McConnell: No More Shutdowns Over Obamacare

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made it clear on Thursday that repealing Obamacare would never be used by Republicans again to bring the federal government to a halt.

“One of my favorite old Kentucky sayings is there’s no education in the second kick of a mule," the Kentucky Republican told The Hill. "The first kick of a mule was when we shut the government down in the mid-1990s — and the second kick was over the last 16 days.

“There is no education in the second kick of a mule," McConnell added. "There will not be a government shutdown."

The Obamacare strategy was pushed by several young Republicans in the House and Senate backed by the tea party — including freshman Sen. Ted Cruz, who spoke against the healthcare plan for more than 21 hours on the Senate floor last month — which led to a 16-day partial shutdown of the government and jeopardized the nation's credit authority.

“I think we have fully now acquainted our new members with what a losing strategy that is,” McConnell told the Hill. 

The Obamacare strategy was pushed by several young congressional Republicans backed by the tea party — including freshman Sen. Ted Cruz, who spoke against the healthcare plan for more than 21 hours on the Senate floor last month — which led to a 16-day partial shutdown of the government and jeopardized the nation's borrowing authority.

“I think we have fully now acquainted our new members with what a losing strategy that is,” McConnell told the Hill. 

The federal government reopened on Thursday after a battle-scarred Congress approved a bipartisan measure to end the shutdown and avert the possibility of an economy-jarring default on U.S. obligations.

Via: Newsmax

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Budget deal BLOWS THROUGH the mandated sequester spending caps

WASHINGTON — Announcing the budget deal he reached with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday he was thankful Republicans were at least able to keep in place the automatic spending cuts that went into effect across government agencies earlier this year.

“That’s been a top priority for me and my Republican colleagues throughout this debate,” the Senate Minority Leader said on the floor of the Senate, referencing what’s known as the sequester. “And it’s been worth the effort.”

But while the deal freezes in place current spending numbers, the budget deal actually blows through the sequester spending caps that were supposed to go into effect on Oct. 1 — by nearly $20 billion.

Here are the numbers: The Budget Control Act of 2011 created the automatic spending cuts across the government, mandating a discretionary budget in fiscal year 2013 of $986 billion.

On Oct. 1, more sequester cuts were supposed to bring the discretionary budget down to $967 billion for fiscal year 2014.

But the amount of the spending cap in the McConnell-Reid deal for the next three months is frozen temporarily at $986 billion — $19 billion more than the government is supposed to be able to spend this fiscal year.

Defenders of McConnell point out that at least his deal stopped Democrats from completely killing these automatic spending cuts. President Barack Obama and Harry Reid want to do away with them and increase the budget to $1.058 trillion.

The freezing of the spending cuts comes as conservative note that the sequester has actually been successful in reducing government. Wall Street Journal columnist Stephen Moore put it this way in August: “The biggest underreported story out of Washington this year is that the federal budget is shrinking and much more than anyone in either party expected.”

Via: CNS News

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Read the actual legislation Reid and McConnell hope will end the government shutdown

  

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UPDATE, 6:04 p.m.: The Daily Caller has obtained the final version of the Senate legislation to raise the debt ceiling and reopen the government.

McConnell-Reid Legislation

UPDATE, 6:04 p.m.: The Daily Caller has obtained the final version of the Senate legislation to raise the debt ceiling and reopen the government.

McConnell-Reid Legislation

Via: Daily Caller

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[VIDEO] McConnell-Reid Deal Includes $3 Billion Earmark for Kentucky Project

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U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,

A proposal to end the government shutdown and avoid default orchestrated by Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic Leader Harry Reid includes a nearly $3 billion earmark for a Kentucky project.

Language in a draft of the McConnell-Reid deal (see page 13, section 123) provided to WFPL News shows a provision that increases funding for the massive Olmsted Dam Lock in Paducah, Ky., from $775 million to nearly $2.9 billion.

The dam is considered an important project for the state and region in regards to water traffic along the Ohio River.

As The Courier-Journal's James Bruggers reported in 2011, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said they needed about $2.1 billion for the locks due to "stop and go funding."

Asked about the additional funding in the proposal, McConnell spokesman Robert Steurer directed all questions to lawmakers who worked on the bill directly.

"Senators (Diane) Feinstein and (Lamar) Alexander, the chair and ranking member of the energy and water subcommittee, worked on the issue and can help you," he says.

Since 2009, McConnell has been an outspoken supporter of the project, and has been working on getting its funding for some time.

Watch:

Still, conservative critics of the proposal argue it is nothing more than a "kickback" for McConnell in an age where Tea Parties have eschewed earmarks.

Via: WFPL News

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Senate Debt Deal Weakens Congress on Debt Ceiling

Capitol Hill talk regarding the Senate deal apparently includes a provision that would take away the Congress’ power to increase the debt ceiling. According to Politico, it looks like the buzz appears to be true.:

The plan includes a proposal offered by McConnell in the 2011 debt ceiling crisis that allows Congress to disapprove of the debt ceiling increase, which means lawmakers will formally vote on whether to reject a debt ceiling increase until Feb. 7. Obama can veto that legislation if it passes. If Congress fails as expected to gather a two-thirds majority to override the veto, the debt ceiling would be raised.

National Journal reported last week:

Whether it's four weeks from now or in one year, there'd be even less reason to put faith in a last-minute deal next time the U.S. is up against the debt limit.

There's only one foolproof way to avoid a future crisis: Fundamentally change the way the debt ceiling works.

This approach isn't all that radical. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., proposed a reform in January that would change the debt-ceiling mechanism so that Congress would vote to disapprove of an increase, as opposed to approving one. Such a change would limit debt-ceiling negotiations to a veto-proof majority, while still leaving Congress with some power.

The most interesting part of this proposal? It was originally floated in 2011 by Republican leader Sen. Mitch McConnell. The potential for a bipartisan deal here that fixes the debt-limit problem is real. Sen. Boxer continues to advocate for the change. Right now though, Harry Reid's office says the senator is not considering any disapproval mechanism. But that could change as this process moves on.

Via: Breitbart

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Senate nears deal, House will vote first

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will soon announce an agreement to reopen the government and avert default on U.S. debt, according to several sources familiar with the talks.

The House plans to move on the Senate’s bill first, sources say, a move that would clear a path to end the first government shutdown in 17 years and avoid the first potential economy-shaking default on U.S. debt. It remains unclear when a final vote would occur in the Senate.

If the House passes the bill first and sends it to the upper chamber, it would eliminate some burdensome procedural hurdles in the Senate and require just one procedural roll call with a 60-vote threshold needed to advance the bill toward final passage in the Senate.

(PHOTOS: Debt ceiling fight: 20 great quotes)

It could be an extraordinarily risky play for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), because it’s far from clear any Senate proposal would garner the majority of the House Republican Conference. House Republicans have clung to the so-called Hastert Rule, a mantra that the House speaker should not try to pass a bill that doesn’t have the support of the “majority of the majority.” In this case, that would mean 117 Republicans must support the bill to avoid getting crosswise with the rule. Top GOP sources say it’s unlikely they will reach that level of support.

But the fact that House Republicans are now planning to go that route marks a stunning reversal for the speaker who had backed his conservative wing’s drive to gut Obamacare as part of the government shutdown fight, now in its third week.

Via: Politico

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White House postpones Obama meeting with Hill leaders

The White House announced that a planned meeting betweenPresident Obama and congressional leaders Monday afternoon had been postponed to allow fiscal negotiations to continue on Capitol Hill.

“The president's 3:00 pm meeting with the bipartisan leadership has been postponed to allow leaders in the Senate time to continue making important progress towards a solution that raises the debt limit and reopens the government,” the White House said in a statement.

Obama was expected to meet with Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Monday afternoon

Senate leaders voiced new optimism on Monday about the prospects of ending a government shutdown now in its 14th day and lifting the debt ceiling before the federal government reaches its borrowing limit around Oct. 17.

"Constructive, good faith negotiations continue between the Republican leader and me," Reid said on the Senate floor. "I'm very optimistic that we will reach an agreement that's reasonable in nature this week to reopen the government, pay the nation's bills and begin long term negotiations to put our country on sound fiscal footing."

“We have had an opportunity over the last couple of days to have some very constructive exchanges of views about how to move forward,” McConnell added from the Senate floor. “Those discussions continue, and I share [the] optimism that we’re going to get a result that will be acceptable to both sides.”

The president also sounded optimistic about a possible breakthrough on Monday but urged caution until a deal is finalized.

Via: Washington Examiner

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Fighting Obamacare: The Difference Between Cutting Spending and Limiting Harmful Government

As Mitch McConnell puts the finishing touches on his terms of surrender, here are some thoughts to ponder.

Republicans and conservatives have spent the past few years messaging their platform to the American people built upon budget-speak.  It’s all about the debt and cutting spending.

In reality, we don’t have a spending problem per se, we have a big and harmful government problem.  The two are not always the same.

All of us who follow policy issues very closely understand that debt in itself is not just a problem for the federal balance sheet, it will have to be paid back by our children and grandchildren.  However, most people don’t see it that way, at least not in a meaningful way.  What people care about is loss of employment, lower/stagnant wages, the rising cost of living, and personal liberty.  It is our job to prioritize an agenda both in substance and messaging that directly addresses the harmful effects of government on jobs, standard of living, and personal liberty.  The federal budget is secondary, and will take care of itself once we restore government to its proper role.

For example, we spend roughly $8 billion in discretionary spending funding the EPA each year.  Now, is that $8 billion in wasted spending contributing to our debt?  You betcha.  But the more serious problem with the EPA is not the $8 billion in discretionary spending, but the hundreds of billions that are removed from the private economy in the form of lost jobs and higher cost of living (not to mention personal liberty), as a result of the regulatory regime.

Hence, when we cut the operating budget of the EPA from $8.4 billion to $8 billion via the sequester, are we really limiting government?  Not really.  We are cutting spending, which slows the debt crisis ever so slightly, but we are not really providing relief to the American people in a way most people understand or feel in any tangible way.

Via: Red State

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