|
Thursday, May 18, 2006
House Passes Budget Resolution 218-210
At 1:30 AM last night the House passed their version of the budget resolution after Majority Leader Boehner had repeatedly put off the vote because he didn't have enough support to pass the bill. The $2.8 trillion measure, H.Con.Res. 376, just barely passed 218-210 after moderates led by Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) decided to support the measure. The moderates had originally proved to be a thorn in the side of the leadership on this vote but ultimately caved yesterday, agreeing to support the resolution even though the deal they were seeking (for an additional $3.1 billion for health and education programs) came in the form of a promise as opposed to real changes in the resolution. Apparently Castle and others received assurances that this extra money would not come from cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, or other programs for the needy.
Rep. David Obey (D-WI), a Democrat in strong opposition to the budget resolution, was particularly critical of the moderates, saying: "I was wondering whether the Republican moderates were going to stick to their guns when they said that they knew that it was wrong to pass a budget that provided $40 billion in tax cuts for people who make a million dollars a year while you're squeezing the guts out of education and health programs. We now know the answer. They are doing a poor imitation Bert Lahr, the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz.... The fact is, they are now selling out for a promise that if some time in the deep dark distant future somebody does something to change this budget resolution, then there might be a table scrap or two left for additional education and healthcare." Lawmakers generally are not expecting a conference agreement on the measure to be worked out with the Senate, which passed a bill spending $16 billion above the House version.
Zero Democrats crossed the aisle to support this budget resolution, although three, Kennedy (D-RI), Larson (D-CT), and Stupak (D-MI), did not vote. Twelve Republicans rejected the budget. These were Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Gerlach (R-PA), Goode (R-VA), Hostettler (R-IN), Johnson (R-IL), Jones (R-NC), McHugh (R-NY), Otter (R-ID), Ramstad (R-MN), Renzi (R-AZ), Sweeney (R-NY), and Wilson (R-NM).
The Budget Resolution Increases the Debt Limit
Authors of the budget resolution slipped in easy-to-overlook yet very important language concerning the U.S. debt limit, which Congress last raised by $653 billion on March 16. Passage of this bill would automatically increase the debt limit again to almost $10 trillion next year, and has it moving to $11.3 trillion by FY 2011. This provision is nothing more than House leaders trying to pull one over on the American people. An automatic increase of the debt limit would free them from having to actually vote on an increase next year, and would allow them to avoid the (well-deserved) scrutiny that would accompany the fifth debt ceiling increase since President Bush took office. If the debt limit increases to $10 trillion next year, it would mean that the level of federal debt will have increased under President Bush by almost $4 trillion. When he took office, the debt ceiling sat at $5.95 trillion. No President has come close to increasing it a fraction of what Bush has done. The language to increase the debt limit can be seen in the bill on page five.
Posted by Becky Lewis
|