The Senate voted today (September 28) to end debate to get ready to vote on a stop gap spending measure.  According to The Hill:

The Senate voted 84-14 on Tuesday to end debate and move to consideration of a stopgap spending measure to avoid a government shutdown later this week.

Senators could vote on final passage of the legislation Wednesday, then head out of town to campaign for the November midterm elections. 

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the House also intends to clear the continuing resolution on Wednesday. 

THE BAD NEWS

A Continuing Resolution (CR) is used when Congress runs out of time to pass appropriations bills on time and is potentially good news for taxpayers because of the absence of earmarks.  There could be bad news for the taxpayer.  According to The Hill:

The measure is a target for additional spending because it is probably the last vehicle that will be approved by Congress before the election.

THE GOOD NEWS

According to The Hill:

Senate Republicans and centrist Democrats led by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) are insisting on lower spending levels. House and Senate Republicans are pushing to lock in 2011 spending at 2008 levels.

For the 12 spending bills for 2011, Democrats have said they’re willing to fund the government at levels lower than those requested by the Obama administration, which called for a three-year freeze on all discretionary spending unrelated to security. 

Increasing spending, or even thinking about it,  when the country has a $1.3 trillion deficit and $13.4 trillion debt is not a smart move. 

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) has been a co-sponsor of the Spending Revolt Bus Tour and has heard from thousands of Americans who understand that runaway spending is the #1 problem with the government. Read more here.

Passing a clean CR without any spending increases would be the smart thing to do.  With that said, let’s see what Congress does.

Filed under: Appropriations, Budget, Earmarks, Spending Revolt.com