SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
prosperus
Progressives Say 'Absolutely No Reason' Dems Should Help GOP Eviscerate Key Programs
"Democrats should walk away from any deal that makes further cuts to the spending levels agreed upon in the bipartisan compromise," said one advocate.
Jan 04, 2024
As a U.S. government shutdown yet again looms, a progressive coalition on Thursday warned Democrats against allowing federal spending cuts beyond what was agreed to in the debt ceiling deal that President Joe Biden negotiated with Republicans last year.
"Congressional Republicans aren't hiding the ball. They want to eviscerate funding for programs working families rely on and they are willing to shut down the government to do it," said Groundwork Collaborative executive director Lindsay Owens, a member of the ProsperUS coalition, in a statement.
"There is absolutely no reason for Democrats to participate in their efforts to starve programs that provide food, housing, and childcare for families," Owens argued. "Democrats should walk away from any deal that makes further cuts to the spending levels agreed upon in the bipartisan compromise."
To avoid an economically catastrophic U.S. default last spring, Biden and then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) struck a deal on the so-called Fiscal Responsibility Act, which included two years of spending caps for nondefense discretionary spending.
Since then, government shutdowns were narrowly avoided with temporary measures in September and November. Between those moves, House Republicans also ousted McCarthy—who then resigned from Congress at the end of last year—and eventually replaced him with Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), whose rise to power was widely seen as a signal of the far-right's hold on the party.
Neither chamber of Congress will be in session until next week, but Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have told reporters that budget talks are underway to potentially reach an agreement before the two government shutdown deadlines—which are midnight on January 19 and February 2, with various agencies set to be affected by one date or the other.
A shutdown could be prevented with an omnibus bill or a continuing resolution. Although Johnson claimed in November that "I'm done with short-term CRs," Forbesnoted Tuesday that "full budgets appear unlikely given the tight timeline and limited progress so far. The House and Senate have both passed some appropriations bills, but they are a long way from being reconciled. Specifically, the House has passed seven appropriation bills and the Senate three."
While leading a Republican trip to the border city of Eagle Pass, Texas on Wednesday to demand hardline immigration policies, Johnson said that "we have been working in earnest and in good faith with the Senate and the White House virtually every day through the holidays trying to come to an agreement. Negotiations are still ongoing."
"And let me tell you what our top two priorities are right now," he said. "In summary, we want to get the border closed and secured first, and we want to make sure that we reduce nondefense discretionary spending."
Johnson supports the GOP's Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2)—which Republicans have tied to the budget battle and Biden's supplemental funding request for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan—but the speaker "stopped short of embracing his right flank's demand to shut down the government without action," Politicopointed out Wednesday.
However, far-right Republicans, including House Freedom Caucus members, have a clear message. Fox News' Bill Melugin reported from Eagle Pass that GOP Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Bob Good (Va.), and Matt Rosendale (Mont.) said: "Shut the border down, or we'll shut the government down. We control the money."
The House Freedom Caucus is also a barrier to getting an agreement more broadly. According toNBC News:
A source familiar with the talks, who wasn't authorized to share details, said that they're "moving along" and that it "appears we'll reach agreement soon" on a dollar amount that includes less spending in fiscal year 2024 than was in the budget deal, "without any cuts to defense" spending.
Republicans are targeting cuts to a side pot of $69 billion in domestic nonmilitary funding that was part of the budget deal, alongside a spending "cap" of $1.59 trillion.
"One obstacle to a deal is the House Freedom Caucus, a group of ultraconservative lawmakers who want to wipe away the entire side agreement," the outlet explained. "A Freedom Caucus spokesperson said they still oppose any deal that would add to the $1.59 trillion level and pointed to the group's statement Friday blasting the use of 'disingenuous gimmicks' to secure separate funding for programs."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Biden Urged to Reject Any and All 'Inhumane' GOP Cuts to Social Programs
"There is no room to negotiate when it comes to our communities," said a coalition of 87 groups.
Nov 08, 2023
As a potential government shutdown once again looms, a coalition on Wednesday urged U.S. President Joe Biden to reject any spending bills that include "inhumane" cuts to programs that working and low-wealth people rely on every day.
The 87 labor groups, civil society organizations, and policy experts demanded that Biden and congressional Democrats "brush aside the threats of a small group of extremists" to slash crucial spending.
The White House reached a deal with Republicans in Congress in September to keep the government open until November 17, and progressives celebrated the bill that was passed without cuts to housing assistance, the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program, scientific research, and other domestic spending.
But when the 45-day stopgap measure was passed, progressive lawmakers and advocates knew House Republicans, now led by hard-right House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, still aim to cut social spending.
The coalition, under the name ProsperUS and including groups such as Communications Workers of America, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, and Groundwork Collaborative, thanked Biden for requesting emergency supplemental funding for disaster relief at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, childcare stabilization for one year, and other domestic programs, and credited the administration with spending that has helped keep unemployment low.
"But extremists in Congress are trying to undo these successes," the groups wrote, citing the so-called Fiscal Responsibility Act that was passed in June in exchange for an increase to the nation's arbitrary debt limit. The package included work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other safety net programs and cut Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funding meant to stop tax evasion by wealthy Americans.
Even with those cuts, ProsperUS warned, "House Republicans have signaled they are willing to make even more draconian cuts in a potential stopgap bill."
Extremists in the party have proposed substantial cuts to the U.S. Department of Education, agricultural programs, violence prevention initiatives at the U.S. Department of Justice, and the IRS. Other social spending they aim to reduce includes home heating assistance for low-income families and SNAP, which they would take away from 1.3 million people with low incomes, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
"Polls consistently show that Americans oppose cuts to essential programs and support reinvesting our tax dollars back into our communities, whether it's for teachers' salaries, clean drinking water, or ensuring that every child has enough healthy food to succeed," said ProsperUS. "These public investments make our economy more stable, families more secure, and our nation safer."
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, co-president of the Maven Collaborative, which is part of the coalition, said that considering the White House has requested $14 billion in aid for Israel this month, "it's way past time for our policymakers to give programs that help feed, educate, and care for American families the value they deserve."
"If we can find money to fund war and destruction internationally, we should be able to also fund programs that save lives domestically," said Bhattacharya. "All Americans deserve to have a roof over their heads, food on the table, and their children educated and cared for. We should never let extremist, racist ideology take that away from us."
The groups noted that housing assistance, Social Security, and nutrition programs are among the "lifesaving, economy-building" initiatives that have faced "chronic underfunding."
"Cutting critical programs and failing to invest more in our communities undermines our economic progress," said Bilal Baydoun, director of policy and research at Groundwork Collaborative. "The president must reject any proposal that cuts the public investments that pushed unemployment to record lows and restarted our economic engine. There is no room to negotiate when it comes to our communities."
Keep ReadingShow Less
House GOP Slammed Over Shutdown Prevention Plan That Is 'Doomed to Fail'
"The proposed continuing resolution backed by Speaker McCarthy is trying to force a path to deep cuts that were rejected in the debt ceiling deal he agreed to with President Biden earlier this year," said one expert.
Sep 18, 2023
Two weeks out from a U.S. government shutdown, some House Republicans on Sunday evening reached a potential deal—one which Democrats on Capitol Hill and other critics across the country warn is a dangerous proposal that is "doomed to fail."
The GOP's continuing resolution (CR) would avert a government shutdown on October 1, but the 30-day stopgap funding bill also lacks military assistance for Ukraine and requested U.S. disaster relief, would impose an 8% cut for nondefense spending, and includes immigration riders opposed by congressional Democrats and President Joe Biden.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) "was well aware" that the CR wouldn't pass the Democrat-controlled upper chamber "but was hoping House passage would be a show of strength that would force a response from the Senate and potentially shift responsibility for a shutdown across the Rotunda," noted The New York Times.
However, Politico reported Monday, "as details of the deal hashed out by leaders of the Main Street Caucus and House Freedom Caucus trickled out, a bevy of conservative hardliners piped up with various versions of 'Hell No'." At least a dozen far-right House members have voiced their opposition, with some suggesting they won't support any CR.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) wrote on social media Monday that "we cannot allow Kevin McCarthy and his radical posse to throw yet another tantrum at the expense of poor and working Americans. Period."
The 87-member ProsperUS coalition said in a statement Monday that "these last-ditch efforts to slash critical investments in workers and families are deeply unpopular and doomed to fail. Extreme House GOP members should accept reality: The majority of Congress is with the American people in rejecting hostage-taking and painful and irresponsible cuts."
The coalition also noted that the proposed CR betrays the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the bipartisan debt ceiling deal Biden and McCarthy negotiated earlier this year, as House Republicans nearly forced an economically catastrophic U.S. default.
"The House majority should set aside this latest failed proposal and allow the full House to vote on government funding bills at or above the floor set in the bipartisan debt limit deal," ProsperUS argued. "Anything less would be a clear step backward for our economy and hurt the most vulnerable communities we represent."
In a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities president Sharon Parrott similarly stressed that "the proposed continuing resolution backed by Speaker McCarthy is trying to force a path to deep cuts that were rejected in the debt ceiling deal he agreed to with President Biden earlier this year."
The GOP proposal would slash funding for federal programs—including on childcare, education, environmental protection, food assistance, medical research, and transportation—for 30 days, but that could be dragged out much longer. As Parrott explained, "The nondefense cuts will create some near-term challenges, but more importantly, once a CR is in place, it is likely to be extended until final appropriations bills are complete—which is sure to take more than a month."
"Congress needs to pass a CR that allows the government to continue operations until funding bills are done, addresses near-term needs that cannot wait for final appropriations bills, and doesn't try to renegotiate the debt ceiling agreement," she asserted. "The public deserves a government that stays open to deliver services people count on and policymakers who negotiate agreements in good faith and govern by a theory other than brinkmanship."
In an apparent reference to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) blocking a "minibus" packaging three spending bills, Parrott also said that "last week's hiccup notwithstanding, the Senate has demonstrated that reasonable funding bills crafted under the basic framework of the debt ceiling agreement can garner broad bipartisan support."
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on Monday moved to suspend a rule invoked by Johnson—which will require 67 votes later this week.
"This is an effort to move forward on the minibus, and keep the appropriations process on track here in the Senate," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday. "It's unfortunate that one member—who does not represent the views of most senators—prevented us from moving forward last week."
"But I believe a majority of senators want to keep moving forward. Our Republican colleagues have asked for regular order and we have worked with them to let that happen," he added, thanking not only Murray but also Susan Collins (R-Maine), the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, who last week called out Johnson.
Schumer also took aim at Republicans in the lower chamber for "what they called a deal for a CR but in reality reads like a hard-right screed," declaring that the proposal "can be boiled down to two words: slapdash, reckless. Slapdash because it is not a serious proposal for avoiding a shutdown, and reckless because if passed it would cause immense harm to so many priorities that help the American people."
"To his credit, the speaker knows a shutdown would be a terrible outcome. When I spoke with him in late July, we had a very encouraging conversation about the need for bipartisanship to avoid a shutdown. We both recognized that a bipartisan CR would be the way forward," Schumer added. "Two months later, a bipartisan CR is still the only answer for avoiding a government shutdown. I urge Speaker McCarthy, as well as reasonable House Republicans, to resist the 30 or so extremists within their ranks who seem dead-set on provoking a crisis."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular