Thursday, December 11, 2014

Oregon Democrats Vote to Shut the Government Down

Update: Jeff Mapes at the Oregonian finally got a story out on the Oregon Democrats' vote, but not a word about their votes being for a government shut down and completely contrary to their stated views a year ago.

 Tonight all of Oregon's Democratic U.S. Representatives voted "no" on H.R. 83 which was a vote to not fund the U.S. Government.
The House on Thursday approved a $1.1 trillion bill funding most of the government through September despite an outcry from Democrats and significant defections in both parties.
By a vote of 219-206, the House sent the bill to the Senate, where a similar debate may break out between liberal Democrats and the White House.
The vote split Democratic leaders, with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) opposing the bill and criticizing the White House, but Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) backing it. Fifty-seven Democrats voted for the bill, while 139 opposed it.
The House also voted by unanimous consent on a two-day continuing resolution that would expire on Saturday. This is meant to keep the government funded and give the Senate cushion to consider the "cromnibus" package.
, , ,
Democrats objected to changes to the Wall Street reform bill that were included in the 1,600-page bill, and many were unswayed by a last-ditch White House lobbying push that included a visit to the conference by White House chief of staff Denis McDonough.
. . .
Conservative Republicans, meanwhile, opposed the bill for not doing more to curtail President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. While 162 Republicans voted for the bill, 67 rejected it.
For much of the afternoon and evening, the bill looked to be at death's door as a government shutdown loomed at midnight.
[emphasis added]
Oregon Democratic Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader all voted with Republican conservatives Reps. Michelle Bachmann (MN), Marsha Blackburn (TN) and Tom Cotton (AR) (soon to be Senator Cotton) to not fund the government starting tomorrow if certain changes were not made in the spending bill.

Strange how things can change for some people in the space of year. In 2014 all these seven U.S. Representatives think a partial government shutdown is the lesser of two evils.

In 2013 the Republicans thought the issues were worth a partial shutdown, but Oregon Democrats could only speak of the misery and suffering caused by partial government shutdown.

Bachmann - "How can I in good conscience not continue fighting to protect these families from Obamacare’s disastrous consequences?

"I was proud to vote for two separate bills that fully fund the entire government, except for Obamacare. And I’m glad we were able, at the very least, to agree that our men and women in the military should continue to receive their pay.

Blackburn - “Just as we have watched support for the President’s health care law crumble under a mass of broken promises, we are now seeing our government and it’s people suffer as a result of his failure to work with us. House Republicans remain committed to ending this government shutdown and fighting to protect the American people from Obamacare. It’s time for the Senate and President Obama to join us so we can find a workable solution that achieves fairness for all.”

Cotton - "I regret that Senate Democrats would rather keep their special Obamacare exemption than keep the government open.  Their decision will cause needless hardship for many Arkansans, including dedicated public servants."

Oregon's Democratic U.S. Representatives on the suffering caused by a partial government shutdown in 2013:

Blumenauer - "It is difficult to tell exactly what the effects will be, since the last shutdown ended in 1996, but we know that millions of families across the country will suffer."

Bonamici - “Today the House leadership forced a government shutdown in an attempt to block or delay implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). I am deeply disappointed. It is a reckless path that will hurt our economy and cast a shadow of instability and uncertainty over the country."

DeFazio - “This government shutdown will deny countless essential government services to Americans, send hundreds of thousands of federal employees home without pay, and further erode the reputation of the U.S. government.”

Schrader - "I hope that this bill serves as a wake up call to my colleagues that it is inappropriate to shut down the federal government and threaten the livelihoods of millions of Americans for the sake of political posturing. There are bipartisan solutions to every problem. I suggest my colleagues join me in working to find them or put their paychecks on the line.”

2 comments:

MAX Redline said...

Dang. If they shut down the government again, Barry'll have to hire folks to shut down the open-air venues again, like the national mall and Mt. Rushmore.

T. D. said...

I too was wondering what "cuts" would be made if it were a Democratic shutdown. I guess we won't know now.