The Republicans no longer control the Congress and US President George W Bush is already emanating signs of displeasure and discontent. Now that he no longer controls the reins of the Congress and has to discuss every step with the Democrats, Mr. Bush is really finding the going tough. And it was this frustration merged with rage that was forced out a couple of days back.
The Democrat-led US Congress has yet to decide on the spending spree of the government and this delay in their decision has severely angered the President. He reluctantly put his signature on a Bill to stop the government shutdown since the Democrat-led Congress has been unable to come up with an annual spending budget. The stop-gap measure would allow the US government to function through November 16 but the new fiscal year already started on Monday.
With his hands firmly tied behind his back, Mr. Bush does release his venom through his moth and tall talks He didn’t fail to blame the Congress of incapability and also apprehended that the Democrats are planning the biggest tax increase in America’s history.
The stalemate over the annual federal budget hangs on one major issue. The Democrats are eager to add $23 billion for domestic programs to Bush’s $933 billion request for the approximately one-third of the federal budget funded by the yearly spending bills. But President Bush is firmly against this and apparently wants the stated extra money for the funding of the ongoing war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Such a stopgap measure is nothing new in American politics. In fact, such measures have been employed since 1994. But the astonishment as well as the worries lies in the fact that not one of the 12 annual bills has been converted in law by the October 1 deadline. With the internal politics dangling like a car on the edge of a cliff, the US does seem to be losing ground.
Image Source: Visiting DC
Source: Reuters
