Post by Flying Horse on Sept 21, 2011 18:22:59 GMT -5
Oh Lord, not again!! GOP leaders can't muster votes to pass measure that's key to keeping the government going.
An attempt in the GOP-controlled House to pass a disaster-relief measure as part of a bill to keep the federal government running past the end of the month (end of the fiscal year) failed, a rebuke for the Republican leeadership. Such temporary extensions have become normal on Capitol Hill but it failed 195-230 with 48 Republicans voting against it. The outcome sends House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and his leadership team back to the drawing board as they seek to make sure the government doesn't shut down at the end of next week. It also raises the possibility that FEMA, the government's main disaster relief program, could run out of money early next week for victims of Hurricane Irene and other disasters. Now House GOP leaders will need Democratic support to pass the bill. They can't make the bill more conservative and attract more GOP support because the amount of money that the government will spend this year was decided during the debt limit debate. It's a fixed number. All but six House Democrats voted against the House GOP bill because it lacked enough FEMA funding and because it cut a $1.5 billion investment in green cars. This now gives some negotiating leverage to Democrats.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has only a few days' worth of aid remaining in its disaster relief fund, lawmakers said Wednesday. The FEMA money would pay for the most urgently needed portion of the disaster aid that's required to avoid a cutoff in aid to victims of Hurricane Irene, recent Texas wildfires and Tropical Storm Lee. The looming shortage has been apparent for months, and the Obama White House was slow to request additional money.
The underlying stopgap funding measure would finance the government through Nov. 18 to give lawmakers more time to try to reach agreement on the 12 unfinished spending bills needed to run government agencies for the 2012 budget year.
Democrats rallied against the measure because of accompanying cuts to an Energy Department program that subsidizes low-interest loans to help car companies and parts manufacturers retool factories to build vehicles that will meet new, tougher fuel economy standards. Democrats say cutting the loan program could cost up to 10,000 jobs because there wouldn't be enough money for all pending applications. Democrats say that $3.5 billion of loan subsidies has supported loans totaling $9.2 billion that created or saved 41,000 jobs in Tennessee, California, Indiana, Michigan, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio. Ford Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. have already received loans; Chrysler Group LLC is awaiting final approval of a loan.
An attempt in the GOP-controlled House to pass a disaster-relief measure as part of a bill to keep the federal government running past the end of the month (end of the fiscal year) failed, a rebuke for the Republican leeadership. Such temporary extensions have become normal on Capitol Hill but it failed 195-230 with 48 Republicans voting against it. The outcome sends House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and his leadership team back to the drawing board as they seek to make sure the government doesn't shut down at the end of next week. It also raises the possibility that FEMA, the government's main disaster relief program, could run out of money early next week for victims of Hurricane Irene and other disasters. Now House GOP leaders will need Democratic support to pass the bill. They can't make the bill more conservative and attract more GOP support because the amount of money that the government will spend this year was decided during the debt limit debate. It's a fixed number. All but six House Democrats voted against the House GOP bill because it lacked enough FEMA funding and because it cut a $1.5 billion investment in green cars. This now gives some negotiating leverage to Democrats.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has only a few days' worth of aid remaining in its disaster relief fund, lawmakers said Wednesday. The FEMA money would pay for the most urgently needed portion of the disaster aid that's required to avoid a cutoff in aid to victims of Hurricane Irene, recent Texas wildfires and Tropical Storm Lee. The looming shortage has been apparent for months, and the Obama White House was slow to request additional money.
The underlying stopgap funding measure would finance the government through Nov. 18 to give lawmakers more time to try to reach agreement on the 12 unfinished spending bills needed to run government agencies for the 2012 budget year.
Democrats rallied against the measure because of accompanying cuts to an Energy Department program that subsidizes low-interest loans to help car companies and parts manufacturers retool factories to build vehicles that will meet new, tougher fuel economy standards. Democrats say cutting the loan program could cost up to 10,000 jobs because there wouldn't be enough money for all pending applications. Democrats say that $3.5 billion of loan subsidies has supported loans totaling $9.2 billion that created or saved 41,000 jobs in Tennessee, California, Indiana, Michigan, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio. Ford Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. have already received loans; Chrysler Group LLC is awaiting final approval of a loan.
© 2011 -- 
Crap, the Name Escapes Me 
