|
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Frist Calls on Bush to Suspend Funding
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) will call on President Bush today to give Congress a list of offsets to potentially make up for spending related to Hurricane Katrina. This request is partially based on the fact that Katrina spending has conservatives in both chambers of Congress worried about how this recovery spending will affect the nation's deficits.
Frist will also apparently call on the President to do a formal Budget Act "rescission request" that would temporarily -- and possibly permanently -- suspend some federal spending to help pay for Katrina relief. According to an aide, Frist did not provide details on possible dollar figures, either for the offsets or the rescission request. Under the Budget Act provision (which is also known as impoundment authority) the White House can temporarily suspend federal spending for up to 45 days of "continuous session," typically 60 days from the date of the request. Suspending regular spending to deal with the cost of Katrina is neither responsible nor is it necessary. Yes, Katrina spending will add to our deficit, but the deficit can be brought down by a combination of responsible spending cuts and phasing out (or repealing) certain tax cuts. Frist's "responsible" call for a suspension on spending leads one to wonder where he and other prominent GOP leaders were when Bush passed trillions of dollars worth of tax cuts in 2001 and 2003.
Posted by Becky Lewis
|