Another game of shutdown chicken ended last weekend with the status quo and the ousting of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) says its time to end the senseless — and costly — practice of shutdown politics.
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Members of the Tennessee General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday that acknowledges that the growth in state government this year exceeds the growth of Tennessean’s income by $3 billion, or 16 percent.
The action by the legislature is mandated by the Tennessee Constitution in Article II, Section 24 when state spending grows faster than its economy.
The measure, commonly known as the Copeland Cap, was named for its House sponsor of the constitutional amendment, the late Republican State Representative David Copeland of Ooltewah, who passed away in 2019.
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Nashville Metro Nashville Council this week approved over $62 million in appropriations and a resolution recognizing Earth Day, and set next Wednesday as the date for the State of the Metropolitan Government Address.
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Metro Nashville Council released the agenda for their Tuesday meeting and highlights include over $62 million in appropriations, an ordinance concerning LPR information, bonds issuance, a resolution recognizing Earth Day, and a resolution setting the date and time for the 2022 State of the Metropolitan Government Address.
Other issues on the agenda include zoning and contracts.
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The GOP-led Legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer struck a budget deal to avoid a government shutdown before the next fiscal year.
Budget officials welcomed the deal.
“The last year and a half has been hard on all of our families and communities. Addressing their needs – from jobs to education to government accountability – is at the center of today’s budget deal,” Senate Appropriations Chair Jim Stamas, R-Midland, said in a statement. “By working together our divided Michigan government has shown what can be accomplished when Michigan families are put first. Michigan families are counting on us to invest in them. This budget does that by laying the groundwork for a healthy economy for Michigan’s future. I thank House Appropriations Chair Thomas Albert, Budget Director David Massaron, and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their collaboration.”
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A massive appropriations bill the U.S. House passed includes billions in federal spending proponents say will benefit Ohio and the Great Lakes region.
H.R. 7617, a $1.3 trillion “minibus” package, contains six appropriations measures for various federal agencies — including the defense, justice, transportation and energy departments — for the 2021 fiscal year. The House passed the bill by a vote of 217-197.
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The Minnesota legislature failed to reach agreements on a major construction bill, tax relief, or state employee contracts before the midnight Sunday deadline for this session.
The lawmakers could still find a middle ground in a special June session.
Minnesota House Republicans Saturday blocked Democrat’s $2 billion bonding bill. Bonding bills must originate in the House and require a three-fifths majority, or 81 votes, to pass. The final tally fell six votes short.
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A two-and-a-half billion dollar infrastructure spending package – touted as a top priority for 2020 by the DFL-controlled Minnesota House – fell short of the necessary three-fifths supermajority of votes needed Saturday.
With a final count of 75-58 along party lines the measure missed by a scant six votes.
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A bill passed by the Tennessee General Assembly last week reveals that in fiscal year 2019-2020 the Copeland Cap, at $629 million or 3.6 percent, hit its highest level in more than a decade.
The legislation, which passed as HB2819 in both chambers on March 19 with only one “no” vote by Democrat Representative G. A. Hardaway (D-Memphis), was one of the four bills addressed in an expedited fashion to enact a bare bones budget before lawmakers recessed until June 1 amid the COVID-19 health crisis, The Tennessee Star reported.
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by Printus LeBlanc The Holman Rule allows the House of Representatives to offer amendments to appropriations legislation that reduces the salary of a specific federal employee. The rule was created in 1876 but rescinded in 1983. The 115th Congress reinstated the rule hoping to trim the federal bureaucracy of bad actors. It looks like the perfect candidate for the Holman Rule has arrived. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) has introduced Amendment #40 to H.R. 5895, Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019. The amendment is asking to reduce the salary of the Administrator of the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), Mark Gabriel, to $1. Since it is almost impossible to fire a government bureaucrat Congress is left with one option, the Holman Rule, and Mr. Gabriel has done more than enough to earn his $1 salary. ABC15 Phoenix, Arizona conducted an investigation and found millions in fraudulent spending, with David Biscobing reporting, “Credit card statements and receipts obtained by ABC15 highlight the high-dollar and extremely questionable purchases: An employee bought $2,933 of ammunition even though WAPA employees don’t have government-issued guns… There were thousands of dollars spent on specialized weapons gear, including multiple $1,200 rifle scopes… Dozens of handwritten receipts – some for thousands…
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Wednesday, Representative Scott DesJarlais, M.D. (R-TN-04) voted to boost troops’ numbers, pay, training, and equipment in the 2017 Defense Appropriations bill that passed the House of Representatives by a wide margin. The $584 billion defense spending measure for this fiscal year is the first of a series of appropriations bills the House will likely pass before April 28 – the date the continuing spending resolution expires. The final vote tally was 371-48, with five Republicans and forty-three Democrats voting to oppose. The military funding bill reverses the Obama Administration’s proposed troop reductions and includes $1.6 billion over the previous president’s budget request. President Donald Trump and the new Republican Congress have made rebuilding the U.S. military a centerpiece of their agenda, along with a stronger foreign policy to deter aggression. Politico reported on some specific line items of the bill: It notably includes a $6.8 billion boost in procurement funding above the Obama administration’s final fiscal 2017 budget request, including more fighters, helicopters and ships. That includes $979 million for 12 Boeing-made F/A-18 Super Hornets, $750 million for six additional Navy and Marine Corps F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and $495 million for five extra Air Force F-35s. Appropriators also added nearly $3 billion for Navy…
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