Here is the difference in the parties, and remember some say the two parties are one in the same, this is not true....
While most of the world has been focusing their attention on the Middle East, we here in America are fighting over the budget. The House will be voting this week on a Republican bill, called a “continuing resolution” or CR, to cut $100 billion from President Barack Obama’s funding request for programs for the remaining seven months of this fiscal year. Don’t confuse the battle over the CR with that other battle which the House is going to be waging in the coming weeks over Obama’s spending request for fiscal year 2012, which begins on Oct. 1.
In this battle there's been over 400 amendments offered in the House, if the Rethuglican amendments are enacted this is what they would do...
– Eliminate the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the Special Envoy for Climate Change, the Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, the NOAA Climate Service, the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E, National Science Foundation K-12 funding
– Block US funding for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Global Environment Facility
– Suspend enforcement of fisheries laws and construction and conservation acquisition programs of the National Parks and Department of the Interior
– Block rules for toxic cement plant pollution, hazardous coal ash, industrial boiler pollution, water quality, climate change pollution, climate change adaptation, energy-efficient lighting, mountaintop removal, atrazine, and water conservation..
The existing language in the budget bill is already designed to deny global warming, slash and burn public health and green jobs, but the amendments would take even more radical steps to reward polluters who are killing our children’s future.
Most of the Republican amendments are budget neutral, not lowering the deficit one cent. Several defund effective jobs programs that cost only a few million dollars. The goal of these amendments is not fiscal responsibility or jobs creation, but polluter protection, even though the pollution is poisoning babies and causing the elderly to suffer.
Since taking the House there has not been a single bill for job creation by the Rethuglicans, did we really think they would concentrate their efforts on jobs? Hell NO, Boehner said if his partys' spending cuts lead to job losses then so be it.... What amazing arrogance! Scott Lilly of the Center for American Progress calculated that the cuts - a net of $59 billion in the last half of fiscal 2011 - would lead to the loss of 650,000 government jobs, and the indirect loss of 325,000 more jobs as fewer government workers travel and buy things. That's nearly 1 million jobs - possibly enough to tip the economy back into recession. This is music to the GOPPERS ears! They want the unemployment numbers to stay high because they believe it will help them win the election in 2012. But they have not come forth with a candidate who could actually beat Pres. Obama, what a joke. For the good of the country GOP, put the people FIRST for once in your party's lifetime!
NOW, the Democrats, I should say the progressive fighting Democrats in our party, have proposed amendments to eliminate billions of dollars that go to Big Oil subsidies. Congressman Ed Markey put forth an amendment that would close a loophole that allows oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without paying ANY ROYALTIES! This bill will end the tax breaks, close the loophole and save the taxpayers 51 billion! The rethugs hate this bill, but Markey promises there will be a vote. He told Chris Matthews tonight..."I’m telling you what, we will have the vote sometime in the next 24 hours, and then I will have the list of names and you will know who believes the oil industry, while they’re reporting record profits still believe that they need American taxpayers money as they’re cutting the programs for the poorest people in our society. Free lunches for the oil industry they say? okay. Free lunch for grandma. uh-uh. that’s an extravagance the federal government cannot afford. We’re going to have a vote on that in the next 24 hours."
Democrats have amendments which will reduce the deficit, restore LIHEAP (low income home energy assistance program) and NIH (national institutes of health)funding, amendments to defend America from global warming pollution, and for research and development into green energy programs.
President Obama wants to invest in high speed rail and energy efficiency, he wants to put more money into education and infrastructure, but NO, that is spending and it really doesn't matter what type of spending, the GOP wants NO spending...well except for tax cuts and wars....The debate is moving toward a standoff. Republicans are hell bent on passing legislation by the end of this week, 61 billion in cuts, that's their magic number. The White House says President Obama would veto such a bill.
"I think it is important to make sure that we don't try to make a series of symbolic cuts this year that could endanger the recovery," Obama told a news conference.
"We've got to be careful ... Let's use a scalpel; let's not use a machete," he said.
From what I've seen from President Obama he is standing strong against the GOP. I believe he will veto their ridiculous do nothing cuts. Give credit where credit is due. President Obama is not stupid, he knows what America needs to survive. He has a plan for America in the next 6 years and it's not what the wingnuts are saying...
Read more on the cuts proposed by the GOP from Congressman John Conyers
