Tag: Cruz

Ted Cruz: If we have a shutdown, it will be because Harry Reid ‘holds the American people hostage’

Ted Cruz: If we have a shutdown, it will be because Harry Reid ‘holds the American people hostage’

With a possible government shutdown looming, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz tried to place the blame on squarely on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for refusing to compromise on the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.

“So far, [Reid] has essentially told the House of Representatives and the American people, ‘Go jump in a lake,'” Cruz said on “Meet The Press” on NBC. “He said, ‘I’m not willing to compromise, I’m not willing to even talk,’ His position is 100 percent of Obamacare must be funded in all instances, and, other than that, he’s going to shut the government down. I hope he doesn’t do that. If Harry Reid forces a government shutdown, that will be a mistake. I hope he backs away from that ledge that he’s pushing us towards, but that is his position.”

Cruz continued: “Twice Harry Reid has said, ‘We won’t even have a conversation. I refuse to compromise.  We want to fund it all. We want to stick it on the American people. And we won’t budge.’ That’s not a reasonable position. And if we have a shutdown, it will be because Harry Reed holds that absolutist position, and essentially, holds the American people hostage.”

Cruz commended the House’s early Sunday vote to keep the government open and delay Obamacare for a year, despite Reid’s contention that the bill would be dead on arrival when the Senate resumes work Monday. Continue reading “Ted Cruz: If we have a shutdown, it will be because Harry Reid ‘holds the American people hostage’”

Senate approves measure to keep federal government operating

By Alexander Bolton – 09/27/13 01:49 PM ET

The Senate voted along party lines Friday to pass a stopgap spending measure lasting until Nov. 15 after removing controversial language to defund ObamaCare.

The 54-44 vote puts the Senate on a collision course with the House, where Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said the stripped-down bill will not reach the floor.

House conservatives on Friday rallied around a proposal to attach a one-year delay of the healthcare law and send it back to the Senate. Senate Democrats say this will be rejected and result in a government shutdown.

If Congress does not resolve the impasse by Tuesday, funding will expire and many government services will be limited.

Final passage of the Senate bill was assured after 25 Republicans joined 54 Democrats in voting to end debate on the measure and set up a final vote. Final passage only required a simple majority. Continue reading “Senate approves measure to keep federal government operating”

Senate GOP Divide on Display in Shutdown Fight

Senate GOP Divide on Display in Shutdown Fight

The normally sleepy Senate chamber crackled with drama on Thursday.

Sen. Bob Corker got so frustrated with Sens. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee on the Senate floor Thursday that the presiding officer—Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin—admonished members that rules require them to refer to each other in the third person.

“It’s my understanding that the reason you don’t want to send a bill over to the House who could possibly put in place some very good policies for us here … is that you want the American people and the outside groups that you’ve been in contact with to be able to watch us tomorrow,” Corker said.

The offending remarks were calling a colleague “you,” but the real offense, in Corker’s view, is one the Senate has been grappling with since Cruz’s 21-hour talk-a-thon in opposition of Obamacare. Continue reading “Senate GOP Divide on Display in Shutdown Fight”

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