing the purpose of the bill, and usually its name as well. This is how the Senate gets around the restriction that spending bills must originate in the House in order to afford themselves maximum bargaining power.

 

[Tom]

The Senate has more than a say; look at any significant House spending bill and you'll find a Senate version. Look at that Senate version and you'll find an amendment completely changing the purpose of the bill, and usually its name as well. This is how the Senate gets around the restriction that spending bills must originate in the House in order to afford themselves maximum bargaining power.

A say is a say. If the Senate had more than a say, they wouldn't need the House or President at all.

Because it's the House's job to present a workable Budget Bill, if that doesn't happen, they get blamed. And whatever party controls the House is gonna get blamed.

The people know this, that's why trying to blame Reid isn't going to work if the government shuts down it's in Boehner's lap.

 

[manimal]

Where are the tea party activists and their strict interpretation of the constitution?


They should be up in arms right?

 

[Tom]

How about a week for every 1000 pages. That will give people a chance to read it and debate it and none of this "we have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it" - Nancy Pelosi.

This issue is a bit of a Red Herring. Bills are created over months and years, except for a bit of mischief now and then, it's well known what's in there for a very long time before passage.

 

[CallMeJoe]

nm

 

[her209]

The Democrats keep saying a deal is close. The Republicans keep saying there's no deal. If a government shutdown does occur, who will the public blame?

 

[manimal]

The Democrats keep saying a deal is close. The Republicans keep saying there's no deal. If a government shutdown does occur, who will the public blame?

Newt Gingrich

 

[pcgeek11]

I was responding to pcgeek's claim that the Democrats didn't do anything.



So in your opinion, how long should they wait from when the bill is produced to when its voted on? I want a number.

Here is a response to you. The budget is due BEFORE the election not after:

The federal government's fiscal year currently begins on October 1 and ends on September 30 of the next calendar year. The fiscal year corresponds to the calendar year in which it ends; thus, fiscal year 2009 would begin on October 1, 2008 and end September 30, 2009. The federal fiscal year's starting date was shifted from July 1 to October 1 in 1976. The period between the end of FY1976 and the start of FY1977 was called the Transition Quarter. An earlier shift in the U.S. government's fiscal year was made in the 1850s.

Trying to rush something through after the fact is still late. The abortion of a budget they tried to pass late after the election was all BS Grandstanding based on political trickery. They only wanted to try and score brownie points and make excuses.

Twist it however you may they still failed to pass a budget before the end of the fiscal year when they had full control of the House, Senate and the White House. Pathetic at best.

 

[fire400]

ThunderProof

The IRS may cancel issuing refund checks? What's next... Closing the banks? Sounds familiar.

What could one expect from an administration that has only about 8% of it's staff that ever held a job in the private business sector? And these are the people who tell businesses how they should be run? Gimme a break!

(msnbc.com)

not sure about 8%, but this statement is pretty damn funny.