Government shutdown again?

[TV and credit cards]

I don't honestly think at this point, it's even going that far. They are literally just acting out, and anything that they think makes the current administration look bad is, by definition, good. A decade ago, you might be right, but I don't even think there's any real grift going on. The gop is literally just hurting the country (and a lot of the people hurt are stupid enough to still vote for them).

It does just come down to "Own the libs." and retain your seat of power. The vast majority of people know nothing about what is going on behind the scenes at DoD as described in the article you posted. And it's not just DoD, it's other government agencies as well. Companies just do not want the hassle of dealing with the government. When it comes to these disruptions in services, small companies just can't hang financially with the big boys so there ends up being consolidation in the industry where the big defense contractors can dictate terms to the government because no one else is bidding on the work. So we end up paying a lot more for a lot less.

Maybe if it was described to the general public as needing these small companies who come up with novel approaches to protecting commercial aircraft taking off from our airports from small drone attacks, they'd get it.

 

[lpetrich]

• House passes funding bills to avert partial government shutdown - ABC News
• Congress passes first package of spending bills just hours before shutdown deadline for key agencies - ABC News
• Senate passes 6 funding bills to avert partial government shutdown before midnight deadline - ABC News
• Biden signs a package of spending bills passed by Congress just hours before a shutdown deadline - ABC News

Doing what I did earlier, and looking for a 75-22 vote, I found this vote
R: Y 26, N 21, nv 2
D: Y 46, N 1, nv 1
I: Y 3
Ttl: Y 75, N 22, nv 3

Most of the Democrats, all of the Independents, and a little over half of the Republicans voted for this bill, much like in the House.

The bill: H.R.4366 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

 

[lpetrich]

VICTORY: More than 50 Anti-LGBTQ+ Riders Stripped from Appropriations Bill - Human Rights Campaign - March 22, 2024

In all, 52 new anti-LGBTQ+ provisions were proposed – with 51 suffering defeat. The defeated provisions included those that would have restricted medically necessary health care for transgender people, given license to engage in taxpayer-funded discrimination against married same-sex couples, blocked nondiscrimination and DE&I efforts, and further stigmatized the LGBTQ+ community.

Despite this failed attempt by House Republicans to use the appropriations process to attack LGBTQ+ people, media outlets have reported Speaker Mike Johnson is attempting to claim victory by touting a mean-spirited but limited provision that would continue to allow LGBTQ+ pride flags to be present in almost all cases at embassies except being flown over the exterior of the building. It poses absolutely no limits to other displays of a pride flag, hosting LGBTQ+ events or embassy employees’ ability to display Pride flags in their work spaces.

What losers.

 

[lpetrich]

Last week:

• H.Res.1102 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Providing for the concurrence by the House in the Senate amendment to H.R. 2882, with an amendment. | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
• Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives - Vote Details - Roll Call 102 | Bill Number: H. Res. 1102
• House sends Senate bill to avert shutdown | The Hill
• H.R.2882 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
• U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 118th Congress - 2nd Session - On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2882 )
• Senate sends $1.2T spending bill to Biden’s desk in late night vote | The Hill
• $1.2T bipartisan spending deal signed into law: Five things to know | The Hill
• Biden Signs $1.2 Trillion Spending Package, Ending Government Shutdown Fears - The New York Times - "The president signed a $1.2 trillion spending package that passed early on Saturday morning, narrowly avoiding a shutdown."

The House vote:
R: Y 101, N 112, nv 6
D: Y 185, N 22, nv 6
Ttl: Y 286, N 134, nv 12

The Democrats who voted against this bill were mostly Squad and Squadlike ones. Among the Republicans to vote against it were the likes of MTG and Lauren Boebert.

The Senate vote:
D: Y 47, N 1
I: Y 2, N 1
R: Y 25, N 22, nv 2
Ttl: Y 74, N 24, nv 2

Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is Squadlike, but Michael Bennet (D-CO) isn't.

 

[lpetrich]

From "House sends Senate bill to avert shutdown"

The vote is also a win of sorts for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who staved off a shutdown, got the package passed despite intense conservative criticism, and avoided having to pass a massive, end-of-year omnibus spending bill, which conservatives abhor. Hard-liners, however, have derided the pair of funding bills — known as minibuses — as a two-part omnibus.

From "Senate sends $1.2T spending bill to Biden’s desk in late night vote"

Negotiations to expedite its passage in the Senate dragged on for hours Friday, as conservatives pressed for votes on amendments to the plan. At one point, many senators were pessimistic about the possibility of passing the bill before Sunday.

Any amendment added to the bill would have required it to go back to the House, which has already left Washington for a two-week recess — and risked putting vulnerable Democrats in the position of taking difficult votes.

The amendments Republicans have been pushing for include border measures like the Laken Riley Act, which would require detention of undocumented immigrants charged with theft-related crimes, senators say. Another amendment, pushed by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), targets a Biden administration tailpipe emissions rule.

From "$1.2T bipartisan spending deal signed into law: Five things to know"

Remaining agencies funded through Sept. 30

The “minibus” includes funding for the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Trade, Labor, State, Education, Health and Human Services and other legislative priorities, through the end of the 2024 fiscal year.

...
Funds boosted for border security, enforcement

Republicans in both chambers leaned heavily on funding to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, arguing the Biden administration’s current policies don’t do enough to combat the surge of migrants at the border.

...
Foreign aid, nondefense spending see modest cuts

The bills did not make the drastic cuts House Republicans have sought in the past. But, more than 70 percent of the funds approved in the deal would be allocated to the Department of Defense.

...
Democrats tout improvements in education, health

Funding boosts for early childhood education and health care programs were among Democratic priorities.

...
Small wins for GOP on embassy flags, gas stoves

Republicans also secured a win with a provision that would effectively ban unofficial flags from being flown at U.S. embassies.

...
Another rider that made it into the final version would also block bans on gas stoves, another win for the GOP. The issue has been at the center of debate in Washington after a Consumer Product Safety Commission member indicated last year that the panel was considering regulations or a ban on them.

From "Biden Signs Final Bill to Fund the Government, Ending Shutdown Fears"

Democrats and Republicans both highlighted victories in the final legislation. Republicans cited as victories funding for 2,000 new Border Patrol agents, additional detention beds run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and a provision cutting off aid to the main United Nations agency that provides assistance to Palestinians. Democrats, including Mr. Biden, secured funding increases for federal child care and education programs, cancer and Alzheimer’s research.

Mr. Biden noted that two important pieces of legislation were still pending in Congress: an agreement on border security and a foreign aid package that would provide arms to Israel and Ukraine. The Senate approved the foreign aid measure in a bipartisan vote last month, but it faces hostility from Republicans in the House.

 

[lpetrich]

The Republicans great triumph in the recent budget bill:
Budget deal would effectively ban pride flags above US embassies | The Hill - 03/22/24 6:07 PM ET

The $1.2 trillion government funding bill, passed Saturday, includes a provision that would functionally prohibit pride flags from flying over U.S. embassies.

The provision didn’t explicitly say as much, but its text mimics language from similar efforts to ban pride flags from flying over government buildings.

According to the text, “None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be obligated or expended to fly or display a flag over a facility of the United States Department of State,” except for those in a list of exceptions, which does not include the pride flag.