#government spending bill

[republicansaredomesticterrorists]

“In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Manu Raju, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said there are "quite a few" lawmakers supporting her motion to vacate House Speaker Mike Johnson, though she did not specify exactly how many members are backing her.

“I have a number that have committed, but there’s also a large number that have already expressed to me a huge sigh of relief," she added.

She said she hasn’t talked to Johnson yet, but said the speaker is “negotiating from weakness” and that she doesn’t see a scenario where she will back off raising the motion to vacate. Still, she argued she is “being very respectful to the members of our conference,” and won’t disrupt investigations or other committee work.

Greene reiterated that she does not have a timeline for when she will bring the motion up, but said she hopes to use the House’s two-week break.

“What I'm hoping for is for all of our Republican members to be able to have time to think and reflect over this break, for us to be able to come back together and start the conversation of who is capable and willing to lead this Republican majority," she said.

Greene said that the government funding bill that passed in the House on Friday was a “complete departure” of “everything we stand for,” referring to the Republican party.

"We cannot move forward having a Republican speaker of the House that is doing the bidding of Democrats, that is allowing Chuck Schumer to drive our legislation, bringing bills to the floor that the White House cannot wait to sign into law, and doesn't stop the border crisis and the invasion that's happening every single day to our country," Greene said.”

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

TOPLINE The White House endorsed a $1.2 trillion spending deal introduced Thursday that includes a provision only allowing the American flag and other official flags to fly at U.S. embassies and other State Department facilities, reversing the State Department’s 2021 authorization allowing pride flags to be flown at the government buildings.

KEY FACTS • The Biden administration urged the swift passage of the bill, which will fund the remainder of the government, including the Department of Defense, through the end of the fiscal year.

• None of the funds made available by the bill can be spent to fly or display flags other than the American flag and other eligible flags at U.S. State Department facilities, a rule that will last for the length of the funding bill, which expires on Sept. 30.

• Eligible flags include the POW/MIA flag, flags of Indian tribal governments, sovereign flags of other countries, flags of “a State, insular area, or the District of Columbia at domestic locations,” flags of official U.S. agencies, the Foreign Service flag and the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag, according to the bill.

• The bill provision also prohibits Confederate flags from being flown at American embassies.

• House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., touted the provision as a conservative win, according to Bloomberg.

TANGENT The $1.2 trillion spending bill would help the government avoid a partial shutdown this weekend if it’s passed. The bill includes about $866 billion for the Defense Department that, among other provisions, will provide servicemembers with a 5.2% pay raise. The bill also expands access to affordable child care and allocates $1 billion for Head Start, a federal program that promotes the school readiness of children from low-income families.

KEY BACKGROUND The flying of pride flags at U.S. embassies has become a sociopolitical tug of war between Democrats and Republicans, the latter of whom have argued “no other flag or symbol can portray our American values'' better than the American flag. Pride flags were first flown at U.S. embassies during former President Barack Obama’s administration, and were later banned by former President Donald Trump in 2019. The ability to fly the flag was reinstituted by the Biden administration two years later. The pride flag has not been allowed to be flown at the Pentagon or military bases following a policy put in place during Trump’s term.

FURTHER READING Congress unveils $1.2 trillion plan to avert federal shutdown and bring budget fight to a close (AP)

[poisonousquinzel]

"a dude in Texas legally changed his name to "Literally Anyone Else" and he's attempting to run for President against Biden & Trump" [source]

okay, but putting aside the comedic aspect of this, it is concerning the amount of people who are prompted to vote for candidates just because it's funny. I'm not the biggest fan of how his policy about the boarder sounds [Site], but I do implore anyone who is able to vote in the 2024 US election to please research other candidates.

The media is only going to continue pushing the idea it's inevitably going to be Trump vs Biden 2.0 and we have no other options, that we have to vote for Biden again because of Project 2025. Is that whole thing terrifying?

Yeah, fucking absolutely.

But voting for Biden will not solidify our safety from that. Biden is exactly like the rest of them. He always has been. You can't make the lesser of two evils argument when they're both just plain evil.

You cannot say that Biden is even mildly a better choice than Trump when he is currently directly involved in a genocide. That is not some little fucking thing. That in and of itself disqualifies him as a lesser evil. Biden is just as bad as him and he will not save us because he doesn't fucking care.

Cornel West [Site] is an Independent candidate running for President in the 2024 Election. [Policies]

Claudia De la Cruz and Karina Garcia [Site] are running for President and Vice-President as the candidates of the Party for Socialism and Liberation in the 2024 Election. [Policies]

There are options.

There are people trying to change the corrupt foundation our system is built on, but we have to help amplify them because the mainstream media will not.

[govtshutdown]

At this point, it doesn't sound like a deal can be reached any other way, but I've been wrong before.

[aanews69]

Immerse yourself in the high-stakes world of political strategy as we delve into the gripping narrative behind the latest government shutdown threat over a f...

[space-brick]

Why in the world do Apache helicopters have any right to be that expensive, it’s just excessive and needless frivolity at that point. Tell me the US spends a ridiculous amount of its budget on defense without telling me the US spends a ridiculous amount of its budget on defense.

*shows you the price of a Apache helicopter*

*shows you that the US military has over 1,275 Apache helicopters*

[an-onyx-void]

House conservative demands stall efforts to avert shutdown | The Hill

[resizura]

bills are the worst thing humans have come up with

[mrfoox]

Asking what someone likes about me and hearing: "you seem happy and content with where you are in life"

Like.... Oh... I... I know I always say I am. And I think only thing "missing" from my life is an partner. But hearing someone say that I... Seem in love with life and being happy and good like... Oh it shows?

[odinsblog]

🗣️THIS IS WHAT INCLUSIVE, COMPASSIONATE DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE

Minnesota Dems enacted a raft of laws to make the state a trans refuge, and ensure people receiving trans care here can't be reached by far-right governments in places like Florida and Texas. (link)

Minnesota Dems ensured that everyone, including undocumented immigrants, can get drivers' licenses. (link)

They made public college free for the majority of Minnesota families. (link)

Minnesota Dems dropped a billion dollars into a bevy of affordable housing programs, including by creating a new state housing voucher program. (link)

Minnesota Dems massively increased funding for the state's perpetually-underfunded public defenders, which lets more public defenders be hired and existing public defenders get a salary increase. (link)

Dems raised Minnesota education spending by 10%, or about 2.3 billion. (link)

Minnesota Dems created an energy standard for 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040. (link)

Minnesota already has some of the strongest election infrastructure (and highest voter participation) in the country, but the legislature just made it stronger, with automatic registration, preregistration for minors, and easier access to absentee ballots. (link)

Minnesota Dems expanded the publicly subsidized health insurance program to undocumented immigrants. This one's interesting because it's the sort of things Dems often balk at. The governor opposed it! The legislature rolled over him and passed it anyway. (link)

Minnesota Dems expanded background checks and enacted red-flag laws, passing gun safety measures that the GOP has thwarted for years. (link)

Minnesota Dems gave the state AG the power to block the huge healthcare mergers that have slowly gobbled up the state's medical system. (link)

Minnesota Dems restored voting rights to convicted felons as soon as they leave prison. (link)

Minnesota Dems made prison phone calls free. (link)

Minnesota Dems passed new wage protection rules for the construction industry, against industry resistance. (link)

Minnesota Dems created a new sales tax to fund bus and train lines, an enormous victory for the sustainability and quality of public transit. Transit be more pleasant to ride, more frequent, and have better shelters, along more lines. (link)

They passed strict new regulations on PFAS ("forever chemicals"). (link)

Minnesota Dems passed the largest bonding bill in state history! Funding improvements to parks, colleges, water infrastructure, bridges, etc. etc. etc. (link)

They're going to build a passenger train from the Twin Cities to Duluth. (link)

I can't even find a news story about it but there's tens of millions in funding for new BRT lines, too. (link)

A wonky-but-important change: Minnesota Dems indexed the state gas tax to inflation, effectively increasing the gas tax. (link)

They actually indexed a bunch of stuff to inflation, including the state's education funding formula, which helps ensure that school spending doesn't decline over time. (link)

Minnesota Dems made hourly school workers (e.g., bus drivers and paraprofessionals) eligible for unemployment during summer break, when they're not working or getting paid. (link)

Minnesota Dems passed a bunch of labor protections for teachers, including requiring school districts to negotiate class sizes as part of union contracts. (Yet another @SydneyJordanMN special here. (link)

Minnesota Dems created a state board to govern labor standards at nursing homes. (link)

Minnesota Dems created a Prescription Drug Affordability Board, which would set price caps for high-cost pharmaceuticals. (link)

Minnesota Dems created new worker protections for Amazon warehouse workers and refinery workers. (link)

Minnesota Dems passed a digital fair repair law, which requires electronics manufacturers to make tools and parts available so that consumers can repair their electronics rather than purchase new items. (link)

Minnesota Dems made Juneteenth a state holiday. (link)

Minnesota Dems banned conversion therapy. (link)

They spent nearly a billion dollars on a variety of environmental programs, from heat pumps to reforestation. (link)

Minnesota Dems expanded protections for pregnant and nursing workers - already in place for larger employers - to almost everyone in the state. (link)

Minnesota Dems created a new child tax credit that will cut child poverty by about a quarter. (link)

Minnesota Democrats dropped a quick $50 million into homelessness prevention programs. (link)

And because the small stuff didn't get lost in the big stuff, they passed a law to prevent catalytic converter thefts. (link)

Minnesota Dems increased child care assistance. (link)

Minnesota Dems banned "captive audience meetings," where employers force employees to watch anti-union presentations. (link)

No news story yet, but Minnesota Dems forced signal priority changes to Twin Cities transit. Right now the trains have to wait at intersections for cars, which, I can say from experience, is terrible. Soon that will change.

Minnesota Dems provided the largest increase to nursing home funding in state history. (link)

They also bumped up salaries for home health workers, to help address the shortage of in-home nurses. (link)

Minnesota Dems legalized drug paraphernalia, which allows social service providers to conduct needle exchanges and address substance abuse with reduced fear of incurring legal action. (link)

Minnesota Dems banned white supremacists and extremists from police forces, capped probation at 5 years for most crimes, improved clemency, and mostly banned no-knock warrants. (link)

Minnesota Dems also laid the groundwork for a public health insurance option. (link)

I’m happy for the people of Minnesota, but as a Floridian living under Ron DeSantis & hateful Republicans, I’m also very envious tbh. We know that democracy can work, and this is a shining example of what government could be like in the hands of legislators who actually care about helping people in need, and not pursuing the GOP’s “culture wars” and suppressing the votes of BIPOC, and inflicting maximum harm on those who aren’t cis/het, white, wealthy, Christian males. BRAVO MINNESOTA. This is how you do it! And the Minnesota Dems did it with a one seat majority, so no excuses. Forget about the next election and focus on doing as much good as you can, while you still can. 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

👉🏿 https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1660846689450688514.html

[stonersolana]

i love that the state i live in has a program that allows both disabled people AND caregivers to fuck each other over. true equality

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Sen. Rick Scott is urging Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans to respect the incoming House GOP majority and block a yearlong budget deal.

Scott, a Florida Republican who challenged McConnell for Senate GOP leader last month, told Fox News Digital that it would be improper to ignore the objections of House Republicans and help Democrats pass a budget deal that funds the government until next October.

"I think we should support the Republicans in the House, they have a majority," said Scott. "They've asked for the opportunity to lead on this next Congress, and we should support a [short-term] budget bill that gives them that opportunity."

Earlier this week, House and Senate appropriators reached a nearly $1.7 trillion budget deal to fund the government until the end of September 2023. It is slated to include more than $858 billion for defense spending, while appropriating $787 billion for domestic spending and additional aid for Ukraine.

Lawmakers are likely to approve the budget deal next week, but they will need to first pass a one-week government funding bill before Friday to avert a shutdown.

The final budget will require at least 10 GOP supporters to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold within the evenly split Senate. Given that reality, House Republicans say McConnell should only approve a short-term government funding bill that runs until mid-January.

The timeline would give Republicans more leverage in budget negotiations since the party is set to control the House of Representatives.

McConnell has not ruled out passing a short-term funding bill, saying that yearlong budget would require Democrats to abandon partisan poison pills.

"If a truly bipartisan full-year bill without poison pills is ready for final Senate passage by late next week, I’ll support it for our Armed Forces," McConnell said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Otherwise, we’ll be passing a short-term continuing resolution into the new year."

"A month ago, the American people voted for a new direction in Washington," said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the GOP's choice for Speaker next Congress. Yet "we've got two members leading appropriations in the Senate who will no longer be here [come January] or be able to be held accountable to their constituents."

McCarthy has said that a GOP-controlled House would force President Joe Biden and the Democrat-run Senate to offer bigger concessions on spending and White House policy in exchange for a budget.

Not everyone believes that will be the case, however. House Republicans will only hold a narrow majority next Congress with hard-line conservatives eager to shut down the government over policy differences and impeach Biden appointees.

"We've been here before during the Tea Party era," said a Senate Republican aide. "The House will grumble about being left out, but they haven't proven themselves as capable of governing either."

McConnell has argued that with Democrats in control of Congress and the White House, Republicans are limited in what they could do.

"We’re on defense," said McConnell. "We’re dealing with the cards that we were dealt."

McConnell also said that despite not being in the majority, Republicans were able to exert influence over the budget. Democrats initially wanted to boost domestic spending over defense but were forced to back down due to GOP opposition.

"Given the fact Democrats have the Presidency, the House and the Senate, to meet our defense number and to not pay any bonus to the Democrats on the domestic side … is far and away the best we could do given the fact that we don’t control the floor or the government," said McConnell.

Scott said that allowing a GOP House to exert its leverage next Congress is more optimal.

"They have a majority," said Scott. "I support their efforts to lead on this next Congress."

Allies of McCarthy say that even if every single House Republican could not be counted on to back a budget deal next year, the new majority would still have significant power.

"Biden would be forced to accept a budget deal that is less favorable simply because McCarthy could refuse to bring anything else to the floor," a House GOP aide told Fox News Digital.

"Even if 5 to 10 wayward Republicans did not fall in line, enough House Democrats would back the deal and avert a government shutdown if Biden was forced to accept it. This is negotiating 101."

[reelnewz4u]

McCarthy has proven his alliance with Globalist. McCarthy who is supposed to be the leader of the House GOP Conservatives shows why the Freedom Caucus never trusted his nomination for the speakership in the first place.

[2024skin]

My ideal economy is highly authoritarian which sucks because who the hell is ever going to get on board with that

[aanews69]

Immerse yourself in the high-stakes world of political strategy as we delve into the gripping narrative behind the latest government shutdown threat over a f...