Idaho, Joni Ernst, the “CR” Mess

Idaho, Joni Ernst, the “CR” Mess

Idaho just banned DEI on its college campuses. Whoopi. The state is one percent black. I’m curious as to what the DEI initiatives were – move your campus to Mississippi?. Maybe they were to add diversity to the football and basketball teams.

Joni Ernst who heads the Senate’s committee on government efficiency has introduced a bill to move a third of the federal workers out of Washington. Do you think she read my blog piece “Drain the Swamp”? In fact her bill is entitled “Decentralizing and Re-organizing Agency Infrastructure Nationwide To Harness Efficient Services, Workforce Administration, and Management Practices Act,” or DRAIN THE SWAMP. Cute.

I am not wise in the ways of Congress’ legislative morass but I would have thought that Mike Johnson would have run the bill intended to postpone the government shutdown by Donald Trump. Apparently, he didn’t since Trump demanded that the bill not be passed. Johnson withdrew it. 

I am also not up on the nomenclature of bills either. The Affordable Care Act isn’t. The Inflation Reduction Act isn’t either and neither was this Congress’ “Continuing Resolution.” I would think a continuing resolution would be just that, a continuation of a previous budget. In fact, the definition is “A continuing resolution continues the pre-existing appropriations at the same levels as the previous fiscal year (or with minor modifications) for a set amount of time. Continuing resolutions typically provide funding at a rate or formula based on the previous year’s funding.^”

Therefore, a continuing resolution should be at most one paragraph long. So how did this “continuing resolution” get to be 1,547 pages? As Majorie Taylor-Greene said this wasn’t a CR it was an omnibus funding bill. Chip Roy was less diplomatic saying “We get this negotiated crap, and we’re forced to eat this crap sandwich. Why? Because freaking Christmas is right around the corner. It’s the same dang thing every year. Legislate by crisis, legislate by calendar. Not legislate because it’s the right thing to do.” Another House member, Eric Burlison said “It’s a total dumpster fire. I think it’s garbage.”

Surely, Johnson knew that this “continuing resolution” was not going to get pass his conservatives members and had to know that he would get all the democrat votes and enough republican votes to pass. Even though Mike Lee and Rand Paul on the Senate side blasted the resolution it would have passed the Senate since the democrats are still in the majority. Speaking of the Senate, is Kamala Harris back presiding over the chamber?

Well Elon Musk immediately fired off a Tweet condemning the increase in spending and said that any member voting for the bill should be voted out in the next election. To which one democrat member told Musk to mind his own business. Then Trump and Vance issued a statement saying that the bill should be voted down. Mike Johnson withdrew it. Now a new bill has to be introduced 72 hours before it can be enacted. I thought the “shutdown” was supposed to occur at 12:01AM Saturday?

What a mess. Since Trump somehow lambasted the bill without criticizing Johnson, I would assume that Johnson’s status a majority leader is secure unless our Tim Burchett and his buds decide to stage another palace coup. Why didn’t Johnson introduce a clean CR? The House would pass it and the Senate would not. Then the government shutdown would fall on the democrats instead of the republicans. Apparently a clean CR would not have passed the House. Some republicans demanded that the CR be augmented to satisfy their constituents. Those from farm states wanted $10 billion for additional farm aid. Then there was $100 billion for hurricane and disaster relief. Moreover, two members demanded that ethanol be sold year round rather than banned in hot weather and on and on. Of course, the democrats wanted their goodies as well and the “continuing resolution” became anything but.

A friend of mine asked me if we were ever going to see the return of statesmen instead of what passes for politicians these days. I seriously doubt it because a statesman would have to consider the welfare of the country over his or her own personal welfare.