WASHINGTON — Almost 24 hours after Congress careened off the fiscal cliff, a bipartisan House of Representatives late Tuesday approved a Senate bill reversing income tax increases and pulling the nation back from the potentially calamitous economic consequences.
The vote did not come easily. House Republicans expressed staunch opposition throughout the day. They threatened amendments and huddled in closed-door strategy meetings.
Comments
Now onto the continuing resolution, debt limit and back to the sequestor. More chances for the Republicans to show how fiscally insane they are. Let's hope they get put back into juvenile detention.
The biggest thing to come out of this is the hope that the Hastert rule, which of course isn't a formal rule, will be permanently put to bed. Legisation does not need the majority of the majority to come to the floor. As long as that rule remained in place bi-partisan actions in the House were impossible. Let us hope that Mr. Boehner recognizes in the future that he is indeed the Leader of the entire House not just the Republican caucus.
Really good points. John Boehner has to be damaged after this fiasco. I can't figure him out.
attaturk - I agree that the Hastert rule should be put to bed. Do you also believe that Reid should stop writing legislation with zero Republican involvement?
www.nationalreview.com/corner/255074/blame-reid-not-republicans-obstructionism-bill-wichterman
The brinksmanship has got to end. This is no way to run a country, but unless Republicans, especially in the House, can figure out who they are and what they stand for (and not simply what they stand against), unless Democrats are willing to do something to reduce the deficit through genuine "entitlement" reform, and unless the American people realize that everyone's version of the "American Dream" has to change and that thankfully this is no longer the 1950's (or the 1990's for that matter), we will be suffering similar hangovers every time anything of significance comes to a vote in Congress. I wish I could believe we have done more than avert one disaster only to welcome another two or three.
Does Cantor take over for Boehner? Then things will get interesting with the debt ceiling hike!
The members of the Party of No have identified themselves and the list is available here:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll659.xml
Bad, but not unpalatable to an overwhelming majority of US Senators, they still couldn't say yes.
" changing a tax code “too skewed toward the wealthy” at the expense of the middle class." Really? Please provide proof.
Only 2 outcomes to this:
1. We stay nuetral which is not good
2. We go (deeper) into a recession.
Nice job all.
SOURCE for ESF: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/01/fiscal-cliff-deal-also-doles-out-millions-for-hollywood-railroads-rum-producers/
at least Obama got to head BACK to Hawaii for vacation
Yeah, the nerve of that President Obama. His predecessors spent ALL of their time in Washington.
The Senate-passed budget deal is broadly in line with our prior fiscal cliff expectations, which is to say a resolution which imposes considerable near-term headwinds to growth while doing very little to address longer-run fiscal sustainability issues. The table below summarizes our current assessment of the fiscal drag associated with fiscal-cliff-related measures, which we still see subtracting about 1%-point from GDP growth in 2013.
SOURCE FOR ESF: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-01-02/fiscal-cliff-be-fiscal-drag-amounting-1-2013-gdp
"It's called entitlements when it's something the Republicans don't need at the time." Jon Stewart
Let the hacking begin on Social Security and Medicare. None of us here seem to need either at the present time.
Great Britain cut spending during a fragile time in their economy and now record numbers of "everyday people" are flooding food banks. I think we will look back on these last 4 years as a major interruption and, of course, we will blame President Obama.
Thanks to The Globe for providing this forum, btw.
I am so pleased that the entire MA Democratic House delegation voted in favor of the Senate bill. It speaks so well of their ability to put aside partisan concerns to compromise for the greater good. I responded to a Move.On email to call Rep. Markey to tell him to vote "no" by unsubscribing to their list. I am proud to be a liberal/progressive and I know this bill is far from perfect and that much nore needs to be done. However, this needed to happen NOW. Not an ideologue, I am now proud to see that those who represent MA in the House provide excellent examples of how to govern responsibly and thoughtfully . (Yeah, I know, tell it to the Tea Party.)
What these fools have done, is before kicking the can of financial reckoning down the road again , they made it 50% bigger, then gave it a good boot!
I STILL support the president! I do NOT think he lied as some on the left and, of course, the right do. I still think if he could have done what he truly wanted he would have but the Republican block does one thing well - it blocks. They still have a majority in the House and blocking numbers in the Senate.
Again, emphasis must, I think, be placed on this obstructionist Republican Party which plays appeasement with their racist tea baggie extreme. They are intractable and blocked what the president originally wanted. A large part of the threatening Republican base still cannot see a black man and his black family in the oh so White House. I believe that is the springboard for Republican imperviousness.
It does seem the payroll tax holiday is done BUT it may come back with the new Congress which has shed some virus as the Dems increased in the Senate and some wingnuts in the House were booted. The Dems got many other things too numerous to list.
The media is saying, a huge fight about spending and the so called "entitlements" or as I like to call them benefits of Medicare and Social Security is going to ensue. This "debate" will make the fiscal cliff, they say, look small. I hope that is media hype to get you to watch them is wrong. My advice -- like I have credibility on this -- is DON'T watch.
More tax reform, spending cuts, and other fiscal fights must ensue including the potentially devastating blow up on the debt ceiling. I am fastening my seat belt which I hate to do so I will fasten it not too tightly but realizing there may be a bump ride ahead.
The solution: give Republicans in local, state and national elections the boot so something can finally be done for the nation.
like raise taxes and spending and increase people on government welfare?
Great original post. I don't know how anyone can defend Congress. They were clearly out to stop Obama, but they almost stopped us.
The real laugher in this whole mess is when an elected official, their pockets jammed with hometown pork, steps in front of the TV camera and condemns President Obama's spending. The stimulus didn't work because of the Great Obstructionists and we will see the results of Washington's mistakes in our economy.
just remember, it's Obama's fault...
Bottom line is taxes, for everyone, went up and no cuts in spending. Makes ya sick.
just the beginning
Gad. as with Bush I's cave on tax incrase in 1991, today's Republicans have again abandoned principles amde made their pact witht he enemy. They should have let the country go over the cliff, as it was th best deal we are going to see.
Obama says he's reduced the deficit by $620 billion with this ruse, the CBO says the whopping deficit forecast previously around $10 trillion before, now goes up $4 trillion more!!! Shame on them, shame on Obama, and most particularly shame on those Repubicans too afraid of the President and his media allies to stand up for America, May God bless amercia, because we can no longer make our own good fortune, so only the Good Lord can soften the onrushing crash we face.
A total debt of $30 trillion in 10 years, at a 5% interest rate, is $1,500 billion a year. There goes my social security, even after the next Obama gives us a VAT tax!
This might be true, but our British friends say we are crazy to cut spending during this fragile time in our so-called recovery. The Pentagon can't even tell Alan Simpson how many contractors they have, so we have Republican leaders who want to boost that budget. We need job creation now and we can fight over spending once the bills are paid. Did you see the stock market today?
Maxine Waters is the new ranking member of the House Financiakl Services Committee. Phew, we are safe now
You people voted for the biggest spending President in history. His "balanced Approach" is a FAKE. Now he's asking for MORE taxes. On YOU. ...And NO spending cuts of any kind. ..In fact he's already asking for MORE. "Investment" in infrastructure = more spending. Investment in "Research" = more spending. Investment in education = more spending. And he's drooling at the chance to make a slush fund out of Hurricane Sandy relief funds. THAT's why he is so anxious to getr those funds voted on.
I don't see this. Your Congress is coming back with obverse 90 billion in rescue money for the victims off Hurricane Sandy. How many weeks has this aid been stalled? Obama is one guy. Congress and the Senate hold the reigns on spending. Biden is one guy. The White House is facing the most obstructionist lawmakers in history, the political appointments are being jammed up by Republicans--who can fly home every weekend along with their Democratic colleagues. Sorry, I don't buy this "Evil Dictator" stuff.
I'm trying to figure out how President Obama can be singed out as a spender, a socialist, even a communist leader by some, and still get elected to a second term. Clearly, Mitt Romney would please many of the folks on this Globe Comments Forum. The whole Obama Care deal is being trashed by critics when pols show people need and want a uniform health care program. So, what's next? How much of what Congress isn't doing are you going to ignore? The Republicans have jammed up Obama and they seem destined to try more of the same in the new year.