Democrats Love Affair With $1.5 Trillion In New Taxes

Bankrupting America: Debt Crisis
 Obama told Good Morning America
that he doesn't believe we have
a debt crisis. With the national debt
 approaching $17 trillion - on its way to
$20 trillion in the next 4 years - it's time
for Washington to wake up to reality.

Today in Washington, D.C. - March 14, 2013
The House today began consideration of taking up H.R. 803 which will reform and strengthen the workforce investment system of the Nation to put Americans back to work and make the United States more competitive in the 21st century.

Yesterday, the House passed (246-181), H.R. 890 which prohibits waivers relating to compliance with the work requirements for the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families, and for other purposes.

Today, the Senate resumed consideration of H.R. 933, the House-passed continuing resolution that funds the government through the end of September.  At 11:15, the Senate began voting on two amendments to H.R. 933, one from Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and one from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) which would freeze the hiring of non-essential federal employees for the rest of the fiscal year. More amendment votes are possible today.

Democrat Senators On Budget Committee Unanimously Opposed Balancing The Federal Budget:
The committee member votes on the following two amendments addressing this issue follow:
Sen. Sessions Amendment would reduce revenues in the Chairman’s Mark to the level of revenues in CBO’s February baseline and reduce total outlays such that the Democrats’ budget would balance in FY 2023.
YEAS (10): Sessions, Grassley, Enzi, Crapo, Graham, Portman, Toomey, R. Johnson, Ayotte, Wicker
NAYS (12): Murray, Wyden, Nelson, Stabenow, Sanders, Whitehouse, Warner, Merkley, Coons, Baldwin, Kaine, King
Sen. R. Johnson Amendment would create a new 60-vote point of order against any budget resolution that does not produce a surplus in any year after FY 2022.
YEAS (10): Sessions, Grassley, Enzi, Crapo, Graham, Portman, Toomey, R. Johnson, Ayotte, Wicker
NAYS (12): Murray, Wyden, Nelson, Stabenow, Sanders, Whitehouse, Warner, Merkley, Coons, Baldwin, Kaine, King

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has filed cloture on the Mikulski substitute amendment that is the bill text the Senate is working from and on the underlying bill. A cloture vote would be held tomorrow unless an agreement to hold it earlier is reached. Yesterday, all 45 Senate Republicans voted for Sen. Ted Cruz’ (R-TX) amendment to defund Obamacare, but majority Democrats all voted to kill it.

Also yesterday, the Senate rejected a motion to table an amendment from Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), which cuts funding for infrastructure projects in Guam. The McCain amendment was then adopted by voice vote.

Speaking on the floor this morning, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell discussed the extreme, tax-hiking budget that Senate Democrats unveiled yesterday: “Instead of getting Washington spending under control, their proposed budget doubles down on the same wasteful ‘stimulus’ spending we already know doesn’t work. In fact, at a time when Americans believe about half of every dollar they send to Washington is wasted, the Democrat budget would increase spending by nearly 62 percent. Their budget will do more to harm the economy than to help it, and it will let Medicare and Social Security drift closer to bankruptcy. And then there’s the Democrats’ $1.5 trillion tax hike. Trillion with a T. Let me just repeat that: any Senator who votes for that budget is voting for a $1.5 trillion tax hike, the largest in the history of our country. So the Senate Democrat budget is more than just disappointing: it’s extreme. It’s really one of the most extreme, most left-wing budgets of the modern era. It says something, I think, about today’s Washington Democrats.”

Even mainstream media outlets have noted the irresponsible numbers in Democrats’ budget. The New York Times points out, “Under their budget, Senate Democrats would have the government running a deficit of nearly $600 billion in 10 years.” That’s still nowhere close to eliminating the deficit. And according to The Washington Post, “[W]ith annual deficits hovering around $500 billion for much of the decade, [under the Democrats’ budget] the debt would remain at historically high levels, rising from $16.7 trillion today to $24.3 trillion by 2023, or 94 percent of the nation’s economy.”

And, Senate Democrats seem to have even surpassed President Obama in their tax and spend ways in this budget. The Post notes, “On one side of the Capitol, President Obama sought to convince House Republicans on Wednesday that he is serious about reining in the rising cost of federal health and retirement programs. But on the other side of the Capitol, Senate Democrats rolled out a 10-year spending plan that sent a different message: Not so fast.” In fact, “Senate Democrats are resisting the reforms the president has laid on the table. Instead of $400 billion in Medicare savings, Murray’s blueprint offers $275 billion from both Medicare and Medicaid. And instead of $700 billion in new tax revenue, her blueprint seeks nearly $1 trillion.” Actually, it’s since been revealed that Democrats now want $1.5 trillion in tax hikes in their budget.

As Leader McConnell said, “There was a time when the Democrat Party cared about fiscal responsibility, when Democrats understood the need to be concerned about the impact their policies would have on hardworking taxpayers. A time when they would have rejected this budget as a joke. But those voices of reason have mostly been chased out of today’s D.C. Democrats. The few who remain have been sidelined and silenced throughout the budget process. Even the Chairman of the Finance Committee has been pushed aside so his fellow Democrats can quickly ram through their massive tax hike. So, it will be no surprise to hear that my caucus opposes this left-wing manifesto masquerading as a responsible budget. And when Americans get a chance to digest their budget and the one House Republicans put forward earlier this week, they will see some clear differences. . . . In short, they will see a bold, reformist Republican budget centered on their needs, and an extreme Democrat budget centered on the needs of Washington bureaucrats and politicians.”

Yesterday, in an op-ed in the Washington Post and provided to the ARRA News Service by the Speaker's office, Speaker Boehner recalled the president to the table asking, "Obama’s outreach is nice, but where’s the leadership?" Boehner wrote, "So it was a good meeting. House Republicans welcomed the chance for a frank exchange of ideas with President Obama on Wednesday. Outreach is always positive, and more Republicans in this town need the opportunity to have an open dialogue with our president. I hope these discussions continue.

. . . If we’re going to find bipartisan solutions, the president will have to move beyond the same proposals and Democratic dogma. For all of Washington’s focus on the president’s outreach to Republicans, it’s his engagement with members of his own party that will determine whether we succeed in dealing with the challenges facing our economy.

Take the budget. At a time when our economy continues to limp along and every American’s share of our national debt exceeds $52,000, Washington owes the people a responsible, balanced budget. The plan Republicans introduced this week balances the budget in 10 years. Instead of spending money we don’t have to expand government, our budget focuses on growing the economy and improving the lives of American families. Our balanced budget means more economic security for workers and parents, a more secure retirement for the elderly and more opportunities for younger workers.

Recognizing the reality of divided government, Republicans launched an effort in January to try to bring Senate Democrats to the table. Republicans’ “No Budget, No Pay” law requires Senate Democrats to pass a budget for the first time in four years or lose their salary. This has worked, and if both chambers pass their budgets next week, we’ll have another opportunity to reconcile two very different visions for the future.

I don’t underestimate the difficulty of this task, especially given that Senate Democrats have no interest in balancing the budget. The president also doesn’t share the goal of a balanced budget, despite frequent talk of a “balanced approach.” But we need to try, because doing so is vital to ensuring that our children and grandchildren have a chance to live the American dream.

The problem, in large part, is that Democrats refuse to make the tough choices necessary to solve our long-term debt crisis. Despite enacting $650 billion worth of tax hikes in January, they would rather raise taxes again and tinker around the edges on entitlements — if at all — while spending on these and many other federal programs continues on autopilot.

This is not how we’ll fix Washington’s spending problem. The president knows that. During our debt discussions in 2011, he supported such reforms as raising the Medicare eligibility age and achieving savings in Medicaid. He has since taken these reforms off the table. Instead of continuing to backpedal, the president could put these ideas back in the mix — and make it so that this budget process isn’t just a political exercise that goes nowhere.

To be sure, there are other parts of our budget the president can embrace, including approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. The State Department released a report this month that makes clear there is no reason to further delay this project, which enjoys broad public support and will create tens of thousands of American jobs. Unfortunately, lawmakers and interests in the president’s party are standing in the way. This is another chance for the president to forge common ground and stand up for middle-class jobs.

All of these bipartisan discussions are encouraging, and Republicans hope they will lead to real solutions that help American families. But presidential leadership is really what’s needed. By shifting the focus from charm to courage, and eventually action, we can guarantee our children a future where everyone has the opportunity to find work and pursue their piece of the American dream. That would be the grandest bargain of all."

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Tags: Democrat Budget, $1.5 Trillion, tax increase, debt, National debt, Speaker Boehner, op-ed To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!