A government shutdown is “always” a possibility in this era of divided government, “particularly when you consider the dysfunction and disorganization that has run rampant in the House Republican Conference” lately, Earnest said. “That’s what this smells like”, Ryan added.
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“While Ryan did not elaborate on what sort of riders would be considered in an omnibus measure, conservatives on and off the Hill are pushing to defund Planned Parenthood – a sticking point that could have led to a government shutdown until the CR was passed”, RollCall reported.
Ryan said that he lives in Janesville, Wisconsin, and commutes back and forth to Washington every week.
BASH: No, no, I completely get that. I work out. I work until about 11:30 at night.
“By not controlling the process so tightly held here in the speakership, by letting it go forward, I don’t know what the outcome is going to be”, Ryan said.
“When that text comes to Congress, it has to be made public for at least 60 days”, he said. “What I am concerned about is making sure we do our jobs here”. Ryan noted that Republicans in Congress “don’t have a vision” and that there has been too much infighting over tactics and too little work on actual policies. It doesn’t square with the record and it doesn’t make the Republican dilemma over immigration reform any easier to resolve. It was aimed mainly at helping 4.4 million people whose children are USA citizens or legal permanent residents.
The immigration issue has driven a wedge between Hispanics, an increasingly important voting bloc, and Republicans, many of whom take a hard line on illegal immigration, to the benefit of Obama’s fellow Democrats.
Ryan even embraced eventual citizenship for those here illegally, something that’s anathema to many conservatives.
Last week, Ryan signed on to a letter agreeing not to pursue immigration reform for the remainder of the Obama presidency, unless such reform meets with the approval of the constituents of Alabama’s 5th congressional district.
Ryan is “a thinker”, says Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank in Washington. Ryan justifies his unwillingness to cooperate on the immigration matter by saying the President acted unilaterally, ignoring the fact that the President circumvented the dysfunctional legislative branch which was failing to its own job. “If we believe and have consensus on things like border enforcement, and interior security, then that’s fine”.
I gotta take issue with Ryan’s claim that Congress writes laws. “Presidents don’t write laws, Congress writes laws”, the speaker said. Democrats say that they actions were necessary because of Republican obstruction. As recently as last summer, Ryan was one of the louder proponents among House Republicans for a broad reform effort, legislation for which has been stalled in the House since passing the Senate in 2012.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a statement Sunday that Ryan “is in a unique position to take action on behalf of millions of other moms and dads”.
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Before that collapse, Mr. Boehner had pronounced himself “confident that the president, myself, others can find the common ground” to fix immigration.
