Harry Reid fired back at John Boehner’s attempt to blame the Senate for the sequester by saying, “The speaker’s doing nothing to try to pass anything.”
After trying to blame just the president got him nowhere, Speaker Boehner took aim at the Senate Democrats.
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Speaker Boehner (R-OH) said, “The president has known for 16 months that the sequester was looming out there when the super committee failed to come to an agreement. And so for 16 months the president’s been traveling all over the country holding rallies instead of sitting down with Senate leaders in order to try to forge an agreement over there in order to move a bill. We have moved a bill in the House twice, we should not have to move a third bill before the Senate gets off their ass and begins to do something.”
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) fired back at Boehner, “I think he should understand who is sitting on his posterior. We’re working to pass something. The speaker’s doing nothing to try to pass anything.”
Boehner has the entire legislative process backwards. The bills that the last House passed in 2012 would end food and medical care for nearly 2.5 million Americans, but those bills died with the end of the 112 Congress. Speaker Boehner knows this, but he has yet to pass a sequester replacement bill in the new Congress. The reason why Boehner hasn’t passed a sequester replacement is because he doesn’t have the votes needed for passage.
Beneath Boehner’s blame game is the fact that he can’t pass anything. This is why he is trying push the blame on to the Senate and the White House. House Republicans aren’t trying to avoid the sequester. They are trying to pass the buck. The reality is that the president can’t do anything until after Congress passes the legislation.
Since this is a budgetary matter, the House will have to pass a sequester replacement bill. John Boehner has redefined the meaning of the term do nothing speaker. The 112 Congress was the most unproductive since 1947-1948. The gridlock was caused by House Republicans who refused to compromise.
The speaker is still refusing to compromise, but he is also not doing his job. The House must pass a new sequester replacement. What the House did in the old congress does not carry over. The House hasn’t even voted for a sequester replacement in the new Congress. In reality, it is John Boehner who is content to sit on his ass and try to win the blame game while Rome burns.
John Boehner’s empty tough talk isn’t going to put food on the table of workers who are facing layoffs or pay cuts thanks to his sequester. It’s looks like Boehner’s do nothing incompetence is finally about to catch up with him.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
