Democrats May Skip Appropriations To Protest Republican Spending Cuts
I’ll believe it when I see it, but since they haven’t passed a budget in years, maybe they should skip appropriations.
If you don’t budget, you shouldn’t get to spend.
Amid lingering differences with the House over government spending, Senate Democrats may not pass any appropriations bills before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) today said the major hurdle to completing the appropriations process is the House GOP, which has been pushing for spending cuts greater than what was agreed to under last year’s Budget Control Act. The House is moving its spending bills in accordance with the House Republican budget resolution, which sets spending at $19 billion less than the $1.047 trillion spending level agreed to in that measure.
“We passed last August legislation that is now law that set forth the spending for this country during the next fiscal year,” said Reid. “They refuse to adhere to that. So that makes it hard to do these appropriation bills.”
Reid’s grousing about cuts that go beyond what the Budget Control Act called for is rich given that the BCA, which raised the debt ceilings, put in place spending caps. Spending was not to go beyond the capped levels agreed to last year.
Democrats like Reid have chosen to define those caps as mandated spending levels, and any spending below those caps as a violation of the BCA. Which is, of course, ridiculous.
But if Democrats want to punish us by refusing to appropriate, I’m fine with that. Maybe it will lead to some real deficit reduction.
Tags: deficits, harry reid, national debt
