Hoyer Press Staff Blog
Blog posts from the press staff of Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer
It was definitely a lively debate on the Senate Floor this afternoon. A great illustration of the growing rift between Republican factions, two Senate Republicans argued against their own Republican colleagues on the next step in our budget process.
According to S&P, the U.S. continues to be at risk of another credit downgrade. According to the National Journal:
We just had to share the New York Times’ pretty brutal assessment of the amount of time House Republicans have wasted in vain attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and take away patient protections from millions of Americans.
We mentioned last week that a number of Senate Republicans are joining Democrats in calling on the House Republican leadership to continue the budget process by appointing conferees
Looks like it’s not just Democrats calling for a return to ‘regular order’ in the budget process.
According to POLITICO this morning, Speaker John Boehner has admitted that the Republican bill on the Floor this week does pay China first:
After experiencing severe “regular order” amnesia, it looks like House Republicans have decided to join Democrats in calling on their fearless leaders to follow regular order on the budget.
Below is an excerpt from Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD)’s pen and bad briefing with the press on Tuesday, April 16, 2013:
Let’s hope the American people weren’t looking forward to Congress actually getting something done, since Republicans clearly aren’t interested:
An op-ed in the Washington Post by founding director and former president of the Pew Research Center, Andrew Kohut, explains how the Republican party continues to be out of touch with Americans, and he has the polling numbers to prove it. Some highlights from his op-ed:
Well, it was pretty evident this week that Republicans are at a crossroads, with national Republicans attempting to overhaul their national message –while House Republicans don’t seem to be getting the message. National Journal put a spotlight on the GOP’s disconnect on economic policy:
Today’s editorial in the New York Times makes the point you’ve been hearing from us for a while: Republicans’ problem isn’t their message. But it’s entertaining to watch Republican leaders who still haven’t figured that out. Some highlights (or lowlights, as the case may be):
So, the Republican party is divided. What’s new? As reported by the Hill, the GOP leadership isn’t too happy with the continued internal strife:
We shouldn’t be surprised. According to POLITICO, despite Republicans’ support of the sequester, it turns out they don’t like these cuts when it impacts their districts:
The Republican party is out of touch with American voters, according to polling numbers and of course, the 2012 election results--- but Speaker Boehner just doesn't get it. Today, he admitted that instead of taking cues from the American people, he will continue to push for policies that the American people rejected:
The time has come for your afternoon laugh. Just in case you missed House Speaker Boehner’s riveting op-ed “Obama’s outreach is nice, but where’s the leadership?” in the Washington Post attempting to lecture President Obama on leadership, of all things, we wanted to share some of the points we found particularly fascinating:
In case we didn’t have enough to worry about with the Republican Budget, the rising impact of the irrational and avoidable sequester continues to threaten our economy and national security, including our intelligence operations.
As the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is being challenged in the Supreme Court, Americans’ equal access to casting their ballots has been called into question, again. While Democrats are committed to fighting to ensure all Americans are able to exercise their fundamental right to vote, many states have continued to put in place laws that make it harder for some Americans – especially minorities, seniors, and youth – to participate in the electoral process.
While the effects of sequestration will continue to build over time, our men and women in uniform are already feeling the impact with the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard stopping tuition assistance:
The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank clearly read the Republican budget proposal – or, read what was possible, at least. As he explains in his column today, the Republican budget proposed by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan is full of magic asterisks and undisclosed cuts:
Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan appears to have based his Republican budget proposal on fantasy instead of reality. While Rep. Ryan admits Republicans don’t want to refight the fiscal cliff battle, apparently refighting the Affordable Care Act isn’t off the table (yes, the same Affordable Care Act upheld by the Supreme Court).
Rep. Paul Ryan may not have officially unveiled his budget proposal yet, but he gave a pretty clear indication of his plans this weekend. As expected, it appears the Republican budget will be based on false realities, gimmicks, and rejected policies.
As we wait with baited breath for Rep. Paul Ryan to release the Republican budget, it looks like it’ll be more of the same.
If last year is any indication, the Ryan Budget due to be unveiled next week is sure to leave us disappointed.