Posted on 06/20/2006 10:50:09 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - In an election-year bid to polish their credentials as fiscal conservatives in an election year, Senate Republicans on Tuesday advanced a bill designed to force cuts in the spiraling growth of federal benefit programs while also reviving the line-item veto.
The measure, written by Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and approved by that panel by a 12-10 party-line vote, combines several ideas aimed at putting the brakes on spending. Most striking, the bill would force mandatory cuts to the deficit, enforced by across-the-board cuts to benefit programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and unemployment insurance if Congress can't meet deficit targets on its own.
"This bill renews and re-energizes the budget process to bring enforceable discipline to federal spending," Gregg said.
Gregg acknowledged that his bill won't pass the full Senate, and Republicans seem to welcome the prospect of a filibuster by Democrats. That would allow them to accuse Democrats of being weak on controlling spending while sparing Republican moderates from having to vote on the bill's more controversial elements.
Democrats criticized the measure as overreaching in its attack on benefit programs. But the measure pleases Republicans' core political supporters, who have been disappointed by the party's performance on spending.
"If it passes, that's wonderful. If we simply have the debate, that's wonderful," said tax-cut activist Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. "That's the perfect issue."
The bill revives the idea of the line-item veto as requested by President Bush, though in a much weaker form than passed by Congress in 1996 and struck down by the Supreme Court two years later. The new version would allow the president to single out wasteful items contained in bills he signs into law, and it would require Congress to vote on those items again.
Under the proposal, it would take a simple majority in both House and Senate to approve the items over the president's objections. The old line-item veto allowed the president to strike items from appropriations and tax bills and required a two-thirds margin of both House and Senate to override a veto.
The House is slated to vote on a similar line-item veto plan Thursday and GOP leaders were scrambling Tuesday to assemble the votes to pass the bill.
Gregg, however, vowed not to break off his line-item veto plan for a separate vote.
The bill also revives the Gramm-Rudman mechanism of setting hard deficit targets and requiring across-the-board cuts if they are not met. Unlike the Gramm-Rudman law, the across-the-board cuts apply to benefit programs such as Medicare, welfare and unemployment insurance instead of annual budgets of Cabinet agencies such as the Defense Department.
Uh, "polish"? I think more like "begin to establish", given their behavior in recent budgets.
Better late than never, I guess.
Gregg acknowledged that his bill won't pass the full Senate, and Republicans seem to welcome the prospect of a filibuster by Democrats. That would allow them to accuse Democrats of being weak on controlling spending while sparing Republican moderates from having to vote on the bill's more controversial elements.
-- Damn,, for more reasons than one.
It sure looks like it.
I would hope that the obstructionist energy tactics of the left and moderate weinies gets as much airplay as this..
oft times, election years leave much to be desired when it comes to meaningful results legislation-wise.
Forget about polishing their credentials. If any of these jerks voted for the Senate version of the Immigration bill, throw 'em out!
Pffft!!! A bill that even the bill's sponsor says upfront won't pass??? This is what passes for election year pandering these days??? What's the point? Call me when you actually do something more than jaw about the drunken-whore budget.
That is all.
/disgust
Yep, it's a stunt.
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