Republicans Make The Case To Cut, Cap, And Balance, While Obama Threatens A Veto

Today in Washington, D.C. - July 18, 2011:
The Senate reconvened at 2 PM and at 3:30 PM  will resume consideration of H.R. 2055, the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (Milcon-VA) appropriations bill, one of the annual appropriations bills that are considered by Congress. At 5:30, the Senate will vote on the nomination of J. Paul Oetken to be a District Judge for the Southern District of New York.

The AP reports today, “The next step in the weeks-long saga over how to increase the government's borrowing cap is to let House tea party forces try it their way. A Republican ‘cut, cap and balance’ plan set for a House vote Tuesday would condition a $2.4 trillion increase in the so-called debt limit on an immediate $100 billion-plus cut from next year's budget and adoption by Congress of a constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget. ‘Let's let the American people decide,’ said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on ‘Fox News Sunday.’ ‘Do they want something common sense as cutting spending, capping the growth in government and requiring a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution?’”

And National Review Online’s Andrew Stiles wrote Friday, “What started out as the brainchild of freshmen and tea-party members — strongly supported by the likes of Club for Growth and Heritage Action — ‘Cut, Cap, and Balance’ has quickly become a mainstream GOP position. Conservative senators including Jim DeMint (R., S.C.), Mike Lee (R., Utah), and Rand Paul (R., Ky.) introduced ‘Cut, Cap, and Balance’ legislation last week. On Thursday, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and GOP conference chair Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) both signed on to the bill, a clear indication of the momentum building behind the proposal.”

As Sen. McConnell has reiterated for weeks, “What Republicans want is simple: We want to cut spending now, we want to cap runaway spending in the future and we want to save our entitlements and our country from bankruptcy by requiring the nation to balance its budget. We want to finally get our economy growing again at a pace that will lead to significant job growth.”

In making the case for a cut, cap, and balance plan, Senate Republicans have been arguing the need for a balanced budget amendment, which all 47 GOP senators are cosponsoring. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) explained the need for a balanced budget amendment to Townhall.com, where Elisabeth Meinecke writes, “Though the Senate GOP introduced a one earlier this year, President Obama has stated emphatically otherwise, telling Americans last week during a press conference that the country does not need a balanced budget amendment. ‘Yes, we do,’ Lee told Townhall when asked to respond to the president, adding later when talking about simultaneously raising the debt ceiling and cutting spending, ‘We can’t bind what a future Congress will do. We can pass laws that will affect this year, but there will be a new Congress that takes power in January of 2013, and then another new one that will take power in January 2015. And they will make their own spending decisions then -- we can’t bind them unless we amend the Constitution to do so.’ Lee points out that the American people support the idea of a balanced budget – 65 percent, according to a Sachs/Mason Dixon poll from this year . . . .”

And yet President Obama is still not getting the message. After the president said on Friday that “we don’t need a constitutional amendment” to balance the budget, the White House today announced on a conference call with communications director Dan Pfeiffer and top economic adviser Gene Sperling that Obama would veto the GOP cut, cap, and balance plan.

As Sen. Orrin Hatch, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said in the Weekly Republican Address Saturday, “The only reason this Administration doesn’t want a constitutional amendment is because they want to keep spending the American people’s money. And the only reason congressional Democrats would refuse to pass it, is because they know the people of this country would rise up and quickly ratify it. A balanced budget amendment makes sense; its time has more than come. Now, Congress must act.”

After the Administration announced that the President would veto H.R. 2560, the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011. which the House is expected to vote on this legislation tomorrow, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said: "It’s disappointing the White House would reject this common-sense plan to rein in the debt and deficits that are hurting job creation in America. While American families have to set priorities and balance their books, this White House obviously isn’t serious about making the same tough choices. While the House is once again acting responsibly, the Administration still won’t say what cuts it’s willing to make to end Washington’s spending binge and the economic uncertainty it’s creating. This unfortunate veto threat should make clear that the issue is not congressional inaction, but rather the President’s unwillingness to cut spending and restrain the future growth of our government. If we are going to raise the debt limit and avoid default, the White House must be willing to demonstrate more courage than we have seen to date. The House will proceed as planned with its vote on the Cut, Cap and Balance Act.”

To quote Reince Priebus, RNC Chairman, "Make no mistake -- it is too much spending that has gotten us where we are, not too little revenue. Barack Obama has burned through $3.7 trillion of taxpayers' money, bringing the debt to an astonishing $14.3 trillion -- $46,000 for every man, woman, and child in America. The Obama Democrats' irresponsible call for massive tax increases on the already overburdened American people is a non-starter. It's time for serious reform. It's time for a Balanced Budget Amendment."

It amazes me that President Obama would threaten a veto this bill. His arrogance exceeds all expectations.

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