House Leaders Wary of Farm, Postal Bill Showdowns.
Source: AP/NYT
Senate-passed bills to cut farm subsidies and food stamps and overhaul the financially teetering Postal Service have been put on hold by House Republican leaders wary of igniting internal party fights or risking voters' ire three months before the election.
The House is scheduled this week to take up a bill to replace the Obama administration's offshore drilling plan, and the Senate will ignore it, and some measures to reduce government red tape. What's not on the schedule are a farm bill important to farmers coping with a drought and a Postal Service bill dealing with politically unpopular but inevitable post office closings and a scaling back of mail delivery.
"There is no excuse not to bring the farm bill to the floor," Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said Friday. "We've wasted the last two weeks on political messaging bills that are going nowhere."
That doesn't appear likely to change before Congress departs for a five-week August recess. In the final week before the break, the Republican-controlled House is set to vote on a bill to extend for one year the Bush-era tax cuts, including those for wealthier people. Again, that's a bill that the Senate would reject, but it will lay down stakes as the election approaches.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/07/23/us/politics/ap-us-congress-undone.html?hp
sakabatou
(42,152 posts)BumRushDaShow
(129,053 posts)1.) Budget/appropriations (= government shutdown)
2.) Debt ceiling (= government shutdown)
3.) Bush tax cuts (= hostage-taking by probably tying one or both of the above to this)
happyslug
(14,779 posts)THE GOP leadership in the house (and thus the House, which is controlled by the GOP) will do all it can to get Romeny elected, even if it means the Country goes to hell. The Only things the GOP will so are things that HELP Romeny, OR things that help themselves (i.e. if it becomes clear SOMETHING has to pass, of people will vote AGAINST the GOP, then and only then will the House pass what is needed).
Sorry, do NOT expect the Farm bill OR the Postal Bill prior to the election, even if the Postal Service has to NOT pay what it MUST by law Pay to its retirement fund.
former9thward
(32,016 posts)Nothing will happen. The postal service will not shut down. Everyone will continue getting their pension payments. It really is no big deal.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)cut funding to food stamps. I am soooo proud.
for those lacking a sarcasm detection gland