Kyle N. Becker
Here are a few facts about the debt ceiling and government shutdown fights that might have “slipped the minds” of some major news media journalists:
1. Depending on if you go by Fiscal Year 2014 or the already passed Fiscal Year 2013, only between 13% and 17% of the U.S. federal government is “shut down.”
2. Since 400,000 federal workers are presently furloughed, only 10% of the government’s workforce is at home.
3. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed backpay for all furloughed workers; the Senate has slowed passage of this bill.
4. The House of Representatives passed exempting the National Institutes of Health, which performs such services as treating children with cancer, from the so-called “shutdown.” The Senate Democrats blocked the measure.
5. Only 33 of 197 Democrats voted to restore funding for veterans.
6. Only 34 of 197 Democrats voted to return spending discretion to the Capitol district.
7. Only 22 of 197 Democrats voted to restore funding to the National Park Service, including the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of Art, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
8. Despite this, the Obama administration blocked World War II vets and numerous other Americans from seeing their memorials, while the Democrats hosted a rally in support of illegal immigration on Capitol Hill.
9. The U.S. is likely already over the debt limit. According toTreasury Direct, the public debt is $47 billion over the $16.7 trillion dollar limit. And no, we did not default.
10. The debt ceiling has been raised 53 times, and during 27 standoffs, various conditions have been placed on increasing the credit line of the U.S. government.
11. ObamaCare adds trillions to the debt, does not necessarily allow people to keep their doctors or their plans, and drives upinsurance premiums for many families across the United States. This unpopular law is the main funding item of contention between the two parties.
Could it be that the Democrats are simply afraid of taking an up-or-down vote on their ObamaCare law ahead of the 2014 elections, and that is all this “shutdown” is really about?
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