Once again, the U.S. likelihood of passing an appropriations budget is quickly dwindling. There are eight days left to pass the 12 bill proposals before Oct 1, 2023 (see Appropriations Bill Table FY 2024). There has been little to no progress in Congress. The Republicans who control the House 222 to 212 have Not been able to decide amongst themselves on the deliberation of the Defense proposal which has failed to pass after three-floor votes this week. Speaker McCarthy has made no effort to propose a continuous resolution bill (CR) that would provide a temporary stopgap for continued government operations through the end of October 2023 as a minimum. McCarthy released Congress to go home Thursday soon after having reconvened after a five-week summer break which ended around the 5th of September. After just getting back from a five-week-long summer break! At the center of ALL this hoopla is the House Freedom Caucus which has a minority membership of the House consisting of about twenty members but affects the lives of some 261 million adults and another 74 million children under the age of 18. Seems they are led by Congressman Gaetz who is dead set on having Hunter Biden serve federal time in prison for lying on his application when he purchased a gun. He was actually in possession of the gun for 11 days. That may be changing since there is a Supreme Court hearing on a somewhat similar case that the defendant is challenging against his 2nd Amendment Rights! Keep in mind this is a Supreme Court that supports 2nd Amendment Rights. Upon finding Hunter Biden criminally charged the Freedom Caucus members will find it trouble-free to connect Hunter Biden’s fiascos to his father who had conversations with Hunter while conducting business and on at least one occasion attended a dinner being hosted by Hunter Biden – wow! The Republicans are pushing these activities as influence peddling! What’s good for the goose is good for the gander – what about Ivanka, Kushner, and Donald Trump Jr. flying across with Trump to attend official government business in Saudi Arabia, China, and even Ukraine? It was to be a Presidential trip and Not a family vacation.
The Republicans are conducting a three-pronged approach to the Hunter Biden non-government-related issue. They are trying to distract the American public from the four-Trump indictments, impeach President Joe Biden, and get Trump elected to the presidency. The actions the Republicans have taken especially the Judiciary Committee led by Jim Jordan are a farce and a slap in the face to all Americans. Imagine what leaders in the world public are thinking when they see the Republican commentary on the news and social media. And at the same time, we are telling the world we are a nation of laws – whose laws – the minority – those in power? The Congressional Republicans are holding America hostage for purely selfish reasons in an attempt to maintain power and deface, degrade, and dimmish American democracy. Their actions are about to have a negative and harsh effect on the regular ‘Joe” who works hard for a living every day and believes in justice and fairness. Not having a 2024 FY budget before October 1st will have far-reaching effects on our economy, national security, the global presence. Our troops will not get paid, receive proper medical care, or be able to send their kids to school, and frankly linger in limbo. I was affected by the failings of a Democratic Congress to pass a budget during the Jimmy Carter administration. The military services were Not paid for two months – two months folks! My credit union refused to honor paychecks since there was no money. I quit them and quit the Democratic Party at the time. And moved on to support President Regan and the Republican party for the next 20 years until President George W. Bush was elected president – I was not happy with him running around with a silver spoon in his mouth and claiming to support the military – remember Iraq and Afghanistan? Well, many soldiers died or were wounded but we never got the medical care we deserved because – it was Not in the Republican federal budget! Similarly, look what Senator Tuberville (R-GA) known as “Coach” because he was a college coach before being elected to the Senate is doing. He is holding the nominations of our highest military leaders because he opposes abortion, and his state has one of the strictest abortion laws in the country. A previous article I posted (see ) talks about the important military posts and bases in his state. Perhaps we need to draw down the thousands that are stationed there and move on to states that support the military. His constituents would probably not be happy with the millions lost as a result.
The Congressional Republicans need to address the needs of their citizens and act on their behalf. So far, the American majority does Not support the Republican’s stonewalling and is willing to go into default. The U.S. credit rating will suffer. Credit rating institutions like S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch downgraded the U.S. standing in 2011 with Republicans intentionally calculating a government shutdown to hurt the Obama administration. The U.S. economy took a tremendous hit and was downgraded from a AAA to AA+ – this matters in global economies. As it is China wants the Yuan to be the world currency and the Russians want the Ruble!
Greed and power denote the Republican majority and they will take it by any means. Americans are not the enemy of democracy it is our Republican party that is drifting us into a third-world power! Americans truly deserve better than what one party is giving us and yes, both parties need to reflect the needs of their citizens in a unified manner.