The Hill reported today that the Republicans in the House of Representatives have voted to cut more than $60 billion from federal spending for the remainder of the year.
According to the article:
"At 4:40 a.m., lawmakers voted 235-189 to send the so-called continuing resolution to the Senate. Not one Democrat voted for the bill that would cut at least $61 billion, from 2010 levels in spending for federal programs and agencies."
On Thursday, Hot Air reported that the Republicans in the House had voted to defund President Obama's czars.
The article at Hot Air reports:
"The amendment, offered by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), specifically targets Obama's "climate czar" by blocking funding for the assistant to the president for energy and climate change, the position's official title. The amendment would block funding for the 'czars' through the end of the fiscal year, when the spending bill would run out. The underlying bill also includes a provision to block funding for the position."
"...The amendment would also prohibit funding for the director of the White House Office of Health Reform; the State Department's special envoy for climate change; the special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation at the Council on Environmental Quality; the senior adviser to the secretary of the treasury assigned to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry and senior counselor for manufacturing policy; the White House director of urban affairs; the special envoy to oversee the closure of Guantanamo Bay; the special master for TARP executive compensation at the Department of the Treasury; and the associate general counsel and chief diversity officer at the Federal Communications Commission."
This is a wonderful idea that will probably get squashed very quickly in the Senate.
USA Today reported yesterday that the House of Representatives has voted to block the funding of Obamacare.
The article states:
"Specifically, the House voted to prohibit any funds be used by the Internal Revenue Service to carry out the law's mandate that Americans buy health insurance. The individual mandate, one of the law's key tenets, has been struck down by federal courts."
Since the courts are not yet in agreement as to whether or not Obamacare is constitutional, it seems like a good idea not to fund it. This is another wonderful idea that will probably get squashed very quickly in the Senate.
Politico reported yesterday that the House of Representatives has voted to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood.
The article reports:
"(Representative Mike) Pense took his fight against Planned Parenthood to the next level after the release of a series of videos by the group Live Action--videos that they say show Planned Parenthood employees advising actors posing as pimps on information on how to get abortions, STD testing and birth control for their underage prostitutes."
This is another wonderful idea that will probably get squashed very quickly in the Senate.
So what is the point of all this effort? It's actually very simple. Some of the cuts that passed the House of Representatives may actually become law. If the effort had not been made, the spending would continue to spiral out of control. There is also the election aspect. What do the American people want to see in a budget? Do they care? Does the Tea Party make a difference in the level of caring?
The Republicans are really rotten at public relations and making their case. This time the health of the nation's economy depends of their being able to explain the need for budget cuts. Let's hope they are up to the task. If the Republicans successfully make a case for budget cuts, one of two things will happen--either the budget cuts will get through the Senate and past the President or those opposing the budget cuts will be voted out of office in 2012. It is going to be an interesting fight.
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