DeMint, Hensarling Introduce “Government Shutdown Prevention Act”

[The Straight Story]

DeMint, Hensarling Introduce “Government Shutdown Prevention Act”

September 19th, 2007 - Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), chairman of the Senate Steering Committee and U.S. Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), chairman of the Republican Study Committee, introduced the Government Shutdown Prevention Act. The legislation provides for an automatic continuing resolution in the event that Congress fails enact their appropriations bills on time.

“Year after year the big spenders in Congress use the threat of a government shutdown to scare seniors, veterans, and others in order to pass more spending. They wait until the last minute, write a giant omnibus spending bill filled with thousands of special-interest earmarks, and tell us we have to vote for the bill or the government will shut down.” said Senator DeMint. “Many in Congress favor higher spending but they shouldn’t be able to hold our government hostage until they get their pet projects. Congress should create an automatic safety-net that will prevent the government from shutting down and put a stop to the end-of-the-year spending games. This bill will provide stability to our government agencies and it could save billions in wasteful spending.”

“Despite promises of fiscal responsibility, Democrats have spent the year wastefully spending taxpayers’ money,” said Rep. Hensarling. “Even though the President has made clear that he would not condone this reckless spending, Democrats continue to threaten to shut down the government to get their reckless spending increases. The American people have paid for certain government services, and they do not deserve to have those services held hostage because Democrats in Washington demand more spending. What we are offering today is a compromise that we hope can bring Democrats, who want a huge increase in spending, and Conservatives, who want more accountable Washington spending, together. Any member of Congress who honestly wants to avoid a government shutdown should support this bill.”

In January of 2007, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) argued in favor of the threat of a shutdown on the Senate Floor: “If there is anything we need, it is the pressure to finish on time.” However, in the 22 out of the past 25 years, Congress has not finished appropriation bills by the October 1st end-of-the-fiscal-year deadline. Senate Democrat leaders have already admitted that appropriations bills will not be completed on time this year:

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has opened the door to a schedule that would consume much of November and, if necessary, resume in December. ‘It is our hope and intention to complete our work before Thanksgiving,’ said Regan Lachapelle, a Reid spokeswoman.” (Congressional Quarterly, “Democrats Mull Stopgap Spending Bills as Fiscal New Year Approaches” 09/17/07)

The President and the Democrat Congress are $23 billion apart on the FY 2008 appropriations bills. Of the 12 House-passed bills, the President has issued veto threats on 10 of them. Congress is headed for a difficult series of discussions in the months ahead. These discussions needlessly will take place amidst the threat of a government shutdown when there is always a fair compromise—an automatic clean continuing resolution. Democrats want more spending than what a clean CR would provide, but conservatives generally want less spending.

How the Government Shutdown Prevention Act Works:

• The bill provides for an automatic clean continuing resolution in the event that Congress otherwise fails to provide spending authority by either enacting appropriations bills or a continuing resolution.
• If Congress fails to otherwise make provisions to keep the government open, the continuing resolution would become effective on the day spending authority lapses.
• The spending level for each program would be set at the lower of the spending level provided in the previous fiscal year, or the House and Senate approved spending bills, as has become routine.
• The automatic, fallback continuing resolution would lapse as soon as Congress finishes work on the appropriations bills or a new continuing resolution is enacted.

President Bush has included the need for an automatic continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown in each budget he has sent Congress in the last six years.

http://demint.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=1e837495-1321-0e36-ba64-81f945ecce71

[C_U_L8R]

1. oh goodie... automatic war forever