Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
For most issues, a normal majority (51 Senators, or 50% with the Vice President breaking the tie) is needed in the Senate to pass a bill. If the bill has already been passed by the House, it then goes to the President's desk, and if he signs it, it becomes law.
But a quirk in Senate rules lets the minority declare a Filibuster, automatically defeating a bill favored by the majority.
The Democrats have invoked the filibuster today, to defeat the govt funding bill including funding for 1/4 of the border wall, favored by the majority in both the House and Senate. The House has already passed the bill 217-185. But with the Democrats thwarting the concept of Majority Rule in the Senate, they are making it necessary for 60 Senators to invoke cloture before the bill can be voted on, at which time a simple majority could pass it. But as long as the Democrats keep marching in lockstep in obedience to minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), they will never get the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture, and Majority Rule will be defeated.
The House voted largely along party lines, 217-185, after GOP leaders framed the vote as a slap-back to Nancy Pelosi, who is poised to become House speaker on Jan. 3 and who had warned Trump in a televised Oval Office meeting last week that he wouldn’t have the votes for the wall.
Trump crowed about the vote on Twitter, saying: “Nancy does not have to apologize. All I want is GREAT BORDER SECURITY!”
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said: “Now we find compromise. We have time right now to get it done.”
The government funding package, which includes nearly $8 billion in disaster aid for coastal hurricanes and California wildfires, now goes to the Senate, where its prospects are grim amid strong opposition from Democrats. Sixty votes are needed to approve the bill there.
That's rich, given that the US Senate is the antithesis of democracy and majority rule.
(ie: a tiny state like Rhode island gets the same representation as California or Texas).
The Senate was originally designed for the principal purpose of protecting the states and their citizens, from encroachments by Big Government. That's why Senators were originally appointed by their state legislature instead of directly elected by the people: So they would remain loyal to their state government.
So each state got the same number of votes, since each STATE, regardless of size, had an equal interest in protecting itself from encroachment and usurping power by the Fed Govt.
It was practically the first thing the liberals went after when they started their push for Big Govt in the early 1900s, stripping the Senate of that loyalty and making them directly elected instead, even though there was already another house of Congress whose members gained office that way.
Once the Congress was stripped of its loyalty to the sovereignty of individual states, and loyal only to the people who wanted goodies and didn't care who the Congress abused to get them, it became much easier for the Fed govt to buy the votes of Paul by robbing Peter.
So each state got the same number of votes, since each STATE, regardless of size, had an equal interest in protecting itself from encroachment and usurping power by the Fed Govt.
That's a nice way to spin the fact the US Senate is inherently undemocratic.
Newsflash: The Congress persons represents whoever pays them the most money.
We do not have majority rule, nor representative government.
Bonus Newsflash: Republicans always do the same thing when they are the minority in the senate.
Complaining about something when the other side does it, but cheering whenever your side does exactly the same thing (filibuster), that is not a legit argument; it is whining worse than a 3 year old. Or in your words, if you don't like it (ie: the other side using the filibuster) then leave the country .
A filibuster won't stop the Senate Republicans from voting for the emergency funding bill. If the GOP has their 60 votes, the bill will pass. But if enough Republicans choose to defy our chaos-loving President and vote NO, then the bill will fail.
In neither scenario do the Democrats get the blame for this. They are the minority, and made it very clear from the first they were opposing any funds for Trump's Wall. But, for the sake of compromise, the Senate Democrats decided to go along with their counterparts in the House and agree to a $1.5 billion compromise in the bill that allows for repair and maintenance of our existing barriers. That means new barriers could be built in some of the most needed places, and it gave Trump a way to snatch some victory out of a defeat.
But Trump alone waffled backwards, as he most often does, and has turned his potential victory into an all-or-nothing crisis that did not need to exist.
A partial shutdown will stop:
The Dept. of Homeland Security- the guards will remain, but who will check the passports? Or the cargoes? Who will issue visas, passports, and import/export permits?
The Treasury Dept. - Who will be preparing all the Social Security, disability, retirement, and other checks that are needed by millions of citizens? Who will be handling federal loan and security transfers? Who will be doing early tax work? Who will be paying government subcontractors?
The Parks Department - who will be operating all the guest facilities in our national parks that have holiday reservations? Who will be guarding park visitors? Who will be finishing the winter closure that is not yet completed in the parks that close over the winter?
Veteran's Affairs- Who will be caring for disabled vets living on their own? Who will be helping first-time applicants at the Veteran Clinics and other centers? Who will be taking care of burials in our cemeteries?
Those are only four of the agencies that will be closed if a shutdown comes. There are more, but you get the picture.
The fact is that when the government shuts down, citizens start getting hurt and they start getting mad. And the citizens always know who is responsible for the shutdown.
The Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the House and the Senate have all sought and reached compromise solutions to the immediate need for more government funding. There is only one person who has baulked; the President.
If the shutdown comes, it is on his head alone. It won't be on Congress or either party. Only the President.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
