Despite an emergency meeting at the White House, congressional leaders failed to reach a deal late Wednesday, while over on Capitol Hill lawmakers’ tempers showed as many were having a complete melt down on the floor of the House.
The four congressional leaders took a shot, during an hour-long meeting at the White House, at negotiating with President Obama over the hangups. Unfortunately, there was no breakthrough.
House Speaker John Boehner emerged saying he had a “nice, polite conversation” but complaining that Obama would not budge off his demand that Congress pass a straight “clean” budget bill, by which he means one that does not impede ObamaCare in any way. Boehner wants to launch formal negotiations over the now-stalled short-term spending bill, but Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid says talks over “anything” can only start after the House approves it.
“We’re through playing these little games,” Reid said, with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi by his side.
Over at the House, lawmakers’ tempers flared as they let each other have it. Lawmakers spent the evening shouting at each other, as they considered a series of votes on mini-spending bills but got no closer to a deal that could re-open the entire government. In perhaps the most intense exchange, Rep. George Miller, D-CA, outrageously accused his GOP colleagues of waging “jihad” on Americans.
Miller, who was a champion of Obamacare when it was being drafted, claimed Republicans who are now complaining about the national parks being closed did not show the same concern over healthcare. He said, “When you were on the jihad against Americans’ access to healthcare, shutting down the parks wasn’t a problem. Shutting down NIH wasn’t a problem.”
Miller was then ruled “out of order.” After he left the floor, Rep. Mike Simpson, R-ID, said he was “disgusted” by Miller’s comments.
“We should all reject his comments,” Simpson railed, adding that Miller should be formally censured “but I won’t call for it.”
The House was considering a suite of mini-spending bills. On Wednesday evening, the chamber approved one bill to fund the National Park Service, on a 252-173 vote, and another bill to fund the National Institutes of Health, on a 254-171 vote.
The House earlier approved a measure to let the District of Columbia spend its own money during the budget impasse.
“The House will continue to pass bills that reflect the American people’s priorities,” Mike Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, said.
On the House agenda for Thursday are separate bills to fund the Department of Veteran Affairs and tNational Guard.
Democrats, however, have labeled that a piecemeal approach and vowed to reject it. The White House threatened to veto the measures in the unlikely event they made it to Obama’s desk.
Democrats’ argument is that the best way for Republicans to address the problems of a partial government shutdown is to allow for a House vote on a standalone spending bill. Thus far, Republicans have insisted that the bill include provisions chipping away at ObamaCare.
“We can stop this today,” said Rep. Louise Slaughter D-N.Y., urging Republicans to allow a vote on a government-wide budget bill.
But an attempt by Democrats to force shutdown-ending legislation to the House floor failed on a 227-197 vote, with all Republicans in opposition. A sampling of federal agencies showed how unevenly the shutdown was felt across the government.
The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Housing and Urban Development listed only six percent of their employees as essential, thus they will be permitted to work during the shutdown. James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, said that roughly 70 percent of civilian employees in agencies under his control had already been sent home.
The White House said Obama would have to truncate a long-planned trip to Asia, calling off the final two stops in Malaysia and the Philippines.
Obama’s call to lawmakers to meet was met with a bit of confusion from Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. A spokesman, Don Stewart, said, “we’re a little confused as to the purpose.”
Boehner was “pleased the president finally recognized that his refusal to negotiate is indefensible,” said his spokesman, Brendan Buck. “It’s unclear why be having this meeting if it’s not meant to be a start to serious talks between the two parties.”
Responding to the House’s call for formal negotiations on the shutdown, Obamacare and other issues, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wrote to the Speaker to suggest he would agree, but only if the House first agreed to reopen the government.
Boehner rejected that, kicking the ball back into the Senate’s court.
The NIH bill was added to the day’s agenda after Democrats said seriously ill patients would be turned away from the facility’s hospital of last resort, and no new enrollment permitted in experimental treatments.
