More Sand In The Gears

Appropriations Committee is failing to serve our country.

Note: This site can also be accessed by entering FeathersOfHope.net in your browser window.

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For new readers, here are links to a few previous posts that will bring you up to date on what the Feathers of Hope network has been doing :

Wait, Exactly How Will We Do This? — (January 28)

Replacing McCarthy - A Progress Report — (February 16)

Moderate Republicans? Really? — (March 2)

Spread The Word, Write or Call Today — (April 6)

Escape From MAGA World — (May 3)

Is There A Crack In The Wall? — (June 29)

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Feathers of Hope is a network of ordinary citizens committed to advocating for the removal and replacement of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, thereby diminishing the power and influence of MAGA extremists in the chamber.

We have been urging moderate Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives to form a temporary bipartisan majority voting bloc for the purpose of passing a motion to “vacate the chair” and elect a new Republican Speaker who owes nothing to the minority MAGA group.

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There are only four legislative days left before Congress’ August recess.

But rather than be productive while the clock is ticking, House Republicans are busily arguing among themselves over ever-more extreme amendments to “must pass” appropriations bills. As demanded by MAGA extremists, these bills are already written to authorize spending levels far below those agreed to by Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden during the debt ceiling negotiations less than 2 months ago.

Using the National Defense Appropriations Act (NDAA) as a model (see our post last week: Why Is Congress So Messed Up? ), far-right factions are insisting on still-lower spending levels. Worse, they’re loading the bills up with policy amendments un-related to spending levels. Of course, these would include restricting abortion services, cutting grants of assistance for programs serving LGBTQ communities, eliminating diversity/inclusion policies and anti-discrmination rules, even targeting policies meant to improve water infrastructure for low income neighborhoods.

As with the NDAA, this assures more conflicts between MAGA/Freedom Caucus members and the more mainstream swing-district Republicans over just how extreme these amendments will be. But it’s all pointless. While a normally functioning legislature would see the two parties working to craft a bill that meets spending agreements already reached, one which can pass the Senate and become law, Speaker McCarthy is again presiding over a bizarre charade.

Whatever House Republicans pass on their own will be DOA (dead on arrival) in the Senate. And by then we’ll be counting down the days again — this time preparing for a government shutdown if appropriation bills aren’t passed by the end of September. And as of this writing, there’s little reason to expect any other result. Indeed, even if there where a general consensus on the bills’ provisions, there’d be barely enough time for them to pass.

As it is, a government shutdown is not only likely, it is the stated objective of more than a few of the MAGA extremists. And so long as Kevin McCarthy remains Speaker, what the extremists want is what the House will deliver.

This is why, as tiresome and repetitive as it may have become, we must keep advocating for a bipartisan majority to remove Mr. McCarthy and replace him with a Republican Speaker who owes nothing to MAGA and the Freedom Caucus.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) is a good choice to be that Speaker. He has made the point quite succinctly: “We have to govern. We can’t afford to have our country stuck in neutral.”

It’s time now for Mr. Bacon to meet the challenge he laid out in that statement. We need him to step forward and demonstrate the leadership he was trained to exercise as a Brig. General in the U.S. Air Force. Call or write to him now. Urge him to be bold, to be courageous, and to defend the Constitution as he swore that he would.

Don Bacon:  

(202) 225-4155 D.C. —— (402) 938-0300 District

2104 Rayburn House Office Building —Washington, DC 20515

District Office: 3906 Gold Circle, Suite 101 — Omaha, NE 68144