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Two prominent progressive lawmakers on Wednesday vowed to oppose a set of rules that, in their view, would hinder voting on key liberal priorities, including Medicare- This resistance – if it grew – could jeopardize the obscure collection of provisions that will govern the new Congress.
And the new president, Nancy Pelosi, and her management team, who quickly mobilized to explain the decision and calm the opposition, would be embarrassed. The rules of procedure is one of the first votes of the new Congress, which begins Thursday. eds has 218 votes in favor and is typically a vote of the party line, which means 18 Democrats could cast it.
"PAYGO is not just a bad economy … it's also an obscure political maneuver designed to hinder progress in health + other leg," tweeted The reputed elected Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.), referring to a budget provision in the rule. "We should not embarrass ourselves from the beginning."
His tweet followed that of Rep. Ro Khanna, a California progressive who also pledged to vote against the rules.
Under the proposed rules, the cost of any new rights-related expenses or tax reductions must be offset in order to be used in the House for a vote. "pay-go" would make it more difficult to hold a vote because of important progressive priorities such as Medicare-for-All or a "New Green Deal".
However, as Pelosi l & rsquo; Did it. Spokesman Drew Hammill said Wednesday on Twitter that a federal law already provided for payment rules. Under a law signed by President Barack Obama several years ago, the Office of Management and Budget White House is required to carry out program cuts if new legislation increasing the deficit is promulgated.
Thus, according to Hammill, if Congress adopts a new rights program similar to those promoted by the Liberals, Trump's Acting Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney, who is also director of the OMB, Democrats support, including including Medicare.
"A vote AGAINST the democratic rules package is a vote that allows Mick Mulvaney to make widespread cuts, unilaterally reversing democratic initiatives and funding increases," Hammill told Khanna.
Khanna had already tweeted his opposition to the measure: "I will vote NO on the set of rules with #PayGo. It's a terrible economy. The austerities were wrong about the Great Recession and the Great Depression. At one point, politicians must learn from mistakes and read economic history.
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) also spoke out against the pay-as-you-go provisions, but said he would vote against the package of rules. [19659004] "We must not handcuff our new Democratic majority, so PAYGO is a no-right for me," said Ryan in a statement. "Critical investments in education, infrastructure and health care do not must not be held hostage by budget constraints that Republicans have never respected. "
The entire debate could be considered theoretical, as House leaders routinely waive the rules that prevail. the path of high priorities In addition, the Senate controlled by the GOP would never adopt these expensive progressive proposals.
But the fight prefigures the battle that will take place before the caucus democr In the House this year, the party is currently questioning the distance between two positions ahead of the 2020 presidential race, with encouraging and encouraging proposals such as free tuition at public universities – and newly elected Democrats red neighborhoods that are shaking.
