Paulsen and House Republicans Primed to Fail on Doing Their Job, Passing a Budget
Shot: Erik Paulsen released a self-righteous statement in 2013 about Congress and completing the very basic part of his job: passing a budget.
“If you don’t do your job, you don’t get paid.”
He proclaimed that “hardworking Minnesota taxpayers and small businesses have to balance their own budgets every month,” and expect Members of Congress to do the same.
Chaser: Tomorrow marks the deadline for Walberg and his House Republicans – who are in control of Congress – to author and pass a budget. And it’s abundantly clear that Republicans will miss this critical deadline by a longshot.
“Erik Paulsen has made it clear that he doesn’t believe he should earn a paycheck if he can’t do his job and pass a budget,” said Sacha Haworth at the DCCC. “Now that it’s clear that Erik Paulsen and House Republicans are at the core of dysfunction in Washington, Minnesotan voters expect Paulsen to keep his word and return his paycheck.”
Republicans voted twice to take a two week recess instead of meeting their budget deadline. (Roll no. 114; Roll no. 131).
Details below:
Associated Press: GOP House under Speaker Ryan set to blow budget deadline
by Erica Werner and Andrew Taylor
4/13/16
House Republicans are about to blow through a statutory deadline to pass an annual budget, a major embarrassment for Speaker Paul Ryan that raises questions about his stewardship of the House despite his high profile on the national stage…
Boehner himself, despite his troubles with the hard-liners in his caucus, met the budget deadline each of the five years of his speakership…
“It’s extremely frustrating,” GOP Rep. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said of the imminent budget failure. He praised Ryan’s style, but added: “It’s admirable in some ways but not producing results.”…
The budget is not the only area where House Republicans are faltering under Ryan’s leadership. Very little significant legislation has been moving, and negotiations over a bill to address Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis have proceeded in fits and starts. It’s unclear whether a just-released Puerto Rico bill backed by Ryan will attract the needed support.
POLITICO: The GOP’s budget fail
by Jake Sherman and Burgess Everett
4/13/16
Not long ago, Congressional Republicans said authoring and passing a budget were the basics of governing…And they persuaded voters to return them to power because they would make Capitol Hill work again.
But here we are, on April 13, with Republicans holding both chambers of Congress, and there isn’t a budget in sight…
The reality lays bare a few critical dynamics. Republicans have undermined one of their core arguments for governing. On key fiscal matters, they have not been able to normalize legislating and hopes for regular order have been dashed…
New York Times: Congressional leaders to push for spending bills amid budget obstacles
By David Herzenhorn
4/13/16
House and Senate appropriators are set to barrel ahead with spending bills over the next few days, even as House Republican leaders seem unable to win passage of a budget resolution because of opposition from hard-line conservatives…
The inability to pass a budget is a setback for Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, who built his political reputation as his party’s leading author of budget proposals.
The Hill: House GOP likely to miss budget deadline
by Sarah Ferris
4/13/16
House Republicans are expected to blow past a key budget deadline this week after party leaders failed to resolve a months-long fight over spending levels…
“I think this is the pivotal week to find out if we’ve made any progress at all,” Cole said Tuesday, while acknowledging the GOP’s core group of opposition — the House Freedom Caucus — has not softened its stance against the higher spending levels.