King only Iowan against short-term budget deal

by: desmoinesdem

Sat Apr 09, 2011 at 11:15:40 AM CDT

Because it will take several days to translate the agreement into a legislative draft, both chambers passed a stopgap to keep the government funded until the middle of next week. The short-term measure would cut $2 billion from the budget [...]

The deal cuts a total of $37.7 billion from current spending levels over the next six months. Of that total, $17.8 billion came from mandatory spending programs, including $2.5 billion in House transportation spending, according to a senior Democratic aide familiar with the deal.

Democrats knocked off most of the controversial policy riders that House Republicans had included in H.R. 1, the package of spending cuts that passed in February.

Republicans, however, won the inclusion of a rider to expand the District of Columbia's school voucher program and to authorize a Government Accountability Office study of a financial oversight board established by the Wall Street reform bill.

Most significantly, Democrats won the disagreement over funding that included Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion services.

The Senate approved the short-term spending bill on a voice vote last night. I posted a statement issued by Senator Tom Harkin after the jump.

The House approved the bill a few minutes after midnight on a 348 to 70 vote (roll call). Republican Tom Latham (IA-04) and Democrats Bruce Braley (IA-01), Dave Loebsack (IA-02) and Leonard Boswell (IA-03) all voted yes. Steve King (IA-05) was among 28 Republicans to vote no. I've posted Loebsack's statement after the jump and will add comments from other Iowans in the House when I see them.

Although most of the House Democratic caucus voted to keep the government running, this deal is a huge victory for House Republicans, especially Speaker John Boehner. He gave up the Planned Parenthood and EPA riders, but only after getting much deeper spending cuts, almost all from non-defense domestic programs. Reuters listed the cuts in the short-term spending bill. Most of the money comes out of high-speed rail, which is an idiotic program to cut from a job creation perspective. The deal covering the remainder of the fiscal year includes only about $3 billion in defense spending cuts, compared to $17.8 billion from benefit programs.

Obama bragged in his weekly radio address today, "Cooperation has made it possible for us to move forward with the biggest annual spending cut in history." Yet again, he's validating Republican ideology, rhetoric and tactics on the budget. Look for House Republicans to insist on even deeper cuts in domestic spending as a condition for raising the debt ceiling. I dread thinking about what will be in the 2012 budget bills. Republicans will make sure all the "shared sacrifice" comes from people who depend on government benefits.

Share any thoughts about the federal budget in this thread. I enjoyed Philip Rucker's feature on the top negotiators for Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today issued the following statement as budget negotiators reached an agreement to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year, averting a government shutdown.  Earlier today, Senator Harkin's office released a timeline of activities leading up to this debate.
"Tonight, at the eleventh hour, House Republican leadership backed off of their threats to shut down the government over a policy that had nothing to do with budgeting - cancer screenings and other preventative health care for women.    
"Now that this debate is over, Congress can refocus on the budget for the next fiscal year and the long term.  It remains my hope that the next proposal will include spending cuts and necessary revenue increases, while making room for critical investments in education, job training, infrastructure, and research - things that are essential for jobs now and for economic expansion and job creation in the years ahead."

Statement from Dave Loebsack, April 9:

"It's unfortunate that politicians in Washington let their political game of chicken get to this point. I am relieved that this temporary agreement was reached, and I am eager to review what I hope is a reasonable final compromise.  Iowa families, businesses, and our troops shouldn't have been caught in the middle of Washington's political games, and I will continue to work to ensure that a budget is passed so that we can move on to the issues my constituents tell me are important to them: job creation and economic development."