Make no mistake about it, the democratic party won the latest budget battle in congress early Friday morning when the U.S Senate voted and passed a two year budget 71-28 which was then passed by the U. S. House 240-186. President Trump signed off on the legislation soon after passage. The democrats in both houses of congress supplied the votes necessary to pass the legislature. It was a complete reversal of the previous republican senate bill which failed and shut down the government for 3 days. It failed because it was a partisan republican bill that denied the democrats their priority and input and a debate on DACA.
But this time around the democrats were able to fund their priorities for the people and received assurance that DACA and immigration reform would be taken up next week with democratic debate and input. The budget bill that passed was a long term 2 year budget that democrats demanded instead of operating the government with CR's as the republicans wanted to continue to do. Increase funding for health care, including the children's health care funding which was in jeopardy of expiring, Medicaid, infrastructure, victims of last years hurricanes and fires which were never fully funded, FEMA, the military and other domestic needed programs were fully funded. Prior to the bills passage Trump and the republicans in congress wanted to only increase defense spending and reduce domestic spending. The bill that was passed was truly bi-partisan and a victory for the people because the democratic party in congress stood tall.
Just how huge was the democrats ability to have the senate agree to take up the debate on DACA and immigration reform starting next week? Well lets test ones memory. President George W. Bush wanted to take up immigration reform but his party refused to do so during his eight years in office. The republicans controlled the U.S. House for 6 years under the Obama administration and refused to take up immigration reform. It even allowed an immigration reform bill passed by the democratic controlled Senate in 2013 to expire with out even taken the bill up for debate.
And of course the U.S. Senate has been controlled by the republicans for the last 3 years and never took up immigration reform and not even in Trump's first year in office even though Trump and his party said it would be a priority And to make the subject matter worse Trump, as of this writing has yet to send his own immigration reform plan to congress That caused republican majority leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell to say two weeks ago he did not know what Trump's plan was. So the democratic party pushed successfully to bring a public debate to the issue which will begin next week. That is huge considering the republican party's rejection of such a debate for the past 17 years. We will now find out if the republican party is ready to govern and be bi-partisan on this issue.
Trump immediately after signing the newly passed bill struck out against bi-partisanship. He was mad because the democrats were able to increase domestic spending that went against his wishes of only increasing defense spending to record levels and his plan to slash domestic spending. He urged the people to elect more republicans in the Nov. elections. Trump, the autocrat, does not like bi-partisanship nor does he like democracy. One can also look for Trump to do his best to undermine the coming immigration debate.
The trumpet man also used the bill to lash out against funding for the domestic programs by saying that it will swell the federal deficit. Well, nothing will come close to swelling the federal deficit as much as Trump's tax scam for corporate America and the huge increase in defense spending. The lies just keep rolling out of Trump's mouth like water. Unfortunately there are no TV hosts who are up to date on fiscal matters to correct the trumpet man. But PolitiDose will because PolitiDose knows the facts. Yes, the democratic party stood tall for the country and its people in this budget, make no mistake about it. So stay tuned to PolitiDose, your daily dose of political commentary.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
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