House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi's record-breaking floor speech on behalf of Dreamers has set an appropriate stage for what's likely to be a dramatic day in Congress as they work to avert another government shutdown. Without commitment from House Speaker Paul Ryan on an open immigration vote process, Pelosi is a no on the budget deal Senate leadership has settled on. She and her conference have the chance to force Ryan to bring an immigration bill to the floor, but they have to stick together.
The bill at hand today would keep the government funded through March 23, giving Congress the time to come up with an omnibus spending bill that would fund the government for the remainder of the year. Pelosi and her leadership team will not be whipping the vote, so it will be up to Ryan to corral the majority of his Republicans. That's his problem, and as usual, it's the maniacs causing it.
"I'm not only a ‘no.' I'm a ‘hell no,' " quipped Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), one of many members of the Tea Party-aligned Freedom Caucus who left a closed-door meeting of Republicans saying they would vote against the deal.
It's a "Christmas tree on steroids," lamented one of the Freedom Caucus leaders, Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.).
"This spending proposal is disgusting and reckless — the biggest spending increase since 2009," conservative Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) tweeted after the meeting. "I urge every American to speak out against this fiscal insanity." […]
"I am baffled why the Republican Party has turned into such a big spending party. It is one thing to spend money; it is another thing to spend money you don't have," Brooks went on. "No American family can operate that way; no American business can operate that way, and it is folly to believe that the United States of America can operate that way."
There's lots more in that vein from the Freedom Caucus types—all of whom very happily voted to blow a $1.8 trillion hole in the deficit with a tax giveaway—quoted in the linked The Hill article. It is a big spending bill because it needs to be—years of austerity have created too many holes to patch.
So the bill crafted by Senate leadership would have $80 billion above current spending caps for defense and $63 billion for non-defense this year, and $85 billion more for defense $68 billion more for non-defense next year. It also has $140 billion in contingency war funding as well as a pretty paltry $20 billion additional for other emergency spending. It will also possibly include a debt ceiling hike, though the outlines of that remain up in the air, and it is one of the biggest sticking points for the House maniacs.
The Senate will likely pass it first, then send it over to the House for the fireworks. Pelosi might not have the votes to force Ryan to concede on the Dream Act, but Ryan might not have the votes without her to avoid the shutdown.
