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The
Heritage Network
Why
Is Washington Talking About a
Government Shutdown?
Amy Payne
July 31, 2013
Is
it that time again already??
It’s
not even August, and Members
of Congress are starting to buzz about the upcoming budget and debt
ceiling fight—which
likely won’t happen until later this fall. But the posturing has begun,
and the
media are happy to oblige.
The
thing is, a government shutdown
isn’t necessary—and lawmakers aren’t proposing a government shutdown.
What
some are proposing is that
Congress fund normal government activities, but refuse to fund
Obamacare. The
upcoming budget legislation, called a continuing resolution, is a
decision
point for Obamacare funding.
“Under
no circumstances will I vote
for a continuing resolution that funds even one single penny of
Obamacare,”
says Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). He and fellow Senators Mike Lee (R-UT),
and Marco
Rubio (R-FL), and Rand Paul (R-KY) are urging their colleagues to do
the same.
Heritage
health care expert Chris
Jacobs says that defunding is the best option to protect vulnerable
Americans
hit by Obamacare’s threats:
The
list of Obamacare’s failures
grows by the day. It is not that portions of the law are unworkable—the
entire
law is unworkable. Absent the law’s complete repeal, only full
defunding would
ensure that the American people are not subjected to any of these
destructive
policies.
What
the shutdown fearmongers are
talking about is Congress reaching a budget impasse—which could happen
for a
variety of reasons, including disagreement over Obamacare funding. If
Congress
doesn’t pass legislation to continue funding the government, then when
the
previous funding expires, it “shuts down.”
“Shutdown”
actually sounds more
dire than it is. The government services that shut down are the
non-essential
ones. As Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) said at Heritage’s Bloggers Briefing
yesterday, this is what happens…every weekend. Have you ever tried to
call the
Department of Agriculture on a Saturday?
A
“shutdown” would temporarily
impair some government activities, but deficit spending, growing debt,
and the
burden of Obamacare will harm the economy and Americans’ opportunities
and
income permanently.
The
next logical step? Don’t feed
the beast. Don’t invest more dollars into implementing, enforcing, or
creating
the architecture of Obamacare.
Read
this and other articles at The
Heritage Network
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