Senator Rand Paul’s office has announced, “There doesn’t need to be a shutdown in order for us to address the spending problem.” In a press release dated Thursday the 7th, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul announced the “Government Shutdown Prevention Act of 2011.” The bill’s intended purpose is to make sure that essential government services continue in the absence of the passage of a spending bill. According to the release, “The bill is intended as a permanent rule to follow for the current and all future cases where Congress does not enact a budget or continuing resolution.”
Senator Paul says, “In my bill, we keep obligations made to our military personnel, seniors, children, and federal workers maintain an adequate level of pay, but Members of Congress and the President do not get paid unless they actually work out a resolution.”
Here are some key provisions of Senator Paul’s Shutdown Prevention Act: “The Treasury is directed to fully pay the debt of the United States and all of its prior obligations in full.” Take a look at the debt of the United States and the first thing you will notice is that it is not a number, it is a function. The Treasury would have to have more than $55T cash on hand, but then it is the US Treasury, it can always print more money.
Medicare and Medicaid continue to pay in full. Emergency war funding is continued at current levels and the Department of Defense will “send out paychecks to all military personnel at the full level of pay.” Civilian DoD employees, however, only get “the same 75 percent rate of other federal employees,” who also take a 25% hit. At least they all will have jobs to report to, under the Paul Plan.
Article comments
1 - Glenn Contrarian
Actually, GOP Rep. Steve Womack introduced a bill requiring that Congress wouldn't get paid during a government shutdown...but his bill would also enact $61B in cuts including most of the draconian cuts that the Republicans want - Planned Parenthood, NPR, Head Start, environmental protection laws, the whole GOP wish list - and so it stood no chance of getting by the Dem-controlled Senate.
Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, on the other hand, introduced a bill that cut off Congressional pay during a shutdown and also any retroactive payments to Congress once a budget deal was reached. This bill contained NO such controversial riders as did the Womack bill...and guess what? The House ignored it.
Just some food for thought....
2 - Glenn Contrarian
Oh - and Dem. Representative James Moran also introduced a bill to the House back in February prohibiting Congressional pay during a government shutdown. Guess how far that one got....
3 - Boeke
I'm becoming very resentful that the reps are holding the countrys budget hostage in order to push policies (NPR, Planned Parenthood, etc.) to suck up to their tea party maniacs. It screams of blatant partisanship, and along with all the other purely partisan moves of the GOP in the last few years, represents a deterioration of quality and good citizenship in the republicans.
4 - Clavos
Well, they're republicans...
5 - troll
...how 'bout in the event of shut-down each elected federal official is expected to sacrifice two joints of his non-dominant index finger
think that'ud be effective?
..we at Acme Ceremonial Knives would certainly consider responding to RFPs
6 - zingzing
how about the most senior (in terms of experience, not age,) member from each side of the aisle is executed at the top of every hour until the budget is settled? not only will that clear out some of the dust, it'll make cspan the best thing on television. (and it'll leave the republican party full of crazed tea party nimrods.)
7 - Clavos
((and it'll leave the republican party full of crazed tea party nimrods.)
Isn't it already?
8 - zingzing
"Isn't it already?"
point.
9 - Tommy Mack
Probably not referring to the Biblical figure - the great-grandson of Noah. More than likely in the Bugs Bunny sense, when the wily wabbit referred to dithering hunter Elmer Fudd, whom Bugs called a "poor little Nimrod."
Tommy
10 - Dr Milton K Benjamin
Our military industrial complex insists on writing all its software (1/2 trillion dollars worth) from scratch. If Intel developed microprocessors that way, a PC would cost 10,000 or more. With the same money, the country can obtain much more results. If any one is interested on how it is done, please visit my website. If anyone wants to see it done, they are welcome to stand behind me while I do It.
Bottom line: 10 Fold or more improvement in productivity for producing weapons systems.
Thanks for Listening
Milt
11 - Tommy Mack
Doc Milton sounds more like the biblical figure, Nimrod.
Tommy