Continuing Resolution (CR): Cleaning Up the Democrats Mess …

In the U.S. House of Representatives much time has been devoted this week to trying to arrive at a Continuing Resolution (CR) to carry the government through the end of Fiscal Year 2011, which ends September 30, 2011. With the Democrat-led 111^th Congress failing in its responsibility to work out and to submit a budget in time when they were in charge last year, there was a great deal of time dealing with 500+ amendments to the Continuing Resolution debated this week. The Continuing Resolution must be presented to and approved by the Senate prior to Friday, March 4^th when the previous CR expires. The government may shut down if the House, Senate, and President cannot reach an agreement.

Today, four key amendments to the Continue Resolution Bill were approved:

·                    defunding of ObamaCare

·                    banning the FCC from implementing Net Neutrality

·                    defunding of Planned Parenthood

·                    defunding of EPA’s Global Warming regulations

In addition, on Thursday, 2/17/11 the U.S. House of Representatives approved, 249-171, an amendment that would block the President’s so-called policy “czars,” the very controversial Presidential advisors.

According to a recent TheHill.com article, “The amendment … specifically targets Obama’s “climate czar” by blocking funding

·                    for the assistant to the president for energy and climate change, the position's official title. 

The amendment would block funding for the 'czars' through the end of the fiscal year, when the spending bill would run out. The underlying bill also includes a provision to block funding for the position…

“The amendment would also prohibit funding

·                    for the director of the White House Office of Health Reform;

·                    the State Department’s special envoy for climate change;

·                    the special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation at the Council on Environmental Quality;

·                    the senior adviser to the secretary of the treasury assigned to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry and senior counselor for manufacturing policy;

·                    the White House director of urban affairs;

·                    the special envoy to oversee the closure of Guantanamo Bay;

·                    the special master for TARP executive compensation at the Department of the Treasury; and

·                    the associate general counsel and chief diversity officer at the Federal Communications Commission.”

The spending cuts in the five key areas identified above are an important, symbolic, but woefully insufficient at reducing the federal deficit and federal debt. A great deal more must be done. The new Tea Party Conservatives elected last November not only have to battle the tax and spend Democrats, but they have to fight the entrenched RINOs, who have gotten used to their perceived elite status in Washington. Who will prevail is the question. We the people must increase the pressure on these RINO so that they will do the right thing. Otherwise, they must know that no matter how long people like Mr. Hal Rogers have been living high on the hog in DC he will be GONE in 2012 …