From the office of U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulksi:
U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) today called for a long-term solution to cut spending and fund the federal government. In the face of an impending government shutdown, Senator Mikulski voted to pass a budget to keep the government operating an additional two weeks. However, Senator Mikulski said, the government can’t continue to run on installments.
The full text of her statement follows:
“I am absolutely opposed to a government shutdown. We should never, ever shut down the government of the United States of America. It puts our nation at risk and it puts our economy at risk.
“Shutting down our government is bad for middle-class families. It disrupts services Americans rely on for their health and safety. It’s also bad for jobs. It creates unemployment in the public and private sector. It has a negative impact on small businesses contracting with the government, whether it’s for supplies, personnel or leased space.
“That’s why today I voted for a two-week extension to avoid a shutdown. I agree the government needs to be frugal and thrifty. Senate Democrats already cut $41 billion from the President’s fiscal year 2011 budget by freezing funding at last year’s levels. And in the temporary extension, we approved another $4 billion in cuts.
“But we can’t be foolish and dangerous. I’m against waging a war on women in children in this country. The House Republicans have proposed extreme cuts to nutrition programs for women and newborns, life-saving preventive cancer screenings for women and early childhood education like Head Start. Every time we start talking about deficit reduction, we throw women and children under the bus first. This is unacceptable.
“These cuts are an attack on middle-class families. Cutting Pell Grants will make it harder for many of our brightest students to pay for college. And instead of helping the thousands of Americans looking for work, these cuts will hurt the unemployed by slashing job training.
“The cuts are also an attack on seniors who rely on Social Security. They could force field offices to shut their doors, send employees home with no pay – and mean longer lines and slower service for seniors who need help.
“There are cuts that we can all agree on. I’m for cutting military equipment that is outdated and not needed. That means $2.8 billion in savings. I’m for cutting wasteful military construction projects that could easily be funded privately. That gives us $78 million in savings. I support cutting aid to Pakistan that’s been squandered through corruption. That leads to savings of $300 million. The list goes on.
“My way of getting Congress off the dime and passing a budget for 2011 is by not giving us a dime. I support Senator Boxer’s bill that shuts down pay for the President and members of Congress if there’s a government shutdown.
“We can’t continue running the government in installments. It’s not a lay-away plan. We need to pass a budget for the rest of the year that is frugal and makes our country safer and our economy stronger.”
“I agree the government needs to be frugal and thrifty”
Is that why you regularly vote in FAVOR of spending taxpayer money?!? One only needs to look at your voting record to see that you’re speaking out of both sides of your mouth and only telling us what you THINK we want to hear! I guess those are the little tips/tricks you pick up after being in the Senate for a quarter of a century!
Just got an email from Jim DeMint stating the following:
“I’m writing to let you know about an important vote that took place in the Senate last night.
Newly-elected Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) offered an amendment expressing support for a Constitutional Amendment that would force Congress to balance the budget.
Senator Lee forced a vote and put every senator on record.
The vote was 58 in favor and 40 opposed.”
Can you guess how our Maryland Senators voted???…..BOTH “Nay”!
Again….a bunch of lip service regarding being “frugal and thrifty”. Our Senators should be ashamed of themselves.
Because everything Senator DeMint says is always true….
Certainly more than the two clowns this state has . . .
Are you saying that he lied? If so, can you please elaborate on the fabrication in his statement regarding putting this vote to the Senate and which Senators supported or rejected the bill? Or, are you simply only able to cast dispersions?
Go ahead and provide the Bill number and I certainly will.
The vote was on whether the Senate should expressing support for a Constitutional amendment to balance the budget: S.J.RES.5
Pizzle you provided the number of a joint resolution NOT an ammendment!
According to THOMAS it appears S.J.Res 5 is as follows
“Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress disapproves the obligation of any amount exceeding the amounts obligated as described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 115(a) of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.”
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.J.RES.5:
You did go to HS and pass civics and know that a joint resolution is NOT a constitutional ammendment?
Cdev,
As I stated: “The vote was on whether the Senate should express SUPPORT for a Constitutional amendment to balance the budget”.
What’s the problem?
Senator Mikuski should be commended for her public service but she is a fine example why there needs to be term limits. Both she and Ben Cardin need to retire – time for a change. We could save this country’s tax payer money by just having one senator in Maryland because both vote hand-in-hand – exactly the same. Moreover, based on their voting records, they only represent Baltimore City, PG County, Montgomery County, and some in Howard County. Thanks again Senator Mikuski, but you have costs tax payers too much money, jammed legislation down our throats that the majority of citizens of this country did not want and it’s now time for you to retire.
Dear Senator Mikuski,
I ask you directly the same question I have your asked your office every single month for the last two years. When will you have a town-hall meeting in Harford County so you can hear from your constituents?
The last truly advertised town-hall with one of my two Senators was in August 2009 with Ben Cardin. That town-hall was held in Towson about the proposed healthcare plan. It produced a capacity crowd of 500, with union folks given preferential treatment thru another door other then the general public. I was one of over 3,000 people who wanted in vain in line outside for a seat.
Is the simple truth of the matter you and Ben have no interest in meeting and hearing what us common folks have to say? Prove me wrong and announce on this forum your desire to meet with the Citizens of Harford County.
Excellent posting, but I doubt you will see Barbara or Ben come to Harford County or even listen to anyone but those they know are ardent supporters (i.e. union members).
Isn’t that old Sen. Mikulski a hoot? Somehow the words frugal and budget don’t seem appropriate when they appear in a story about our little “Spike” or any of these other pathetic tax-and-spenders.
Rught now for every dollar that is spent, about $.42 is borrowed. How much longer can we keep spending at this level?
The Senator wants to be frugal and talks of cutting 4 billion from a $3.8 Trillion dollar budget. In direct comparison that would be like trimming $84 out of a $80,000 household budget. I have done that without sharpening my pencil! When I became unemployed things were CUT from spending.
If the government were a business it would be like Enron and all of the Honorable Congresspersons and Senators wiuld be under inditement.
Pizzle you provided the number of a joint resolution NOT an ammendment!
According to THOMAS it appears S.J.Res 5 is as follows
“Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress disapproves the obligation of any amount exceeding the amounts obligated as described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 115(a) of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.”
You did go to HS and pass civics and know that a joint resolution is NOT a constitutional ammendment?
Oh, CDEV, you beat me to it. Nicely stated. I was sure that Senator Demint was talking out of the other side of his mouth. Again.
Yes, Cdev….you’re a master at picking apart words….DeMint referred to it as an amendment….my statement was:
“The vote was on whether the Senate should express SUPPORT for a Constitutional amendment to balance the budget”.
Please tell me how our Senators voted.
So now we’re taking Members of Congress to task for how they MIGHT vote? Or how they ‘voted’ on a non-vote? Seriously? I think it’s time for Pizzle to sit in the time out chair. Next!
You can continue to distract and deflect if you like. Please just answer the question. Did they express support or not?
You, sir, are the one distracting. One red herring after another. We are arguing over someone’s INTENT to MAYBE vote on something IF it was proposed. Utter nonsense. And I have seen your posts on this site before and I expected a better effort from you.
Watcher,
I do admit to reacting quickly upon hearing the news of the vote. I hope/expect that Sen. DeMint relayed accurate information in his message. If not, then shame on him for dispersing it, and shame on me for not doing my own research first.
I’ve asked DeMint’s office to validate the statement. I guess we’ll see how it turns out.
Definition of a joint resolution:
“joint resolutions (and not bills) are used to propose constitutional amendments”
So again…I ask Watcher and Cdev…how did our Senators vote?
The joint resolution does not mention the budget act and was not the one you refered to from the e-mail. The e-mail you said you got recently. This JRes is from 2009-2010. It also says nothing to the effect of what you claimed!
So you just got an e-mail from Sen De-mint about a resolution that the number you gave does not match the discription on the official web-site and not sponsored by the senator you claim it was that was passed over a year ago. Seems like you need to fact check the e-mail or you only check your e-mail once a year.
Since we’re picking apart words now….it’s “description”, not “discription”. Go here to “check the facts”:
senateconservatives_DOT_com/site/votes/112-30
Replace the “_DOT_” with a “.” before attempting to browse to that site.
The summary I saw at that site read:
03/02/2011
Expressing Support for a Balanced Budget Amendment
58 40 amendment rejected
I found the bill text at thomas_DOT_loc_DOT_gov as:
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. J. RES. 5
You folks debating the definition of a resolution and an amendment etc are becoming pathetic in this thread. The points of greatest importance are how did our two Sens. vote, how do they usually vote and why can’t they do any better whether its about meeting with citizens around the state or saying no to spending that is detrimental to the country?
Again Big Ben Bernake said this week the deficit and the debt are a drag on the economy now and in the future. Out entire MD deligation of dems is a rubber stamp. sometimes it seems like Dutch knows better but he won’t go against the dem team.
To ask how they vote for something and not even be honest about what you are asking about shows a lack of honesty. You can’t say how they voted is important if you find unimportant what it is they are voting for.