Dems: Discretionary Spending Is Not Out Of Control | GOP: Why Are Taxpayers Funding Moroccan Pottery Classes
Today in Washington, D.C. - Jan. 29, 2013
The Senate reconvened at 10 AM today and it’s possible Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid could schedule a vote today on the nomination of Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) to be Secretary of State. Kerry's nomination was voted out of committee yesterday. Also, yesterday, the Senate voted 62-36 to pass H.R. 152, the Sandy Relief. Prior to final passage, the Senate voted down 35-62 an amendment from Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) which would have offset the cost of the bill with spending cuts.
The House convened at 1 pm and 4 minutes later adjourned until 11 a.m. on Friday, February 1, 2013. However, Feb 1st being a Friday, it will be short formality. The House will meet at 2 p.m. on Monday, Feb 4th.
Dems: Discretionary Spending Is Not Out Of Control
The Weekly Standard’s Daniel Halper noticed Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) saying on the Senate floor that “I am not going to keep cutting the discretionary budget, which, by the way, is not out of control, despite what you hear on Fox News . . . .” It’s rather amazing that Democrats are so blind to our spending problems that some will go as far as to claim they’re a mirage somehow created by Fox News.
GOP: Why Are Taxpayers Funding Moroccan Pottery Classes
In a speech in December, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell named example after example of questionable discretionary spending that Sen. Landrieu seems to think isn’t a problem: “Senator Coburn has shown all of us some of the ridiculous things the taxpayers are paying for with their tax dollars, some of the things that cause us to spend a trillion dollars more than we take in every year. Last year, he put out a report showing how we could save more than $100 billion — or about one tenth of the annual deficit — just by eliminating duplicative and overlapping government programs. We’ve got 94 federal initiatives aimed at encouraging ‘green building’ through 11 federal agencies. We’ve got 14 programs with the sole purpose of reducing diesel emissions. . . . Senator Coburn issued a study that showed taxpayers are funding Moroccan pottery classes, promoting shampoo and other beauty products for cats and dogs, and a video game that allows them to relive prom night. Get this: taxpayers also just spent $325,000 on a Robotic squirrel named RoboSquirrel.”
Sen. Landrieu says spending “is not out of control” but taxpayers are funding Moroccan pottery classes and robotic squirrels?
In the Weekly Republican Address on Saturday, Senator John Thune discussed the scope of the spending problem: “Over the past four years, our country has added nearly $6 trillion to the national debt. At $16.4 trillion, our nation’s total debt is now larger than our entire economy. This means that every man, woman, and child owes a $53,000 share of this debt. That level of spending is unsustainable. . . . Needless to say, we can’t go on like this forever. Eventually, we are simply going to run out of money. And no tax increase, no matter how high, will be enough to save us. The only way—the only way—to dig ourselves out of this hole and put our country on a sound financial footing is to get spending under control.”
Leader McConnell said today, “Republicans have done their part. The budgets passed by House Republicans over the past couple of years contained fresh ideas that would help solve our fiscal crisis. And policymakers from both chambers — and from statehouses across the country — have put forward a number of their own ideas and proposals too. But . . . Four years on, President Obama and Congressional Democrats still have yet to offer a serious plan to address the economic challenges we face. They’ve been content to wage political war instead. . . . Last week, I came to the floor with a chart that showed that even if the President got every single tax increase he asked us for, we still would not even come close to solving this problem. Not even close. So let’s not waste time with more pointless arguments about tax increases. We had that debate already; it’s done, it’s over. Instead, I call on Democrats to approach the spending debate with the seriousness it demands, and to do it through regular order.”
No Budget, No Pay
Rep.Steve Scalise Chairman, House Republican Study Committee responded today to the Democrats refusal to establish a budget for the last four years and to live up to the same standards as most American families and businesses do when the establish budgets.
Scalise points out that the actions of the U.S Senate are "not only irresponsible - it’s also illegal." He added. " Yet the Senate has simply ignored the law for the last four years. In order to preserve the American Dream for future generations, Washington must stop the budget gimmicks and rein in the out of control spending that is killing American jobs and placing an unbearable mountain of debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren. It is long-past time that the Senate pass a budget as required by law. It is time to put American families first by moving the federal government towards a budget that balances within the next ten years.
"Last week, the House, with the collaboration of the RSC, took the first step in halting Washington’s spending addiction by voting for H.R. 325 ('No Budget, No Pay'), which places Members’ salaries in escrow after April 15th until they pass a budget. “No Budget, No Pay,” will force the Senate to do its job and craft a budget for the first time in four years. Since regaining control of the House of Representatives two years ago, House Republicans have passed a budget each year, but because of the Senate’s lack of action, American families have suffered.
"'No Budget, No Pay,' was the first of many steps to put us on a path to a balanced federal budget within 10 years, but it is certainly not our last step. We must do more. Entitlement spending is out of control, accounting for about 60% of federal outlays, and we will never get our debt crisis under control until we tackle serious entitlement reform. To add insult to injury, the liberals’ tax, spend and regulate approach is killing our small businesses and American jobs, further jeopardizing our ability to create economic growth for our country. Washington’s old way of operating by spending now and sending the bill to our kids is over, and I am proud of the work we just started to make Washington tighten its belt so we can get our economy back on track and preserve the American Dream for the next generation."
Tags: Washington, D.C. John Kerry, nomination, Secretary of State, Democrat spending, wasted spending, no budget, no pay To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The Senate reconvened at 10 AM today and it’s possible Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid could schedule a vote today on the nomination of Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) to be Secretary of State. Kerry's nomination was voted out of committee yesterday. Also, yesterday, the Senate voted 62-36 to pass H.R. 152, the Sandy Relief. Prior to final passage, the Senate voted down 35-62 an amendment from Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) which would have offset the cost of the bill with spending cuts.
The House convened at 1 pm and 4 minutes later adjourned until 11 a.m. on Friday, February 1, 2013. However, Feb 1st being a Friday, it will be short formality. The House will meet at 2 p.m. on Monday, Feb 4th.
Dems: Discretionary Spending Is Not Out Of Control
The Weekly Standard’s Daniel Halper noticed Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) saying on the Senate floor that “I am not going to keep cutting the discretionary budget, which, by the way, is not out of control, despite what you hear on Fox News . . . .” It’s rather amazing that Democrats are so blind to our spending problems that some will go as far as to claim they’re a mirage somehow created by Fox News.
GOP: Why Are Taxpayers Funding Moroccan Pottery Classes
In a speech in December, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell named example after example of questionable discretionary spending that Sen. Landrieu seems to think isn’t a problem: “Senator Coburn has shown all of us some of the ridiculous things the taxpayers are paying for with their tax dollars, some of the things that cause us to spend a trillion dollars more than we take in every year. Last year, he put out a report showing how we could save more than $100 billion — or about one tenth of the annual deficit — just by eliminating duplicative and overlapping government programs. We’ve got 94 federal initiatives aimed at encouraging ‘green building’ through 11 federal agencies. We’ve got 14 programs with the sole purpose of reducing diesel emissions. . . . Senator Coburn issued a study that showed taxpayers are funding Moroccan pottery classes, promoting shampoo and other beauty products for cats and dogs, and a video game that allows them to relive prom night. Get this: taxpayers also just spent $325,000 on a Robotic squirrel named RoboSquirrel.”
Sen. Landrieu says spending “is not out of control” but taxpayers are funding Moroccan pottery classes and robotic squirrels?
In the Weekly Republican Address on Saturday, Senator John Thune discussed the scope of the spending problem: “Over the past four years, our country has added nearly $6 trillion to the national debt. At $16.4 trillion, our nation’s total debt is now larger than our entire economy. This means that every man, woman, and child owes a $53,000 share of this debt. That level of spending is unsustainable. . . . Needless to say, we can’t go on like this forever. Eventually, we are simply going to run out of money. And no tax increase, no matter how high, will be enough to save us. The only way—the only way—to dig ourselves out of this hole and put our country on a sound financial footing is to get spending under control.”
Leader McConnell said today, “Republicans have done their part. The budgets passed by House Republicans over the past couple of years contained fresh ideas that would help solve our fiscal crisis. And policymakers from both chambers — and from statehouses across the country — have put forward a number of their own ideas and proposals too. But . . . Four years on, President Obama and Congressional Democrats still have yet to offer a serious plan to address the economic challenges we face. They’ve been content to wage political war instead. . . . Last week, I came to the floor with a chart that showed that even if the President got every single tax increase he asked us for, we still would not even come close to solving this problem. Not even close. So let’s not waste time with more pointless arguments about tax increases. We had that debate already; it’s done, it’s over. Instead, I call on Democrats to approach the spending debate with the seriousness it demands, and to do it through regular order.”
No Budget, No Pay
Rep.Steve Scalise Chairman, House Republican Study Committee responded today to the Democrats refusal to establish a budget for the last four years and to live up to the same standards as most American families and businesses do when the establish budgets.
Scalise points out that the actions of the U.S Senate are "not only irresponsible - it’s also illegal." He added. " Yet the Senate has simply ignored the law for the last four years. In order to preserve the American Dream for future generations, Washington must stop the budget gimmicks and rein in the out of control spending that is killing American jobs and placing an unbearable mountain of debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren. It is long-past time that the Senate pass a budget as required by law. It is time to put American families first by moving the federal government towards a budget that balances within the next ten years.
"Last week, the House, with the collaboration of the RSC, took the first step in halting Washington’s spending addiction by voting for H.R. 325 ('No Budget, No Pay'), which places Members’ salaries in escrow after April 15th until they pass a budget. “No Budget, No Pay,” will force the Senate to do its job and craft a budget for the first time in four years. Since regaining control of the House of Representatives two years ago, House Republicans have passed a budget each year, but because of the Senate’s lack of action, American families have suffered.
"'No Budget, No Pay,' was the first of many steps to put us on a path to a balanced federal budget within 10 years, but it is certainly not our last step. We must do more. Entitlement spending is out of control, accounting for about 60% of federal outlays, and we will never get our debt crisis under control until we tackle serious entitlement reform. To add insult to injury, the liberals’ tax, spend and regulate approach is killing our small businesses and American jobs, further jeopardizing our ability to create economic growth for our country. Washington’s old way of operating by spending now and sending the bill to our kids is over, and I am proud of the work we just started to make Washington tighten its belt so we can get our economy back on track and preserve the American Dream for the next generation."
Tags: Washington, D.C. John Kerry, nomination, Secretary of State, Democrat spending, wasted spending, no budget, no pay To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 2:19 PM - Post Link
1 Comments:
And furnishing the enemy with F-16 and Tanks? Misappropriation of funds gets you arrested and fired unless you are in Congress or the White House.
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