Draft Appropriations bill

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What has Mica exactly done that would upset the common Florida Joe? 59-41 is a pretty large margin to overcome.
Begging the first question... but 59-41 means that only one in eleven have to have a change of heart.
 
What has Mica exactly done that would upset the common Florida Joe? 59-41 is a pretty large margin to overcome.
Begging the first question... but 59-41 means that only one in eleven have to have a change of heart.
With every single person with a change of heart changing against Mica, that is. A 9 point swing is a pretty big swing no matter how you parse it.
 
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What has Mica exactly done that would upset the common Florida Joe? 59-41 is a pretty large margin to overcome.
Begging the first question... but 59-41 means that only one in eleven have to have a change of heart.
With every single person with a change of heart changing against Mica, that is. A 9 point swing is a pretty big swing no matter how you parse it.
18 pts is the combined swing, but 9 pts is all that have to have a change of heart... unless some that voted for him, don't vote for him again and don't vote for the opponent, then more.... but suspect that most that have a change of heart would not only not vote for him, but would vote against him....

and maybe I'm projecting (likely): but having him in the pocket of CSX and then behaving like a moron (ie, rhetorical w/o substance/specious arguments/pts) - I'd have no problem voting against him.... but since I'm not in his district I won't be able to do such... but can throw at least a few dollars toward his opponent... probably getting too political here: but people that don't do the people's business, should be retired and can go work on K street, or collect a paycheck from CSX... but not confuse the people's interests and their handler's interests.
 
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I am from Florida, but not in Mica's District. I have no use for him. He is definitely tied to highway and airline lobbyists. I can believe how rude he was to John Robert Smith in the Congressional hearings. That is the problem in Washington; people like Mica don't want to hear the truth....they just talk over others that might be giving some valid facts. Not only does his toupe look bad, he appears to have had a face lift. He needs to ride the Silvers to and from Washington to see how well patronized they are, but "no", he speaks as the expert with no actual experience.
 
The question for us in NJ is whether our big guy will see the logic of increasing gas tax to replenish the TTF, and furthermore if he will have the testicular fortitude to make it happen. The current indications are that he won't.
So long as Gov. Christie has 2016 Presidential ambitions, he is not going to propose increasing the gas tax in NJ. He has made rather blatant political moves in recent months on social issues and moving the special Senate election to mid-October to improve his chances in the Republican primaries.

If Christie runs in 2016, he will lose to a very powerful woman--Hillary Clinton!!
 
Update on the House Transportation appropriations bill from Streetsblog: House Pulls Its Disastrous Transpo Spending Bill As Senate Moves Ahead. The House is departing for the long August recess without voting on the bill because Cantor did a vote count and realized that it would not pass. When Cantor's spokesman says that the schedule was too busy this week, that really means they did a head count and want to avoid another embarrassing failure to pass their own bill. Excerpts from the Streetsblog article.

While the Senate continues to consider amendments to its transportation budget bill, expected to pass this week, House leadership has canceled a vote on its own version. The bill, which passed the full Appropriations Committee a month ago, was scheduled to hit the floor this week for a vote by the entire House.
A spokesperson from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s office said the schedule was too busy this week with more pressing items they want to bring to the floor before the August recess begins. He said the House would consider the THUD appropriations bill once they return. The bill provides a budget for Fiscal Year 2014, which begins September 30.

House Democrats unanimously voted against the bill in committee, calling it “grossly inadequate” and even suggesting that it forebodes “the twilight of the appropriations process.” It cuts 2013 spending levels by 15 percent, eliminates TIGER and high-speed rail funding, cuts Amtrak’s subsidy by a third, and slashes HUD’s Community Development Block Grants program.
In September, the House leadership may have the votes after arm twisting and threats to the remaining moderate Republicans, but the severe cuts are not going to pass easily.

Meanwhile if the Senate can hold off on poison pill amendments on food service subsidies, Amtrak and TIGER grants will be decently funded in the Senate version.
 
Why House 2014 Transportation Funding Bill is Probably Dead

In a curious turn of events, House Republican leaders suspended consideration of the 2014 Transportation and Housing appropriations bill. The bill had been expected to pass, if only on a largely party-line vote. But it became apparent Wednesday afternoon that there were not enough votes to pass the bill, and leadership pulled the bill.The Hill reports that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s office said the House did not have time to deal with a large number of amendments this week, and that the bill would be taken up again after the five-week August recess. In part, House Leadership created the time crunch by focusing the week’s legislative action on ten bills intended to highlight what the GOP calls “Stop Government Abuse.” The bills include the fortieth attempt to repeal or dismantle ObamaCare, and bills aimed at limiting federal regulations and correcting mismanagement at the Internal Revenue Service.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers said “I am extremely disappointed with the decision to pull the bill from the House calendar today. The prospects for passing this bill in September are bleak at best, given the vote count on passage that was apparent this afternoon,” (reported by The Hill).



In fact, even “bleak” seems overly optimistic. There are only nine legislative work days scheduled for September (link to

http://majorityleader.gov/calendar/113thCongressFirstSession.pdf
House calendar
http://majorityleader.gov/calendar/113thCongressFirstSession.pdf, pdf). Because the light schedule is due in part to national and religious holidays, prospects are dim for adding legislative days in the month. Between the current lack of votes to pass the Transportation/Housing bill, the time needed to negotiate (and write) a short-term funding bill to keep the government open, and higher legislative priorities, it’s practically impossible to see how the House takes up the Transportation bill in September.


In the end, it doesn’t really matter. The Senate and House are so far apart in their funding proposals that a negotiated, final compromise bill wasn’t going to be signed into law by October 1 anyway.
 
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This speculation about Mica is delusional for two reasons. One, Florida elections just don't have that degree of "swing" and Mica is an incumbent to boot.

Second, and more importantly, Mica has been very, very supportive of FLORIDA rail projects, whether that was Federally-supported HSR, commuter rail, or private HSR, or Amtrak improvements. Mica takes potshots at OTHER states' rail service. And that will never be out of fashion for Congress.
 
Ah September! :) The leaves start to turn, the days become shorter - the nights longer, football and pennant races, the kids are back in session in Washington...

From Politico's Morning Transportation Report for yesterday:

In spite of a busy congressional agenda and rapidly changing developments in Syria, the House's Amtrak reauthorization is still on track for an October introduction, Railroads panel Chairman Jeff Denham told MT [Morning Transportation]. The conflict in Syria and debate over potential U.S. involvement "squeezed all of our timelines but we're still moving forward," he said. "We're getting very close." Asked to clarify, Denham said he's hoping to introduce the bill in October. "It might have pushed us back a week or so," Denham said of the Syrian debate's effect on the rail bill, but he said members "probably could have used that time anyways." Denham is set to meet with Amtrak head Joe Boardman next week.
 
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