Republicans and Democrats have forged a deal to avoid a government shutdown in the middle of the presidential campaign.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced a sixth-month deal to continue funding the federal government through March of next year.
“It will provide stability for the coming months … This is very good,” Reid told reporters Tuesday afternoon. The deal was reached by Reid (D-Nev.), Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and President barack Obama.
Votes on the continuing resolution won’t come until after the August recess. The deal is still being drafted, Reid said. The continuing resolution is free of controversial riders, he added.
The agreement heads off a partisan government shutdown fight before the November elections that neither party wanted.
Under the agreement, funding would be consistent with the $1.047 trillion level set forth in the 2011 Budget Control Act, above the $1.028 trillion called for by Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) budget proposal.
While the funding levels could anger some tea party conservatives who have called for deeper cuts in federal spending, many Republicans are eager to head off a contentious budget fight on the eve of a presidential election and would rather punt the issue into next year, hoping Mitt Romney will be in the White House.
Could the Tea Party blow up the deal in the House? There are 66 members in the caucus and perhaps half that many sympathetic enough to its goals of less spending and smaller deficit that they would consider voting with them. Combined with some Democrats who, for a variety of reasons, would want to embarrass the Republicans, they might get close to defeating the continuing resolution.
But there probably aren’t enough members in both parties who are willing to go to the mattresses on this, so besides some grumbling, it will probably pass.
The continuing resolution will take away a line of attack for President Obama who has been accusing Republicans of wanting to raise taxes on the Middle Class once the Bush tax cuts expire on January 1, 2013. Those cuts have been saved until at least March, when a possibly reduced GOP majority in the House — and narrow majority in the senate — will have their hands full trying to maintain tax rates where they are now. The issue will certainly test the abilities of Mitt Romney if he is elected and will serve as a kickoff for the budget and tax fights that will dominate next year’s politics.
Update:
It appears that the continuing resolution will not keep the Bush tax cuts through March. They will still expire at the end of the year unless Congress can deal with the issue in the lame duck session after the election.
I apologize for the error.
Both the Dems. and the Repubs have sold us again for political expediency, A pox on both their houses.
I’m not sure how Team Obama or their backers in the big media are going to take this. My guess is they already were game-planning on how to blame the Republicans and Mitt Romney for the kerfuffle in the run-up to Election Day. But with nearly two dozen seats to defend in the Senate, the Democrats there apparently weren’t willing to throw themselves under the bus just to boost Obama’s re-election chances.
All that leaves now is the battle over extending the Bush tax cuts, and all that Team Obama’s got left is their class warfare “Stick it to the ones making $250,000 and up” game plan, which isn’t exactly polling gangbusters at the moment. It would be no shock now to see them work a deal with Boehner to punt this one past Election Day as well.
– Thelma and Louise and their car when you need them?
I imagine that Boehner agreed to this deal only after Romney’s camp looked it over and blessed it. If so, almost all House Republican members (even those bearing Tea Party stripes) would support the proposal. GOP’s priorities are (1) getting Romney elected; (2) maintaining the House majority; and (3) capturing the Senate, in that order. Anything to smooth Romney’s path.
– blinked, knowing that he will will no longer be Majority Leader come January.
“Could the Tea Party blow up the deal in the House? There are 66 members in the caucus and perhaps half that many sympathetic enough to its goals of less spending and smaller deficit that they would consider voting with them. Combined with some Democrats who, for a variety of reasons, would want to embarrass the Republicans, they might get close to defeating the continuing resolution.”
Typical Rick Moran piece. The evil Tea Party and some Democrats might want to embarrass “the Republicans” – that is, the Eastern Establishment Ruling Class Republicans who just want to get to the election without making waves. Forget about actually reducing the size of government; let’s just give up our bargaining chip and cave in to the Democrats’ demands for another 6 months of increased government spending. Maybe they won’t demonize the Republicrats for failing to be “bipartisan” and “reach across the aisle” one more time.
Here are two words for Moran and the RINOs: Dick Lugar!!!!
“Typical Rick Moran piece. The evil Tea Party and some Democrats might want to embarrass “the Republicans”:
Um…no, that’s not what I wrote. I wrote that the Dems would want to embarrass the GOP not the tea party. All I said about the tea party was that they would vote against the continuing res because of their “goals” of “less spending and smaller deficit.” Pretty loony of you to twist that into an attack on the tea party. Why the hypersensitivity?
Don’t worry, next time I’ll use words with less than 3 syllables.
“once the Bush tax cuts expire on January 1, 2013″
Tell me; how long do current rates have to be in effect before we can stop calling them “cuts?”
If these rates are maintained for another 20 or 30 years, are they still going to be called the “Bush tax cuts?” It’s as though tax rate less than the result of Clinton’s retroactive increases will forever be a temporary “cut” and therefore illegitimate.
Stop letting the libs control the language!