Spending problem not solved

Does anyone question the fact that our Congress and president have the responsibility to keep the federal government running? Congress has the job of assuring that the delegated functions of our government are financed, and the president has the duty to carry out those functions.

But disagreements over spending led to a near-shutdown of the federal government, as appropriated money was expected to run out tomorrow!

President Barack Obama had asked Congress to OK enough money to keep federal agencies running for 30 days, to avoid the partial shutdown Friday. The House rejected that, 355-91, with all Tennessee representatives except Democrat Steve Cohen of Memphis voting instead for a measure to keep the government fully functioning for two weeks beyond Friday. The mostly Republican-backed two-week extension cut $4 billion in spending, and the bill was later approved, albeit reluctantly, by the Democrat-run Senate.

The president plans to sign the stop-gap measure into law.

The short-term bill and the $4 billion in cuts show "responsible governance by House Republicans," read a statement released by the office of U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, a Republican who represents the Georgia congressional district that borders Hamilton County. "With the spending driven debt crisis in full force, our aim continues to be shrinking the size of government, not shutting it down."

The initial cuts are worthwhile, but the problem of overspending in general remains, with a majority of members of Congress still refusing to face financial reality.

So what's going to happen two weeks down the road? Most likely there will be some maneuvering, posturing and postponing - and a little spending may be cut, while too much spending will continue.

The president and all members of Congress ran for office eagerly, begging us to elect them to do our federal government's business. But how many of them do you think are doing the job they swore they would do?

Watch what happens next, and see which members of Congress "do the right thing," while others don't.

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