Biden White House warns against 'disastrous consequences' as Congress barrels toward government funding deadline
By: MJ Lee and Phil Mattingly (CNN)
Another week, another hair-on-fire warning. Congress was supposed to have a budget in place on October 1. But the midterm elections were far more important.
So now Biden is trying to scare the country - again. What were Democrats doing while they were in charge of everything? What was Biden doing to avoid another crisis?
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
With the midterm elections in the rearview mirror, President Joe Biden and top White House officials now face a government funding deadline - all as House Republicans are promising to deliver partisan warfare in the next Congress with their new majority.
And the clock is ticking.
With a government funding expiration deadline now just over a week away on December 16, the White House is ramping up pressure on Congress to move quickly to pass a sweeping spending package that provide everything from funding to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic to additional money for supporting Ukraine to disaster relief funds. Separately, a critical defense bill is also making its way through Capitol Hill. On both fronts, there's no guarantee that things will get resolved with ease - or with speed.
For weeks, Biden's top deputies, led by Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, have navigated the fluid dynamics of election season, Democrats' policy priorities and the reality that this is likely the last window for a major full-year spending agreement in Biden's first term.
For their part, White House officials are emphasizing that as complicated as the process of reaching an agreement on a large appropriations bill is, lawmakers must continue to pursue that path.
"There's time," one White House official put it simply on Wednesday.
While there appears to be growing talk of the need to pass a short-term, stopgap measure - also known as a "continuing resolution," or CR - as lawmakers inch closer to the December 16 deadline, the White House is pouring cold water on the prospects of a one-year extension, saying it would have "disastrous consequences," per the official.
Choosing to pursue a continuing resolution over a government spending bill would have harmful impacts on a number of key services, the administration has warned, including in areas ranging from national security to public education.
And then there's one worst-case outcome that the White House insists - at least publicly - it isn't seriously contemplating at the moment: A government shutdown.
"We're not worried about a shutdown right now," the official said, repeating again, that there is plenty of time for Congress to pass a government spending bill.
Biden kicked off his week on Monday by hosting Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Richard Shelby of Alabama - the top two senators on the Senate Appropriations Committee - for lunch. Officials said the president will remain closely engaged in the coming days to try to ensure that talks don't quickly go haywire, even as Young, along with White House director of legislative affairs Louisa Terrell, continues to take point for the White House.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin trekked to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to offer lawmakers a status update on the war in Ukraine. But senators leaving the briefing said they spent considerable time making the administration's case for why an omnibus spending bill is more beneficial than a year-long stopgap bill.
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Just another crisis created by a Democrat controlled government. And American taxpayers are going to be on the hook once again. Democrats certainly won't be held accountable for what they have done or failed to do.
Democrat leadership sent Congress on a wild goose chase after the wrong priorities. But only the people on the street will suffer the consequences. Be afraid, be very afraid. Because Democrats screwed up again.
I really do hope the gop sabotages our economy by refusing to raise the debt ceiling, again. It blew up badly in their faces the last times!
Plural...
I really do hope that Democrats finally start doing what is right for this country; and stop spending money we do not have- while ratcheting up inflation they caused.
But that is wishful thinking because they don't give a rat's ass about us commoners.
Back here in reality the Democrats and President Biden have cut our budget deficit by a trillion dollars this year aline. The largest year to year drop in deficit spending in history. It is Trump's and the gop's reckless spending and irresponsible tax cuts that put us so far into deficit spending. As basic math has proven true, again, cutting taxes does not result in cutting the deficit. Although, cutting spending and increasing taxes will get it done!
Democrats haven't reduced shit. Not when passing trillions in new spending.
Democrats and leftists are the last people that should ever talk when it comes to unfunded spending.
This morning I read where they are going to bail out the union's pension plans to the tune of $36billion. Supposedly it was part of the American Rescue Plan
Every single dollar of that $trillion deficit was requested by Biden through emergency funding. That extra $trillion deficit wasn't part of the Federal budget.
Democrats did not lower the Federal budget deficit. The Inflation Reduction Act was not part of the Federal budget; that was a separate funding appropriation outside the budget process. And Biden is still requesting emergency funding for every pet project and boondoggle that will appeal to the Democrat base.
A Republicans opinion of what is "right" is no more important than a Democrats opinion of what is right. 81 million Americans voted for Biden and while he's had a rough start, things are not as bad as the whiny overacting conservative drama queens make it out to be.
Every politician regardless of party is spending money we don't have. Republicans are traditionally the ones who run the deficit up and Democratic administrations are constantly lowering it.
"Reagan took the deficit from $70 billion to $175 billion. Bush 41 took it to $300 billion. Clinton got it to zero. Bush 43 took it from zero to $1.2 trillion. Obama halved it to $600 billion. Trump’s got it back to a trillion."
"On the whole, the numbers presented for each president are basically accurate. However, it’s worth clarifying that presidents alone are not responsible for the rise and fall of the federal deficit. The tweet is accurate but needs additional information. We rate it Mostly True."
PolitiFact | Here's how the deficit performed under Republican and Democratic presidents, from Reagan to Trump
Anyone claiming that "Democrats caused the inflation" clearly have their partisan heads shoved so far up their own asses they can see their own bellybuttons.
The Democratic party is full of low- and middle-income Americans, so if those working hard and just getting by is your definition of 'commoner' then clearly you have no fucking idea about who Democrats care for. When Republicans under Trump gave a massive permanent tax cut for the wealthy and corporations with a disappearing mini tax cut 'carrot' for the 'commoners' do you really believe Republicans were caring about them? Both political party's care more about their donors needs than they do for the average American, so don't try and pretend as if everything just gets magically better under Republicans.
Congress bears sole responsibility for Federal deficits. Presidents do not have authority to appropriate public money for government operations except during war time.
Accounting for Federal deficits by President is supposed to be a measure of leadership. But it's a phony metric. The reality is that Presidents can only veto or approve Congressional funding appropriations. Congress, alone, is responsible for how much money the government spends.
Yeah well, people who claim Clinton “got it to zero” have theirs heads planted very firmly up past their partisan sphincters. Clinton was forced to moderate by a Republican controlled Congress. And in an unfortunately rare moment, government actually worked for the betterment of ALL the people they are supposed to represent. Left to his own devices it never would have happened.
Your post just drips of disingenuous liberal propaganda.
SOSDD
Is that why Democrat governors threatened to game the tax code to avoid implementing 'Trump's permanent tax cut'? Apparently those Democrat governors thought those tax cuts were actually tax increases. At least that's what those Democrat governors claimed.
If Democrats don't know the difference between a tax cut and a tax increase then it's little wonder Democrats are clueless about the fiscal repercussions of their pet projects and boondoggles.
It's crazy how the President can magically control the economy and deficit in one thread, and be powerless in the next.
Lol .... one has to understand the fundy liberal mind. To them EVERY Dem President is a wizard and EVERY Rep President is an idiot.
At least that’s the programming they get from their hive.
Real critical thinkers those worker drones.
Why didn't Democrats do something to avoid that? Weren't Democrats in charge?
It wasn't a secret that the government needs funding appropriations and that the debt ceiling needs to be raised. Everyone could see this coming. So, why didn't Democrats do something before it became a crisis?
Our budget deficit this year is over $1,000,000,000,000.00 less than the last budget El Trumpo signed! So, what about all that?
Most people understand the deficit dropped simply because the emergency covid spending ended.
Is it higher or lower than 2019?
Don't hit them with facts. They don't understand anything beyond their set talking points.
Doesn't matter if there is a government shutdown and default on government debt.
Democrats still hold the majorities in both chambers of Congress and hold the White House. And the looming crisis will come while Democrats are still in charge. Biden's hair-on-fire warning is that Democrats may fail to avoid a crisis that everyone knew was coming.
So, what were Democrats doing?
Oh that's easy......"but TRRUUUMMMMPPPPP!!!!!"
I seriously doubt they would have raise the debt ceiling. I don't think they will be running the country as fucked up as the Democrats have.
Well, of course, Republicans will raise the debt ceiling. But the country has to go through the farce of a power struggle within a Congress that refuses to do its job.
Make no mistake, party politics created this looming crisis. Party politics doesn't serve the country. But the country has to bear the burden for the consequences of party politics.
Too late ..... already fucked up by Democrat leadership ......
If the United States defaults on our debts the world economy would become entirely destabilized. It would be catastrophic!
I liked it when Biden tried to take credit for the 8.7% SS increase.
Ironically he is responsible but not in a good way.
No, no he did not.
+$3b for opening the south door.