Obama $50 billion for State Local Aid: Pelosi Hecklers Get Paid

Nancy Pelosi was relentlessly heckled in a recent speech. The hecklers were members of her usually adoring choir.  This time, her minions were unhappy with her. They wanted more state aid to fund her massive programs. It appears her own personal knight in shining armor, Barack Obama, has rushed to her aid and on Saturday (yes, on Saturday) asked Congress for a fast $50 BILLION for what he sees as "emergency aid." The emergency is placating Nancy Pelosi's voters. See a video below.

Projected Deficits and Debt Increases

2010 Budget (OMB) & CBO Historical Data

The Washington Post says Obama is "pleading:"

President Obama urged reluctant lawmakers Saturday to quickly approve nearly $50 Billion in emergency aid to state and local governments, saying the money is needed to avoid "massive layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters" and to support the still-fragile economic recovery.

In a letter to congressional leaders, Obama defended last year's huge economic stimulus package, saying it helped break the economy's free fall, but argued that more spending is urgent and unavoidable. "We must take these emergency measures," he wrote in an appeal aimed primarily at members of his own party.

Remember all those teacher and police jobs Obama's stimulus saved? Apparently, we are asked to save them again,  because...the money was sent...but didn't save anything.

House Minority Leader, John Boehner (R-OH) said he was at the White House on Thursday and there was no mention of a $50 Billion bombshell hitting the American people. He also reminds that there is no budget out of the House this year.

But House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) argued the president wants to use money already approved in the stimulus act to fund struggling state budgets. 

“The money that has already been appropriated in the Recovery Act, that has not been spent could be spent now,” Hoyer responded. “We can’t stimulate and depress at the same time. 

If the money is already tagged and approved for state aid, why is Obama asking for it? Something smells like dead fish:

White House chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel has said that the administration wants to both cut spending and stimulate the economy in the coming months. 

If Obama can accomplish this, with much of Congress up for re-election in November, then he is a wizard...or Congress is as more corrupt than we can begin to comprehend. But from a Democrat point-of-view, outraging moderate Democrats, Independents and Conservatives may be preferable to standing on principle against Unions. A note about the graphic above: without a Federal Budget, the CBO can hardly project debt or deficits on a downward path. Related information on Deficits and Debt at Seeking Alpha.

John Boehner on Obama's $50 Billion Bombshell

Linked by The Lonely Conservative - Thanks Karen!

Robert Gibbs Jason Mattera on Constitutionality: Steny Hoyer and Jason Mattera on Tax Cheats

Two videos. In the first, Robert Gibbs has an encounter with a young conservative reporter, Jason Mattera at Jason Mattera.com. Gibbs tries to compare approval of Bush tax cuts with passing the mammoth health care monstrosity. Great example of Liberal math: Give people more money in their pay checks, help businesses make their payroll, and it's the equivalent of snatching liberty and privacy out of the hands of parents and grandparents,  and hijacking the futures of coming generations with health care mandates, against the will of the people

[Gibbs] The spending in health care is less than the $1.3 trillion Bush health cut.

[Mattera] Do you ever feel dirty inside defending this administration's deceits and deceptions?

In the second video Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), House Majority Leader meets Jason Mattera. A snippet:

"How do you have the stones to tax Americans for not purchasing healh care when you have tax cheat Charlie Rangel writing legislation and tax cheat Tim Geithner enforcing it? You left-wingers have made hypocrisy an art form."

Great job Jason. Talk about stones! Jason has written a book: Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed my Generation. Buy it at JasonMattera.com

Linked by The Lonely Conservative - Thank you Karen!






Robert Gibbs Meets Jason Mattera on Health Care (video)
Steny Hoyer meets Jason Mattera on Tax Cheats (video)

Pelosi Will Pass Senate Bill in House? Slaughter Rule Ruled Out? Reconciliation a Shell Bill

With a "shell" reconciliation bill posted online last night, it seems everyone is agreed that the House must pass the Senate health care bill and send it to the President for his signature, before reconciliation can take place. In other words, you can't reconcile a bill that has not been signed into law. Intrigue looms, however, as Rep. Louise Slaughter's Rules Committee seems prepared to "deem the bill passed" without a vote (straight from Pelosi's mouth) - even though the Senate Parliamentarian says, no... 'deeming' a bill passed will not happen in the Senate. See videos below.

Louise Slaughter - The Queen of Deem

On March 12th Speaker Pelosi acknowledged the Parliamentarian's ruling and said she will pass the Senate Bill:

"...the Senate Parliamentarian as you have said, said in order for them to do a reconciliation based on the Senate bill, it must be signed by the President."

Nevertheless, the Senate bill is not signed by the President and Pelosi the word is, she is working behind closed door writing reconciliation legislation.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) responded to Rep. Eric Cantor's question, and agreed with Pelosi: 

[CANTOR] ...that this House must pass the Senate bill first, it must be signed into law before the Senate can even take up the reconciliation package?

[HOYER]  I think the gentleman correctly states the Senate parliamentarian's position. and therefore I think

Rep. Paul Ryan also referred to the verbal comment made to Republicans from Democrat Senate Parliamentarian, Kurt Conrad. While Politico is saying Republicans misinterpreted Conrad's remark, Ryan doesn't see it that way, and it is reasonable to believe that Pelosi and Hoyer agree with Ryan.

Ryan said that the Senate parliamentarian's ruling that President Obama must sign a health care bill into law before the Senate can change it through reconciliation largely renders moot the attempt by Rep. Louise Slaughter to shield members from a direct vote on the senate health care bill. He said the idea would also violate Obama's call for an up-or-down vote. "that's not an up-or-down vote, that's sweeping it under the rug and into law," Ryan said:

From Politico, March 12th:

...it looks like House Democrats won't have to vote directly on a Senate bill they really don't like. The speaker hasn't made a final decision, but she told her rank-and-file during the meeting that the plan now is to craft a rule that would "deem" the Senate bill passed once they approve the package of fixes.

That means they would vote on the rule and the so-called reconciliation package, which would make changes to the Senate bill andonly requires 51 votes to pass in the Upper Chamber....

The question is, is Pelosi playing word games? She is saying the Senate bill must be signed by the President, but is she relying on the Slaughter made-up bill that the House can "deem" it passed without a vote?

Here is how the "shell" bill works. Philip Klein writing at The American Spectator says this is not the "actual reconciliation bill." He quotes Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) saying that this bill is a "shell" bill. Democrats will approve it, probably today, it will go to the Rules Committee, "be stripped," and then all the things they have supposedly negotiated will be added in.

Ryan says the process begins with the Budget committee approving the "shell" bill, then the bill goes to the Rules Committee. In the budget committee, Republicans are out-numbered 2-to-1, and do not have the votes to stop it. Republicans will not be able to offer any amendments, but can offer "motions to instruct the Rules Committee, which will hopefully show the outlandish maneuver Democrats are taking for what it is - unconstitutional. Illegal?

Ryan said that the Senate parliamentarian's ruling that President Obama must sign a health care bill into law before the Senate can change it through reconciliation largely renders moot the attempt by Rep. Louise Slaughter to shield members from a direct vote on the senate health care bill. He said the idea would also violate Obama's call for an up-or-down vote. "that's not an up-or-down vote, that's sweeping it under the rug and into law," Ryan said.

In The American Spectator piece, Rep. Ryan warned about focusing on reconciliation, which he says is a "distraction."

Paul Ryan's op-ed in today's Washington Post shows that nothing has changed and whatever you see in the 2309-page tome posted last night is up for embellishment or deletion.

Ed Morrisey, writing before it was clear that this is a shell bill, asked what the bill might contain that makes it ineligible for reconciliation and points out page 1557 of the existing reconciliation calls for the creation of a Comparative Effectiveness Center (panel) which finds ways to ration health care based on certain parameters, one of which in the bill is "Economics."  Much of the newly written bill will surely contain language from this one. We can count on the Comparative Effectiveness Center also being included.

Any part not directly germane to budgeting should, according to the rules, have to go through normal Senate debate.  Republicans will want to find as many of these as possible.

There is a post I think you'll want to read at Jus' Sayin'. Don't leave without taking a look at the very last statement on the page.

Hot Air has a quote from Steny Hoyer saying that "deeming" is demeaning to democracy.

Linked by The Thinker - thank you!



Pelosi says she will pass the Senate Bill in the House (video) Steny Hoyer says House must pass the Senate Health Care Bill (video)

Boehner calls for Pelosi Hoyer Investigation: Boehner Introduces Privileged Resolution

Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) introduced a Privileged Resolution on the floor of the House today, calling for an investigation into Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and their handling of the Rep. Eric Massa scandal and claims that he had inappropriately groped House staffers.

This threat to Pelosi and Hoyer, may explain this report yesterday:

House Democrats, armed with a thick docket of Republican ethics cases, are putting the GOP leadership on notice: Throw mud at them and they'll pitch rocks at a Republican glass house."

Boehner either didn't get the memo or is not intimidated by the Democrat's rocks.

Pelosi allegedly told Roll Call that she only learned of the accusations against Massa on March 10th, yet a report in the Washington Post on March 11th claims the Speaker knew about the sexual harrassment claims  as early as October 2009.

The Privileged Resolution goes on, but the short story is, Boehner believes Pelosi may not have acted against one of her own, in an appropriate manner, and cites this House Rule:

Whereas, clause one of Rule XXXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, titled “Code of Conduct,” states “A Member, Delegate, Resident Commission, officer, or employee of the House shall conduct himself at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House”

The Resolution calls for the formation of an Investigative Subcommittee, and protection from deleted emails, text messages, voicemails and other records, and the findings reported to the House no later than June 30th, 2010.


Obviously, there was no justice for the abused staffers, if there were abused staffers, and how often do you see an Ethics investigation begin, and shut down, in one week's time, with no conclusions reached - especially when the charges involve sex?


Read the full Privileged Resolution at Daily Caller.


Related and Background:
Massa Groping Charges Dropped