Essay --

The tensions that would ultimately produce the 2013 shutdown began to take shape after Republicans, modify by the emergence of the Tea Party, won back a majority of the seats in the sept of Representatives from the Democrats in 2010.19202122 Even at that time, about hidebound activists and Tea Party-affiliated politicians were already calling on congressional Republicans to be willing to shut down the g everywherenment in order to force congressional Democrats and the chairman to agree to deep cuts in spending and to repeal the Affordable sustenance Act, which had been signed into law only a few months earlier. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, a Republican who had presided over coition during the last government shutdowns 15 years earlier, said in April 2010 that if Republicans won back control of Congress in the 2010 election, they should remove any funding for the Affordable Care Act in any appropriations bills they passed. Gingrich said Republicans needed to be re ady to stand on principle and should refuse to fund the new healthcare law even if their refusal would result in a shutdown of the government.23As the November 2010 congressional elections drew near, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, a Republican from Georgia, said that if the Republicans won a majority of seats in the House, they would pass appropriation bills that the President would veto, leading to a government shutdown. Westmoreland told supporters We have delegate Band-Aids on some things that need to be cleaned out. That is going to take some pain. Theres going to have to be some pain for us to do some things that weve got to do to right the ship.2425 Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, then running for office as the Republican Partys nominee, said that altho... ... and to curtailing the Environmental Protection Agencys authority to enforce the great Air Act and carbon dioxide emissions.2931 House Republicans gave Speaker John Boehner an ovation when he informed them that he was advising the Hou se Administration Committee to begin preparations for a possible shutdown.32 A budget deal was agreed to less than two hours before a shutdown would have begun.33Several similar funding crises resulting from disagreements over budgetary policy ensued in the following three years, with shutdowns being narrowly averted by last-minute deals each time.3435363738 Congressional Republicans remained committed to eliminating or undermining the Affordable Care Act, taking more than 40 largely symbolic votes passing bills to repeal or defund the act which the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected or refused to consider.3940