Leg. Update: Some Republicans Helped Defeat Anti Spending Amendments

Red Meat Conservative ^ | 02/17/11 | Daniel

[red meat conservative]

While the House Republicans have shown more austere leadership than the Senate, they are far from infallible.  Ultimately, every Republican will likely support the final version of the CR (Continuing Resolution for FY2011 budget), however, a number of them are silently helping Democrats defeat some additional spending cuts through the amendment process throughout the week.  Unfortunately, it is hard to focus the public's attention on a rapid fire legislative session with 583 amendments, and is therefore too arduous to bear pressure upon the dissenters.

Let's remember that Republicans control the House by 242-193.  With the vacancy of one Republican, it takes 24 GOP defections to support the Democrats on a given roll call vote.  Here are some much needed, non-defense, budget cutting amendments that were struck down by virtue of GOP collaboration:

• Amendment No. 260—Rep. Latta (R-OH):  The amendment would reduce the funding for the “Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Construction of Research Facilities,” by $10 million, bringing the appropriation from $58 million to $48 million.  The amendment would transfer the $10 million to the Spending Reduction Account.  Funds transferred into the spending reduction account are designated as savings and lower the 302(b) allocation for a given subcommittee.  Funds transferred into the spending reduction account cannot be allocated elsewhere in the bill.

 The Amendment failed 184-247 with the help of some 82 Republicans.  This was a modest cut from a program that is questionable to begin with.

• Amendment No. 110—Rep. Duncan (R-SC):  The amendment would reduce funding by $324,400,000 for the Legal Services Corporation, Payment to the Legal Services Corporation.

This is a whopping $300 million for government subsidized legal services?  And yet, it failed 171-259 with the help of 68 Republicans.

• Amendment No. 192—Rep. Biggert (R-IL):  The amendment would reduce funding for the Department of Energy, Energy Programs, Advanced Research Projects Agency by $50,000,000.  The funds would be transferred into the spending reduction account.  Funds transferred into the spending reduction account are designated as savings and lower the 302(b) allocation for a given subcommittee.  Funds transferred into the spending reduction account cannot be allocated elsewhere in the bill.

This much needed cut for DOE "research programs" failed 170-262 with the support of 75 Republicans.  The entire department needs to be defended so they can't use their "research" to stifle energy productivity.

• Amendment No. 259—Rep. Latta (R-OH):  The amendment would reduce by $70,000,000 the Department of Energy, Energy Programs, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.  The amendment would also increase by $70,000,000 the amount made available to the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Spending Reduction Account.  Funds transferred into the spending reduction account are designated as savings and lower the 302(b) allocation for a given subcommittee.  Funds transferred into the spending reduction account cannot be allocated elsewhere in the bill.

This cut in the DOE is the same deal as the previous amendment.  It failed 137-293 with the help of 103 Republicans.

• Amendment No. 193—Rep. Lummis (R-WY):  The amendment would reduce the funding for the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land management, Land Acquisition by $2,750,000, available unobligated prior year funds reduced by $2,250,000, Department of Interior, United States Fish and Wildlife Services, Land Acquisition by 15,055,000, available unobligated prior year funds by $2,500,000, the Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, land Acquisition by 9,100,000 and available unobligated prior year funds reduced by $3,400,000.  The funds, $35,055,000 would be transferred into the spending reduction account.  Funds transferred into the spending reduction account are designated as savings and lower the 302(b) allocation for a given subcommittee.  Funds transferred into the spending reduction account cannot be allocated elsewhere in the bill. 

The Bureau of Land management is one of the most insidious and devastating actors in the infringement of energy production and private property.  The amendment still failed 213-216 with the help of 32 Republicans.  This is inexcusable.

• Amendment No. 376—Rep. Flake (R-AZ):  The amendment would reduce funding for the EPA for Science and Technology by $64.1 million, from $790.5 million to $726.4 million.  The savings would be transferred to the spending reduction account.  Funds transferred into the spending reduction account are designated as savings and lower the 302(b) allocation for a given subcommittee.  Funds transferred into the spending reduction account cannot be allocated elsewhere in the bill.

 Not only would this AMDT save $64 million from the federal budget, it would probably salvage billions of dollars from the private sector by restraining the EPA's war on economic growth.  Amazingly, it failed 199-230 with the complicity of 48 Republicans.

Sadly, there will probably be more of these failed votes during the coming hours.  We need to turn up the pressure on our reps.

[GeronL]

does anyone really think the GOP is actually going to cut spending?

Or at least cut the rate of growth?

[Paladin2]

So, who are the most common denominators?

A list would help guide the Winning The Future.

[GeronL]

They each have their own favorite things I guess.

This is why nothing ever changes.

[tennmountainman]

Does anybody else think this is John Bonehead and Cantors plan? This is the establishments way of diluting the effect of the conservatives?

I think so.

[ken5050]

Some of these irk me also....but for the most part, they're doing the right thing...as for some of these guys who stray off the reservation...well, a few primaries in 2012 will reinforce the point..Napoleon, after he lost a battle, would have a few of his colonels executed, "..pour encourager les autres.."

[muawiyah]

The "amendments" are being made to a bill already on the floor. At the same time some of this stuff was earlier reviewed by Democrat dominated committees ~ and some of it wasn't.

The common denominator seems to have been a claim that the "cut" was the sort of thing better discussed at a committee level ~ WHEN they were preparing to go after regular departmental budgets.

I can appreciate some of this stuff ~ it goes on at the administrative level as well as in Congress ~ let's say you want to build a building (a capital budget item). You need to get it "authorized" at least one full budget year ahead of the authorization for "planning". Once you've gotten it into the capital budget cycle, it's pretty hard to kill it since there's going to have been considerable "sunk costs".

You need to kill such projects when they are just a name on a list ~ that was another "common denominator" ~ they were all long past "name on a list" time. The land acquisition program is a good example of a problem program that probably ought to be killed by some means other than fiddling with the budget authorization. This is the one where BLM, etc. work hand in glove with Sierra Club and some other organizations to deal with private bequests. There'll be a piece of BLM administered public land somebody wants to save and some little old blue haired lady will have donated her family's ancestral ranch to a nonprofit group for eternal preservation.

Money changes hands. Property is sold. Property is rotated around. Property is purchase, and next thing you know that ranch is turned into another ex-uranium mine with a rare species of fecebok!

For a variety of reasons the agency manipulating this stuff needs a special funding authorization ~ I suppose for those few seconds when they actually have to "finance" a purchase of some bequest by a third party.

No doubt there are other shenanigans.

Most Conservatives consider using the government in the process to be totally impermissible. Leftwingtards lap this stuff up and get a thrill thinking about how they "tricked the man" (that is, the little old lady whose bequest triggered the chain of acquisitions and sales).

Stopping this activity for just a few months with budget tricks is not going to work. To get at this one we need to go after the enabling legislation that allows that agency to buy, sell and trade land outside of having an approved capital project (such as is required of USPS, DOD and GSA).

[SaraJohnson]

Seems conservatives fell asleep and voted party rather than common sense for too long. The GOP turned Rino long ago and it’s voters seemed to have not noticed until Obama the commie came along. Sad.

[AdaGray]

Please take names, and post them. Post them everywhere.

[LibLieSlayer]

I believe that we have no chance for our Nation to survive... the repubican leadership and many members are just as corrupt as the dims... 95% of the people in DC are liars, cheaters and thieves... and a handful of good guys cannot overcome the evil that has infested our government. When was the last time our government actually told Americans anything close to the truth? I can't remember any truth since Bush... and he stretched it to the breaking point at times!

LLS

[Kenny Bunk]

Try and act surprised.

The message sent by the Tea Party to the GOP was received as, :

OK fellas. Get back to business as usual. Get your cut!

[tbird-james]

So, where are the promised cuts??

[Kenny Bunk]

The only cut the GOP establishment is interested in is their cut. I.E., Their piece of the action. The only reason they wanted in was to get a better seat at the pork fest.

The Established GOP long ago decided it was far more lucrative to deal from safe minority seats than to actually govern. They just needed some more skin in the game. Surprise, surprise. They have a majority in the house. "Gosh, what do we do now?"

Next time you're in DC, drop by your Republican Representative's office. Try and find out how many members of the staff are registered Republicans. You are in for a shock. Both parties are served by the same left-wing hacks who've been around DC, Father and Son, for years.