Harry Reid on American Political Dysfunction
Noting that since the Republicans took control of the House in 2011, “Washington has lurched from one crisis to another,” Harry Reid explains how conservatives are blocking political progress by holding essential spending bills hostage:
In the seven months that Republicans have controlled the Senate, we’ve suffered from the expiration of critical national security tools… and witnessed a complete shutdown of the Export-Import Bank, a previously uncontroversial agency that supports hundreds of thousands of American jobs. Routine business like confirming nominees is ignored. …
Republicans now are abusing the funding process to manufacture one of the biggest crises of the past few years, with conservatives demanding that ideological and special-interest riders be added to must-pass funding bills. …
The far right wants riders aimed at repealing the Affordable Care Act and defunding Planned Parenthood, among other things. Republicans have already tried repealing or undermining the health care law 60 times since 2011 and failed every time. The Supreme Court has upheld it twice. It’s time to move on. …
Republicans control both chambers of Congress and can bring these types of partisan, ideological proposals to the floor separately whenever they choose. Holding the government hostage to riders like these is not just wrong — it’s an admission that these proposals are outside the mainstream and lack the support to pass on their own merits.
- Harry Reid: Avoiding the Next Budget Crisis, New York Times, August 11, 2015
