Pattaya Enhances Safety Measures with Realistic Fire Drill on School Buses

[webfact]

U.S. Congress may seek one-week funding extension to avert shutdown

By Richard Cowan

REUTERS

 

FILE PHOTO: A worker stands next to a newly built section of the U.S.-Mexico border fence at Sunland Park, U.S. opposite the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress inched toward a deal to fund the government through September but was preparing to possibly extend a midnight Friday deadline in order to wrap up negotiations and avoid an imminent government shutdown.

 

The one-week extension would give leading Republicans and Democrats "a little breathing room" to finish negotiations and present their plan for spending around $1 trillion through the rest of the fiscal year to rank-and-file lawmakers, according to a House of Representatives source familiar with the talks.

 

Negotiators were racing against the clock to clear away remaining disputes in the massive spending bill.

 

The arduous talks have produced at least two major victories for Democrats so far, even though they are the minority party in Congress.

 

President Donald Trump gave in to Democratic demands that the spending bill not include money to start building the wall he wants to erect on the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump has said the "big, beautiful, powerful" wall is needed to block illegal immigrants and drugs from coming into the country.

 

Mexico has adamantly rejected Trump's assertion that it would pay for the wall.

 

Democrats have also gotten the administration to agree to continue funding, at least for now, for a major component of the Affordable Care Act, even though Trump campaigned on a vow to end the program, commonly known as Obamacare.

 

Administration officials had threatened in recent days to pull the plug on subsidies for low-income people enrolled in the 2010 healthcare law, former Democratic President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement.

 

"While we agreed to go ahead and make the ... payments for now, we haven't made a final decision about future commitments," a White House official said.

 

Anthem Inc <ANTM.N>, one of the largest insurers on the Obamacare exchanges, said on Wednesday that without the government payments, premiums would increase 20 percent next year and that it might have to withdraw from some regions and states.

 

Both concessions robbed Trump from claiming some major legislative successes he had hoped to achieve in his first 100 days in office, which will be marked on Saturday.

 

If Congress cannot agree to either a short stopgap funding bill or a longer-term one by midnight Friday, federal agencies will run out of money and likely have to abruptly lay off hundreds of thousands of federal government workers until an appropriations bill is enacted.

 

Many policymakers are nervous about a repeat of 2013, when the government was shuttered for 17 days.

 

'GETTING REALLY CLOSE'

 

It was unclear whether Republicans might prevail on their demand for a significant increase in defence spending without similar increases to other domestic programs. Trump has proposed a $30 billion (£23 billion) spending boost for the Pentagon for the rest of this fiscal year.

 

“Our major concerns in these negotiations have been about funding for the wall and uncertainty about ... payments crucial to the stability of the marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act. We’ve now made progress on both of these fronts," House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.

 

She added that other disagreements must be ironed out.

 

"We're getting really close," House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, told reporters earlier on Wednesday, adding that negotiators were "getting down to the last, final" areas of disagreement.

 

Trump's push for a border wall, a signature campaign proposal, is seen by most Democrats and many Republicans as an ineffective way of securing U.S. borders.

 

The Trump administration likely will seek money for the wall in legislation funding the government for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, but lawmakers are likely to balk again.

 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from the coal-mining state of Kentucky, threw his weight behind a plan Democrats were insisting on to make a healthcare program for coal miners permanent. It was unclear if Ryan would go along.

 

Even though Trump's fellow Republicans control both chambers of Congress, they only have 52 seats in the Senate. To amass the 60 votes needed there to pass a spending bill, Republicans will have to win the support of at least some Democratic lawmakers.

 

Democrats have been seeking immediate assistance for a funding gap in Puerto Rico's Medicaid program, the federal health insurance program for the poor, saying it is in such bad shape that 1 million people are set to lose healthcare.

 

Also unclear is what "riders" that set new policy might be tucked into the legislation.

 

Past riders have touched on areas such as banning the Securities and Exchange Commission from requiring corporations to disclose political donations.

 

Democrats said they were worried Republicans could try to attach language limiting family-planning funds or undo Wall Street reforms enacted after the 2007-09 financial crisis.

 

(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker in Washington and Caroline Humer in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-04-27

[williamgeorgeallen]

20 trillion debt growing at about a trillion per year. keep kicking the can.

[timendres]

The can is rapidly becoming a barrel...

[mogandave]

Not to worry, Chuck Schumer is a notorious budget hawk and he will shut the government down before he approves this Ill-conceived wall.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Thakkar]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Both concessions robbed Trump from claiming some major legislative successes he had hoped to achieve in his first 100 days in office, which will be marked on Saturday.

About that 100 days mark, here's a quick rundown:

 

 

[Berkshire]

"Many policymakers are nervous about a repeat of 2013, when the government was shuttered for 17 days."

 

I remember that from 2013.  What I heard was that the federal workers who were "laid-off" basically got a free vacation and still got paid for the days they were told not to work.  Our government does some insanely stupid sh*t sometimes.

[Thaidream]

The Congress has had months to come to an agreement and they allowed this to drag on until the last minute while they went on their vacation. These people never have the best interests of the United States in their minds. Their only goal is to remain in power to feed at the trough. 

The whole American system is broken and will be made worse by Donald Trump who is the most unqualified President in American History.

Millions of Americans need health care; more millions of students have become indentured servants to the American State over student loans; and the poor and middle class are being lulled into believe that the upcoming tax cut will  be the break they need.

Instead  Americans will get a $20 Billion border wall - huge tax cuts for the wealthy; a large budget increase for the military because Trump does not understand diplomacy and how to stop playing nuclear poker. The deficit will rise again and in 4 years Trump will be gone to start the cycle all over again.

Americans will remain poorer; the wealthy will get wealthier; the military industrial complex will remain in tack and the swamp will be full of the usual snakes and it will never be drained.

 

 

[elgordo38]

2 hours ago, timendres said:

The can is rapidly becoming a barrel...

Lets have a run at Niagara Falls

[elgordo38]

Individual banks must be extending the credit limits as well for the ordinary Joe otherwise why would the consumer confidence level be so high. 

[elgordo38]

Can someone please explain to my banker how this works. 

[elgordo38]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Administration officials had threatened in recent days to pull the plug on subsidies for low-income people enrolled in the 2010 healthcare law, former Democratic President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement.

Pull the plug for low income people indeed. Would this be the masses that voted for Trump for change. Be careful what you wish for. 

[Jingthing]

Ran as a populist. "Governs" like a plutocrat.

[Thaidream]

Ran as an  ass and governs as an ass.