House GOP Debt Limit Deal Represents Opportunity for Taxpayers

ATR ^ | 2011-07-27 | Mattie Corrao

[92nina]

The Budget Control Act offers an opportunity for lawmakers to net real spending reform - serious conservatives should not miss their chance.

Americans for Tax Reform continues to support the Budget Control Act of 2011 after CBO released an updated estimate of the bill's budgetary impact. The only serious proposal that addresses the country's debt crisis, the Budget Control Act institutes real cuts, establishes enforceable spending caps on discretionary spending and requires a vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution in Congress.

Most importantly, it fulfills the pledges made by House Republicans throughout the entire debt limit debate: No "clean" debt limit hike that ignores the government's spending problem, cuts greater than borrowing authority extended and no tax increases. Specifically, the House debt limit proposal:

• Extends $900 billion in borrowing authority (roughly enough for the next six months) in exchange for savings of $917 billion over the next ten years. This is a cut of about 8 percent of total expected discretionary spending for half of a year of borrowing authority.
• Removes outlay caps from the first version of the bill, reducing the amount of money actually going out the door in next year's budget. This limits budgeted spending to two percent annual growth while tightening the amount of actual spending allowed to occur in 2012. This results in savings of $25 billion next year alone.
• Proves that the House-negotiated FY2011 Continuing Resolution was a good deal for taxpayers - CBO's updated projections to include the deal show it will save taxpayers $122 billion over the next decade. Under the Obama budget, spending would have increased by over $400 billion in the same time.
• Requires additional real savings of at least $1.8 trillion before the President can request additional borrowing authority...

  Read more: http://www.atr.org/house-gop-debt-limit-deal-represents-a6372#ixzz1TPmeuWbk

[92nina]

To be blunt, the only way to support this deal is to trust that Congress would actually make the future cuts.

Take this article and others I found to the fight to the Libs on their own turf; put the Left on the defensive at at Digg and at Reddit and in Stumbleupon and Delicious

[Founding Father]

To be even more blunt, the cuts are b.s.

[92nina]

I fear that you are right, but it may be a good sign that the Democrat senators oppose it. (Unless they’re smart enough to pull off a ‘don’t throw me into the briar-patch’ routine.)

[radioone]

"trust that Congress would actually make the future cuts"

Would you trust a rattlesnake not to bite????