23 September 2011

Delaying the Inevitable

24 Elul 5771

Deja vu.

House rejects government funding bill as shutdown looms

...The spending bill is needed to keep the government running through Nov. 18; current spending authority stops at the end of September.

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) had hoped to avoid another budget battle in the wake of the summer's debt ceiling fight and a near-shutdown of the government in April that caused voters to sour on Republicans and Democrats in Congress.

The rebuke gives new currency to Senate Democrats' efforts to fund disaster aid without cuts elsewhere. Congress has just days to resolve the impasse as lawmakers are expected to recess Friday for the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana next week.
...After a year of floods, tornadoes and recent hurricanes and wildfires, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster fund is about to run out — as soon as Monday. Already, FEMA has prioritized its remaining resources to provide immediate food, water and debris removal for recent disasters, while longer-term building projects are on hold.