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Who is the most responsible for the federal government shutting down if it does on Friday?
Tea Party Republicans of the House
The Tea Party Republicans of the House are the ones who are urging that Congress cuts more and more federal spending. But it's been said they want to cut programs that are helpful and cost-effective and benefit the poorest among us. While the moderate Republicans are willing to work with Democrats and compromise, the Tea Partiers in the House aren't willing to compromise and are standing fast to cut as much federal spending as possible. Are Tea Partiers to blame for not being willing to compromise?
Moderate Republicans of the House
There are some Republicans in the House who are willing to compromise with the Democrats. They want to cut federal spending but not nearly to the levels of the Tea Partiers. However, while many of the GOP moderate leaders are privately willing to compromise very few are willing to say so publicly because they fear criticism from the right-wing. Especially since many GOP Representatives come from are swing districts. So instead of swaying one way or the other they're sitting in the middle. This despite the fact that the Republican Party holds the majority in the House. Are they to blame since they won't sway things to the favor of one side or the other?
Progressive Democrats of the House
Progressive Democrats in the House are demanding that those social programs funded by the federal government not be cut because they target those programs who help the poorest Americans. But if they want to save those programs they should be willing to cut federal spending elsewhere, especially in Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security. So is it their fault that they object to the House Republicans to cut more federal spending from entitlement programs?
Senate Democrats
While the Republicans hold the majority in the House, which has the power of the purse and all bills on government spending originate, the Senate is currently controlled by the Democrats. If the House Republicans cut too much federal spending the Senate Democrats could refuse to pass the bill in the Senate. So would it be the fault of the Senate Democrats for being unwilling to pass a bill that was passed by the House Republicans, especially the Tea Partiers?
Senate Republicans
To be honest, there isn’t much that Senate Republicans can do. On most bills, a single Senator could filibuster bills. Normally, this would be a possibility since the Senate Democrats do not have a supermajority that could override a filibuster. However, the Senate has a process called “reconciliation” that’s been used to allow budget bills to bypass the filibuster. On the other hand, “reconciliation” has a few exceptions, called the Byrd Rule. Each provision of a budget bill can undergo one of six tests of the Byrd Rule. If any provision fails one of those tests, that provision can be removed from the Senate bill unless a supermajority votes to allow it to stay in the bill. So this could complicate the passage of the budget bill in the conference committee. While the Senate Democrats have a majority, they don’t have a supermajority. Which gives Senate Republicans options to prohibit the bill’s passage in the Senate, depending on what kind of bill is passed in the House.
The Obama Administration
While the Republicans control the House and have enough Senators to prevent the Senate Democrats from having a supermajority, the President is a member of the Democratic Party. So if the Congressional Republicans make too many cuts to the bill, President Obama could veto the bill. This threat of a veto may be one of the things preventing the passage of a budget bill in the House and in the Senate. So regardless of whether or not the Republicans and Democrats can find compromises on such a contentious budget bill, it may all come to naught if the President decides that it cuts too much money from the wrong federal programs and decides to veto it. And since it is such a contentious budget bill, Congress may not get enough votes to override the veto. In which case all of this starts all over again if the President doesn’t approve all of the federal spending cuts.
Tea Party Republicans of the House
The Tea Party Republicans of the House are the ones who are urging that Congress cuts more and more federal spending. But it's been said they want to cut programs that are helpful and cost-effective and benefit the poorest among us. While the moderate Republicans are willing to work with Democrats and compromise, the Tea Partiers in the House aren't willing to compromise and are standing fast to cut as much federal spending as possible. Are Tea Partiers to blame for not being willing to compromise?
Moderate Republicans of the House
There are some Republicans in the House who are willing to compromise with the Democrats. They want to cut federal spending but not nearly to the levels of the Tea Partiers. However, while many of the GOP moderate leaders are privately willing to compromise very few are willing to say so publicly because they fear criticism from the right-wing. Especially since many GOP Representatives come from are swing districts. So instead of swaying one way or the other they're sitting in the middle. This despite the fact that the Republican Party holds the majority in the House. Are they to blame since they won't sway things to the favor of one side or the other?
Progressive Democrats of the House
Progressive Democrats in the House are demanding that those social programs funded by the federal government not be cut because they target those programs who help the poorest Americans. But if they want to save those programs they should be willing to cut federal spending elsewhere, especially in Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security. So is it their fault that they object to the House Republicans to cut more federal spending from entitlement programs?
Senate Democrats
While the Republicans hold the majority in the House, which has the power of the purse and all bills on government spending originate, the Senate is currently controlled by the Democrats. If the House Republicans cut too much federal spending the Senate Democrats could refuse to pass the bill in the Senate. So would it be the fault of the Senate Democrats for being unwilling to pass a bill that was passed by the House Republicans, especially the Tea Partiers?
Senate Republicans
To be honest, there isn’t much that Senate Republicans can do. On most bills, a single Senator could filibuster bills. Normally, this would be a possibility since the Senate Democrats do not have a supermajority that could override a filibuster. However, the Senate has a process called “reconciliation” that’s been used to allow budget bills to bypass the filibuster. On the other hand, “reconciliation” has a few exceptions, called the Byrd Rule. Each provision of a budget bill can undergo one of six tests of the Byrd Rule. If any provision fails one of those tests, that provision can be removed from the Senate bill unless a supermajority votes to allow it to stay in the bill. So this could complicate the passage of the budget bill in the conference committee. While the Senate Democrats have a majority, they don’t have a supermajority. Which gives Senate Republicans options to prohibit the bill’s passage in the Senate, depending on what kind of bill is passed in the House.
The Obama Administration
While the Republicans control the House and have enough Senators to prevent the Senate Democrats from having a supermajority, the President is a member of the Democratic Party. So if the Congressional Republicans make too many cuts to the bill, President Obama could veto the bill. This threat of a veto may be one of the things preventing the passage of a budget bill in the House and in the Senate. So regardless of whether or not the Republicans and Democrats can find compromises on such a contentious budget bill, it may all come to naught if the President decides that it cuts too much money from the wrong federal programs and decides to veto it. And since it is such a contentious budget bill, Congress may not get enough votes to override the veto. In which case all of this starts all over again if the President doesn’t approve all of the federal spending cuts.
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