The president says he wants a clean continuing resolution (CR) and a clean debt-ceiling hike. The reason he gives is that agreeing to anything else is license for further abuse.
I agree. And, suggested it last year and again this year.
But, there is a bill to end the shutdown and default that, while not 'clean', meets the president's goals.
Along with the CR to fund the government for 6 weeks, the president should agree to a bill that has the following elements:
1.Four (4) weeks' deduction for Congressional pay, without the possibility of restitution, for every day in the future the government is shut down;
2.Six (6) months' deduction from Congressional pay, without the possibility of restitution, for every day in the future the government is in default;
3.Abolition of the 72 percent subsidy paid by taxpayers to Members of Congress's health care premiums.
Speaker Boehner (R-OH) who we know fought hard behind-the-scenes to have the government pay the 72 percent subsidy to members and their staff now is worried sick about it.
Congressman Marlin Stutzman (R- IN) wants Republicans "to get something out of this" that shows respect. OK, let us adopt part of the Speaker's latest stunt, and let members stew in their own juices. Staff, however, should not be the victims of their bosses' abuse.
With this, Stuzman gets his r-e-s-p-e-c-t, Boeher gets the 'dirty bill' he craved, the president achieves his goal of ending hostage-taking, and Congress gets a nice force-field to guide them in their future decisions about how idiotic they wish to be.
Then, the children with cancer -- whom Eric Cantor (R-VA) now, magically, just when he shut it down, seems to believe might benefit from government medicine prescribed by government doctors administered by government nurses who take the childrens' temperature with government-issued thermometers and record it on government patient charts -- might get the care they so desperately need.