Mediaboss Marketing

Congress has a debt-ceiling problem again. A big one.

House GOP leaders initially planned to vote on a red-meat proposal Friday pitched by the Republican Study Committee to increase the debt ceiling while imposing new limits on executive-branch power. That measure stood no chance of passing the Senate, but would at least show effort.

Story Continued Below

Yet when House Majority Whip Steve Scalises (R-La.) team tested Republican support for the legislation, it fell far short of the needed 218 votes, and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) postponed any floor action.

Now, the U.S. government is 12 days from reaching the debt limit without a clear plan of what to do.

Boehner, McCarthy and other GOP leaders are refusing at this point to move ahead with a "clean" debt ceiling bill insisted on by President Barack Obama. Senior leadership aides said they couldn't find the 30 Republican votes needed to join with all 188 Democrats to pass that proposal a bleak indication of the current state of play.

Boehner is still trying to hammer out a broader budget deal with the White House that would boost defense and infrastructure spending while making offsetting cuts in entitlement programs. But Obama is playing a strong hand and has refused to make any major concessions. Boehner, who wants to leave Congress next week, remains hopeful he can reach a budget agreement with the president, which would then allow him to put a clean debt bill up for a vote.

"We'll see," Boehner said when asked whether a budget accord was possible.

Complicating the issue is the question of Boehner's all-but-official successor, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. The House Republican Conference will vote on Ryan's nomination for speaker next Wednesday, with the entire House taking up the issue on a day later.

Republicans are very unlikely to take any major action on the debt ceiling before Ryan's expected ascension to the speaker's chair is complete. The issue presents one of the most contentious votes that Republican members cast, and party leaders fear that doing so before the floor vote on Ryan-for-speaker could harm the Wisconsin Republican's chances.

Senate Republicans had planned to take up the House bill and amend it in a manner that could pass the Senate, potentially making it a straight debt ceiling measure in order to attract Democratic votes. But GOP leaders said they were making contingency plans in case the House stumbles, senators said.

"Shame on us if we haven't sort of thought about that in advance and war-gamed it," said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn in an interview. "It's possible we could pass something, and we send it back to the House, and they pass it before it gets to the president. We're getting ready to get on a glide path to get to a conclusion here."

With the federal government set to reach its borrowing limit on Nov. 3, the Treasury Department on Thursday postponed an an auction of two-year debt notes, citing concerns over Congress' inaction on the debt ceiling issue so far. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has repeatedly warned that Congress should not wait until the last minute to boost the debt ceiling.

"The current debt limit impasse is also now adversely affecting the operation of government financing, increasing federal government borrowing costs, reducing the Treasury bill supply, and increasing the operational risk associated with holding a lower cash balance," the department said in a statement.

House leadership was considering a vote on the RSC's "Terms of Credit Act" Friday, but a whip check showed the party several dozen votes short, according to multiple sources familiar with the count.

The legislation would have lifted the debt limit until 2017, frozen all new agency regulations for at least a year, required Congress to stay in session until it passes all 12 appropriations bills and prevented the Senate from filibustering spending bills after October.

The measure lacked support to clear the Senate, let alone for Obama to sign it. But it was seen as a first step before the inevitable: a vote on a debt limit bill without strings.

Now, House Republican leadership is saying Democrats need to give up something in order to convince a "minimum number" of GOP lawmakers to avoid a lapse in the borrowing limit.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) bashed Republicans for their disarray on the debt ceiling during a news conference on Thursday.

"Its only a matter of hours until we have to act in the House. We have to act really by tomorrow. This calendar of chaos is really coming down to hours, days, weeks," Pelosi told reporters.

Burgess Everett and Lauren French contributed to this report.

See more here:
House Republicans scramble for debt-ceiling plan - POLITICO

By THOMAS KRANNAWITTER As we sip beer and watch fireworks this 4th of July, think of all the freedoms we enjoy: the freedom to speak our mind, to pray in a church we choose or not pray at all, to keep what we produce, to vote fellow citizens into or out of government office. No people ever have enjoyed the freedoms we have. Further, think of all the good Americans have accomplished. They instituted the first real government authorized entirely by the consent of the governed. They provided strict protection for property rights in their fundamental law. They solved the problem of religious persecution. They ended slavery at unimaginable costs in blood and money and sacrifice. The result of the American venture in self-government is the most prosperous, innovative, free society ever known. So while you bark at your smart phone because web pages load too slowly, or complain that your favorite gourmet cupcake shop has moved locations, think of how all these wonderful things came to be. They came because of a few simple, yet radical ideas articulated most beautifully in our own Declaration of Independence: Truth The premise of the Declaration is that objective truth exists and the human mind can discover it. The Declarations references to the laws of nature and of natures God and self-evident truths assume that: Nature is a larger whole of which man is part. Nature is rational, intelligible, knowable. Nature, including human nature, contains moral and political truth that can be known through investigation and study. Equality Its true that all men are created equal because: Every human being is equally human. Human beings are the only compound being: part appetite,...

See original here:
Boulder County Republicans

Did you ever imagine the President of the United States would make a Grumpy Cat face? Well that happened Friday as President Obama compared Republican politicians to the grumpy-looking Internet feline.

Why is it that Republican politicians are so down on America? Have you noticed that? I mean they are, they are gloomy. Theyre like grumpy cat, the president said Friday as he made a grumpy cat face. Everythings terrible according to them. Were doomed.

The president made his comments at the Democratic Womens Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. where he accused the Republican presidential candidates of constructing an entire separate reality and resorting to make up stuff.

Its like the twilight zone and according to their story, their narrative, everything was terrific back in 2008 when unemployment was skyrocketing and uninsured rates were rising and folks were losing their homes and their jobs and we were engaged in two wars and Bin Laden was still at large, he said. If you were listening to them, those were like the good old days, the golden years and then I came in and the Democrats came in --- but according to them, thats when everything all went to heck.

He said the Republicans "make up stuff is because they dont have a record to run on."

"Theyre offering the same policies that caused so many problems in the first place," he added. "They ran on them in 2008, they ran on them in 2012, theyre running on them now."

While he criticized the Republican presidential candidates, Obama shared high praise for the Democrats in the 2016 race and their performance in the first Democratic presidential debate last week.

Weve got some great candidates but when you watched the debate between the Democrats, it was logical and civil and people didnt agree with everything but they werent just saying crazy stuff," he said. "It made me proud because it said weve got a party thats inclusive and wants everybody to join and get involved and showed that we can disagree without being disagreeable.

Visit link:
Obama Makes 'Grumpy Cat' Face Talking About Republicans

House Republicans pushed forward with another vote to roll back the Affordable Care Act on Friday, passing a bill that would repeal several major pillars of President Obamas landmark 2010 law, including the requirement that Americans have health coverage.

The legislation, the latest of more than 50 bills by congressional Republicans to repeal all or part of the health law, would also halt federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

The 240-189 vote will not change anything in the health law or Planned Parenthood, however, as Obama has indicated he would veto the bill if it ever reaches his desk.

It is not even clear that the bill will pass the Senate. Several Republicans, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, have said the legislation does not repeal enough of what the GOP calls Obamacare.

NEWSLETTER:Get the day's top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

Internal Republican divisions over the bill threaten to derail a legislative strategy that GOP congressional leaders had hoped would allow Congress to force Obama to veto a repeal bill.

The current bill was passed through a process known as budget reconciliation, which will prevent Democrats in the Senate from filibustering the bill and allow Republicans to pass the law with a simple majority, if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) can come up with 51 votes.

In addition to repealing the individual mandate, the bill would also roll back the laws tax on medical devices, the so-called employer mandate, a fund dedicated to public health and a board authorized by the law designed to control Medicare spending if it increases too quickly.

As is required of budget reconciliation legislation, the bill would lower the deficit, according to an independent analysis by the Congressional Budget Office.

It would also increase the number of Americans without health insurance by about 16 million people a year, budget analysts estimated.

Twitter:@noamlevey

ALSO

Obama vetoes defense spending bill with rare ceremony

Benghazi hearing ends after extraordinary 11-hour grilling of Clinton

Has Obama administration's stepped-up pressure on police departments worked?

See the original post:
House Republicans vote to repeal Obamacare, again - LA Times

On Friday, Obama was fired up as he took the stage at the Democratic National Committee's Women's Leadership Forum here, slamming Republican presidential candidates for their pessimistic rhetoric on the trail.

Citing "enormous progress" made during his presidency, Obama asked, "why is it that Republican politicians are so down on America?"

"I mean, they are -- they are gloomy," he added, eliciting laughter from crowd. "They're like Grumpy Cat."

The comparison was accompanied by an imitation of the Grumpy Cat frown -- an image familiar to fans of the Internet meme that ultimately spawned a product line and a Christmas movie.

"I mean, I know it's political season," Obama continued, "but you listen to (the Republicans) and they've constructed this entire separate reality. It's like the Twilight Zone."

Several times during his 23-minute speech, Obama referred to Republicans' statements as "crazy."

"You've gotta feel bad for the fact-checkers for the Republicans," Obama said at one point, "'cause they've got to spend hours trying to keep up with some of the crazy stuff that their candidates are claiming."

In particular, Obama took issue with some Republican candidates' skepticism about climate change -- a key issue for the President's administration.

"The way (Republicans) approach climate change is a good illustration of the problems that they're having," Obama said.

"Now, let's just take an example: If you went to 100 doctors and 99 of them said you are really sick -- you've got, let's say, high cholesterol," Obama hypothesized. "What would you do?"

"Would you say those 99 doctors are crazy and part of a wild-eyed socialist plot to prevent you from eating cheese?" he asked, again, eliciting raucous laughter. "Or would you say, you know what, I bet those doctors know what they're talking about? I've got to modify my diet a little bit."

The President referenced the Democratic presidential candidates as well, but none by name.

At one point, the audience held their collective breaths when a long pause by Obama seemed to be leading up to an endorsement.

"You've heard from some of our outstanding candidates," he started. "I'm going to be supporting ... whoever the nominee is. What are you laughing about?"

Obama did very briefly mention Vice President Joe Biden, who announced on Wednesday he would not be making a run for the White House.

"We should be talking about opening up new opportunity," said Obama, "investing in our schools, rebuilding the infrastructure that creates jobs, investing in the research that alleviates hunger or cures cancer once and for all, like my Vice President Joe Biden said."

While Obama has not publicly endorsed a candidate, Biden's decision not to run has allowed him to avoid choosing between Hillary Clinton, his former secretary of state, who is leading in the polls, and a man he's called "one of the finest vice presidents in history."

CNN's Daniella Diaz contributed to this report.

Read the original here:
Obama compares Republicans to 'Grumpy Cat'