Funny watching the Democrat Party self destruct. They threatened under Elizabeth Warren (who will run as their candidate in 2016) to go aginst Hillary Clinton and Obama who aligned themselves with passage of a $1 TRIL Bill. But although Liberals and Democrats alike have demonized shutdowns as being hostage taking undemocratic and desperate attempts for a party that has lost the last election the shoe is clearly on the other foot. Ironic isnt it? Now look who lost the last election and its suddenly ok to use the power of the purse. LOL But its not the first time that democrats (who supposedly oppose shutdowns) have instituted a government shutdown- and many times for very frivolous reasons- as we shall see by the following examples of history of The Shutdown: Since the modern congressional budgeting process took effect in 1976, there have been a total of seventeen separate government shutdowns (or spending gaps in Hill jargon). Given that we appear to be headed for another one imminently, lets look back at those experiences, the political circumstances around them and what happened as a consequence. Most of the specifics were drawn from The Washington Post print archives, which you can access for a modest sum. Its also important to note that not all shutdowns are created equal. Before some 1980 and 1981 opinions issued by then-Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti, a failure to fund some part of the government didnt necessarily mean that that part of government would stop functioning. Civilettis opinions interpreted the Antideficiency Act, a law passed in 1884, as meaning that a failure to pass new spending bills required government functioning to shut down in whole or in part. So the shutdowns listed below that happened between 1976 and 1979 did not always entail an actual stop to government functioning; they were often simply funding gaps that didnt have any real-world effect. Shutdown #1: HEWdown When did it take place? Sept. 30 to Oct. 11, 1976 How long did it last? 10 days Who was president? Gerald Ford Who controlled the Senate? Democrats, 62-38; Mike Mansfield was majority leader Who controlled the House? Democrats, 291-144; Carl Albert was speaker Why did it happen? The major budget conflict during this period came because Ford vetoed a funding bill for the Departments of Labor and Health, Education, and Welfare (or HEW, today split into the Departments of Education and of Health and Human Services), arguing that it failed to restrain spending adequately. What resolved it? Congress overrode Fords veto Oct. 1, so the spending bills took effect, but it wasnt until over a week later that the partial shutdown ended, as it was only on Oct.11 that a continuing resolution ending funding gaps for other parts of government became law.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 07:06:28 +0000
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