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Federal Budget Offensive Off To Rough Start
House Republicans Set To Offer Rival Budget
By Joe Murray, The Bulletin
When Barack Obama was campaigning for the presidency, he promised to unite red and blue America — Republicans and Democrats. And while he initially failed to bridge the ideological gap with his stimulus and spending bills, Mr. Obama has found the way to unite the nation — in opposition of his massive budget bill.
Facing Republican criticism over wasteful spending and Democratic concern Mr. Obama’s 2008 coattails will not stretch into 2010, lawmakers are beginning to balk at the level of spending contained in a budget that would generate $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade.
“We cannot allow the Democrats to impose further financial burden on the hardest working groups in our country who are fighting to make ends meet,” said U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Republicans, largely steamrolled by Democrats in Congress during previous economic debates, have been criticized for not producing an alternative to the president’s budget.
But one congressman signaled Sunday this situation will be changing.
“The House Republicans are going to come up with a budget alternative that is going to be built on fiscal restraint and getting this economy growing again,” U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., told ABC’s “This Week.”
Throughout the budget battle, Senate Republicans have been reluctant to put forth and alternative, and the leadership in the House has been lukewarm at best.
Mr. Pence, a staunch fiscal conservative, pledged his proposal would be comprehensive and would seek to put an end to a Democratic spending spree many conservatives believe is making the economic crisis worse.
“It’s going to be a comprehensive alternative. And let me tell you, after — it’s after months of runaway spending on the federal level. I mean, we saw last — last year’s Wall Street bailout, the part of — auto bailout, and then we saw the so-called stimulus bill, then the omnibus bill,” Mr. Pence said.
Republicans, however, are not the only lawmakers concerned as Democrats have also put forth a few obstacles to the passage of Mr. Obama’s budget.
U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said this week he would not use the budget reconciliation process to push through some of Mr. Obama’s more controversial parts of the budget, such as health care and energy reforms. The budget reconciliation process would permit Democrats, who are two seats shy of a filibuster-proof majority, to sidestep Republican opposition.
The Obama budget, though already standing on shaky ground, came under intense criticism Friday after the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan group, forecasted the 2009 deficit estimate would be $1.845 trillion, four times the record breaking amount in 2008.
But yesterday, Mr. Obama sought to distract the nation from his budget’s price tag and used dire language associated with the environment to convince Americans his budget must pass.
“We’ve seen enough,” Mr. Obama said at the White House. “We can remain the world’s leading importer of foreign oil, or we can become the world’s leading exporter of renewable energy.”
The administration, however, understands its budget is not a done deal and Mr. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will make trips to Capitol Hill this week to lobby for congressional support.
Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us
Facing Republican criticism over wasteful spending and Democratic concern Mr. Obama’s 2008 coattails will not stretch into 2010, lawmakers are beginning to balk at the level of spending contained in a budget that would generate $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade.
“We cannot allow the Democrats to impose further financial burden on the hardest working groups in our country who are fighting to make ends meet,” said U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Republicans, largely steamrolled by Democrats in Congress during previous economic debates, have been criticized for not producing an alternative to the president’s budget.
But one congressman signaled Sunday this situation will be changing.
“The House Republicans are going to come up with a budget alternative that is going to be built on fiscal restraint and getting this economy growing again,” U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., told ABC’s “This Week.”
Throughout the budget battle, Senate Republicans have been reluctant to put forth and alternative, and the leadership in the House has been lukewarm at best.
Mr. Pence, a staunch fiscal conservative, pledged his proposal would be comprehensive and would seek to put an end to a Democratic spending spree many conservatives believe is making the economic crisis worse.
“It’s going to be a comprehensive alternative. And let me tell you, after — it’s after months of runaway spending on the federal level. I mean, we saw last — last year’s Wall Street bailout, the part of — auto bailout, and then we saw the so-called stimulus bill, then the omnibus bill,” Mr. Pence said.
Republicans, however, are not the only lawmakers concerned as Democrats have also put forth a few obstacles to the passage of Mr. Obama’s budget.
U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said this week he would not use the budget reconciliation process to push through some of Mr. Obama’s more controversial parts of the budget, such as health care and energy reforms. The budget reconciliation process would permit Democrats, who are two seats shy of a filibuster-proof majority, to sidestep Republican opposition.
The Obama budget, though already standing on shaky ground, came under intense criticism Friday after the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan group, forecasted the 2009 deficit estimate would be $1.845 trillion, four times the record breaking amount in 2008.
But yesterday, Mr. Obama sought to distract the nation from his budget’s price tag and used dire language associated with the environment to convince Americans his budget must pass.
“We’ve seen enough,” Mr. Obama said at the White House. “We can remain the world’s leading importer of foreign oil, or we can become the world’s leading exporter of renewable energy.”
The administration, however, understands its budget is not a done deal and Mr. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will make trips to Capitol Hill this week to lobby for congressional support.
Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us
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