No Shutdown: Congress Rolls Out $1.1T Spending Bill

[11B4V]

  Shocking

No Shutdown: Congress Rolls Out $1.1T Spending Bill

Bipartisan measure expected to pass easily
(Newser) – After weeks of late nights, House and Senate negotiators believe they have hammered out a bipartisan spending bill that will ensure a year free from government shutdown dramas. There will be no shutdown," says Senate Appropriations Committee chair Barbara Mikulski. "The fact is, is that this is a strong bipartisan bill, and it is a bicameral bill." The bill covers discretionary spending throughout fiscal 2014, ensuring the government remains open until at least October 1.

    The time frame to pass the mammoth $1.1 trillion bill is tight, but both parties are keen to avoid another shutdown, Politico notes. "I'm on board," says Alabama Sen. RIchard Shelby, the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee. "It's not everything anybody wanted, but we've been working hard at it, and it will lead us, hopefully, to regular order."

    Rep. Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, says he expects a majority of lawmakers from both parties to back the measure. "Everybody can find something to complain about—legitimately so," he tells the Washington Post. "But from the Republican standpoint, gosh, this is $164 billion less than Bush's last discretionary budget, so that's pretty good progress in cutting spending."
    The bill eases the sequester spending cuts, providing just over $1 trillion to federal agencies and another $92 billion for overseas operations for a total of $1.1 trillion, marking the first time discretionary spending has fallen over four years since the Korean War, according the House Appropriations Committee chairman Hal Rogers.
    Federal workers will get a 1% raise under the bill, which provides fresh cash for President Obama's push to expand pre-kindergarten education and contains no language that would block ObamaCare. The measure slashes Homeland Security funding by $336m, with most of the cuts at the TSA.
    The measure also contains dozens of policy riders, including a continued ban on transferring Gitmo detainees, prevention of funding for a ban on incandescent light bulbs, and new restrictions on aid to Egypt, the Hill finds.

http://www.newser.com/story/180642/no-shutdown-congress-rolls-out-11t-spending-bill.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=united&utm_campaign=rss_topnews

[jimmy olsen]

I'm presently surprised, but why can't they pass a bill for the whole year instead of just up to October?

[11B4V]

babysteps

[Razgovory]

I'm presently surprised, but why can't they pass a bill for the whole year instead of just up to October?

Cause that's when the fiscal year ends.

[KRonn]

Amazing, finally, a budget was actually passed for a year! I think this is the first in five or six years.

[derspiess]

Finally having an actual budget: good.

Easing the sequester spending cuts: bad.

[Admiral Yi]

Finally having an actual budget: good.

Easing the sequester spending cuts: bad.

How do you feel about the incandescent bulb rider?

[Caliga]

How do you feel about the incandescent bulb rider?

I'm glad it failed.  How will I maintain my EZ-Bake Oven if it had passed?

[derspiess]

How do you feel about the incandescent bulb rider?

I'm okay with it.

[DGuller]

The ban on incandescent light bulbs never made much sense to me.  What market failure is being corrected, and with such an inflexible regulation?

[crazy canuck]

The ban on incandescent light bulbs never made much sense to me.  What market failure is being corrected, and with such an inflexible regulation?

Meh, one more way the US will be out of step with the rest of the civilized world. 

[derspiess]

The ban on incandescent light bulbs never made much sense to me.  What market failure is being corrected, and with such an inflexible regulation?

I was sold on the cost savings of CFC bulbs without the ban.  I use them for most of my lighting, but for some situations they're crap compared to incandescent.  I'd move on to LED for nearly all my lighting if the price got more reasonable. 

How much federal money did we spend to bring that $30 light bulb to market?

[grumbler]

The ban on incandescent light bulbs never made much sense to me.  What market failure is being corrected, and with such an inflexible regulation?

Meh, one more way the US will be out of step with the rest of the civilized world.

Thank Binky that one of the ways that the US is out of step is that it doesn't impose nonsensical and inflexible regulations when there is no market failure to be corrected!  Even better that you acknowledge this. 

[Sheilbh]

It seems the Vatican embassy truthers won

[KRonn]

The ban on incandescent light bulbs never made much sense to me.  What market failure is being corrected, and with such an inflexible regulation?

I was sold on the cost savings of CFC bulbs without the ban.  I use them for most of my lighting, but for some situations they're crap compared to incandescent.  I'd move on to LED for nearly all my lighting if the price got more reasonable. 

How much federal money did we spend to bring that $30 light bulb to market?

I use CFC bulbs too, mainly for lights that I have on for a longer time, but for others also. For some lights that are just used for a few seconds and won't have time to warm up, like a stairway light, I still use the incandescent bulbs since CFCs aren't as durable for quick on and off use. I do find that some CFCs have an odd light, that some colors like of clothes will look a bit different in CFC vs incandescent, sometimes very different.

I'm neutral on the ban one way or the other, but probably glad the ban was removed. I don't think it's necessary.