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John McCain, Evan Bayh team up on spending freeze bill (McCain wants to give 0 a line-item veto)
Politico ^ | 2010-01-26 | Meredith Shiner

Posted on 01/26/2010 12:05:08 PM PST by rabscuttle385

Sens. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) are jumping on the spending freeze bandwagon, calling on Congress to flatline discretionary spending—and they issued a challenge to the president the day after the White House proposed its own three-year budget freeze.

"If the president is serious—and I believe he is—he should also say tomorrow night he will veto the first appropriations bill that comes to his desk that has an earmark on it," McCain said.

The Fiscal Freeze Act of 2010, which Bayh and McCain hope to introduce to the Senate later this week, includes provisions to install a spending freeze and earmark moratorium until the deficit is eliminated, enforce the Congressional budget resolution as binding law and even create a constitutionally viable line-item veto to "give the President power to strike out wasteful earmarks and other extraneous spending items."

Both McCain and Bayh are up for re-election this year.

The senators’ announcement comes after a failed 53-46 roll call vote on creating a statutory deficit commission amendment and in advance of Wednesday's State of the Union address, when Obama plans to announce his spending freeze on non security spending.

When asked about his take on Obama's about-face on spending caps — and the president's accusation when he was a candidate that McCain was out-of-touch for suggesting just such a spending freeze — McCain commended the President's recent actions while gently chiding his rhetoric on the trail.

"I think the president understands now how serious this problem is, that it requires hatchets and scalpels. It requires a hatchet to get the budget under control and it requires a scalpel to eliminate wasteful and unnecessary spending," McCain said. "So I appreciate the fact that the president has changed his position since the campaign."

(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; Government; Politics/Elections; US: Arizona; US: Indiana
KEYWORDS: 111th; agenda; bayh; bho44; dnc4mccain; du4mccain; huffpo4mccain; kos4mccain; mcbama; mccain; mccain4obama; mccaintruthfile; mcinsane; mclame; mcstain; obama; obama4mccain; rino; rinomccain; rinos4obama
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1 posted on 01/26/2010 12:05:11 PM PST by rabscuttle385
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To: rabscuttle385

Call his bluff!


2 posted on 01/26/2010 12:07:02 PM PST by Burkean (.)
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To: lmarie373; Abundy; missanne; Victoria Delsoul; 50mm; stockpirate; Eaker; ducdriver; ChrisInAR; ...
The Fiscal Freeze Act of 2010, which Bayh and McCain hope to introduce to the Senate later this week, includes provisions to install a spending freeze and earmark moratorium until the deficit is eliminated, enforce the Congressional budget resolution as binding law and even create a constitutionally viable line-item veto to "give the President power to strike out wasteful earmarks and other extraneous spending items."


3 posted on 01/26/2010 12:07:33 PM PST by rabscuttle385 (Purge the RINOs! * http://restoretheconstitution.ning.com/)
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To: rabscuttle385
Interesting since Republicans won that seat making it difficult for Dems to just pass anything without working for it that Senator McCain is crossing the isle again. I find the timing very interesting.
4 posted on 01/26/2010 12:08:00 PM PST by napscoordinator
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To: rabscuttle385

Hasn’t the line-item veto been ruled unconstitutional?


5 posted on 01/26/2010 12:08:54 PM PST by GunRunner
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To: rabscuttle385

Awesome, you just KNOW zero won’t dare anger his lobbyist friends. Fine work, McCain. This will expose this “freeze” for what it is, pure appearance politics.


6 posted on 01/26/2010 12:09:33 PM PST by jyoders19
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To: rabscuttle385

McCain! You friggin IDIOT!
He’ll only use it to punish conservatives!!!


7 posted on 01/26/2010 12:10:17 PM PST by G Larry (DNC is comprised of REGRESSIVES!)
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To: GunRunner
Hasn’t the line-item veto been ruled unconstitutional?

When was that ever an obstacle to him?

8 posted on 01/26/2010 12:10:46 PM PST by mazda77 (Rubio for US Senate - West FL22nd - Dockery for Gov. - JD Hayworth - US Senate)
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To: rabscuttle385

i wonder how he is going to create a constitutional line item veto considering that the Supreme Court has already said that a line item veto is a violation of the separation of powers.


9 posted on 01/26/2010 12:10:52 PM PST by jdub (A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.)
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To: rabscuttle385

LOL. Except entitlements, defense, education, social services, new stimuluses, new tax credits....


10 posted on 01/26/2010 12:11:03 PM PST by sickoflibs ( "It's not the taxes, the redistribution is spending you demand stupid")
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To: rabscuttle385
Its a good step in the right direction and another sign Obamacare is dead. We can't afford a $1 trillion dollar new entitlement. The focus now is on cutting the deficit and creating new jobs. Its not the season for new spending initiatives. Yes, Massachusetts changed the entire political dynamic in Washington. We wouldn't be having this taking place if Scott Brown had lost.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find only things evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelogus

11 posted on 01/26/2010 12:11:28 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: rabscuttle385

“”I think the president understands now how serious this problem is, that it requires hatchets and scalpels. It requires a hatchet to get the budget under control and it requires a scalpel to eliminate wasteful and unnecessary spending,” McCain said.”

McAmnesty doesn’t care how much money is wasted...as long as it’s wasted on his PET projects. He’s just grandstanding..again!

Saturday, February 09, 2008
Bill to improve health care…in Mexico! McCain strikes again!

What would Americans think, then, of a member of Congress who introduced legislation, not to improve health care in the United States, but to improve health care in Mexico?

Insane? Drunk? Unworthy of public office?

What would Americans think, then, of a bill introduced in Congress that required federal agencies to come up with a plan, not to expand health coverage in the United States, but to expand health coverage in Mexico?

Impossible? Unthinkable? Wildly irresponsible?

What would Americans think, then, of the motives of a senator, who not only introduced a bill to improve Mexico’s health care system and extend coverage to a growing population of 120 million people, but gave health insurance companies the right to help devise the plan?

Blatantly corrupt? Grossly indifferent to the well-being of the American people? Downright treasonous?

Unbelievable as it may seem, the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005 contained a provision giving insurance companies the right to help devise a plan for extending US health care to Mexico (Sec. 1004. BINATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE AND HEALTH INSURANCE).

Even more unbelievable, the senator who sponsored the bill is not on the verge of being thrown out of office for this odious piece of legislation. No, the senator who introduced the bill, Senator John McCain of Arizona, is on the verge of locking up the Republican nomination to be our next president[snip]

http://towncriernews.blogspot.com/search?q=john+mccain+fred+thompson

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 12, 2005

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. GRAHAM, and Mr. SALAZAR) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

TITLE X—PROMOTING ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

Sec. 1001. Federal reimbursement of emergency health services furnished to undocumented aliens.

Sec. 1002. Prohibition against offset of certain Medicare and Medicaid payments.

Sec. 1003. Prohibition against discrimination against aliens on the basis of employment in hospital-based versus nonhospital-based sites.

Sec. 1004. Binational public health infrastructure and health insurance.
http://opensourceactivist.org/content/legislation/S1033/text.php#sec1004


12 posted on 01/26/2010 12:11:34 PM PST by AuntB (If Al Qaeda grew drugs & burned our forests instead of armed Mexican Cartels would anyone notice?)
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To: rabscuttle385

Its time for him to GO!


13 posted on 01/26/2010 12:12:02 PM PST by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: jyoders19

This wouldn’t be a line-item veto on anything congress voted on in the original bill. It would just apply to earmarks stuffed in during committee, the culprit in 90% of the wasteful spending in Washington. If congress originally approved it, Obama couldn’t veto it. I’m sure it’s constitutionality would be questioned, too, but the constitution never even mentions earmarks so I doubt the supremes would come down on the side of the porkers.


14 posted on 01/26/2010 12:12:33 PM PST by jyoders19
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To: jyoders19

On a side note, any potential legal challenge would run the risk of the SCOTUS declaring earmarks unconstitutional and illegal, as well.


15 posted on 01/26/2010 12:14:06 PM PST by jyoders19
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To: rabscuttle385
I would support giving 0bama or any president a line-item veto, even though it would require a Constitutional Amendment to do so. Then it would be impossible for the president to play the "Congress did it" card when it comes to deficits.

I say the GOP should go for this, even offer the whole caucus in both houses to vote in support of such an amendment.

16 posted on 01/26/2010 12:14:31 PM PST by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
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To: rabscuttle385
From George Will's Washington Post

QUOTE Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said: "If we accept your constitutional argument, we're establishing a precedent that you yourself say would extend to banning the book" -- a hypothetical 500-page book containing one sentence that said "vote for" a particular candidate. UNQUOTE

Who now wants to support the co-author of the McCain Feingold attempt to crush Political Free Speech ?


17 posted on 01/26/2010 12:15:32 PM PST by pyx (Rule#1.The LEFT lies.Rule#2.See Rule#1. IF THE LEFT CONTROLS THE LANGUAGE, IT CONTROLS THE ARGUMENT.)
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To: rabscuttle385

http://www.cato.org/testimony/ct-sm032300.html

Interesting commentary on LIV.
McCain involved in this one too.
Interesting how when Reagan wanted this, no one in congress was interested.


18 posted on 01/26/2010 12:16:36 PM PST by Marty62 (former Marty60)
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To: rabscuttle385

I think this might be brilliant. Offer up a Line Item Veto to Zero....That makes HIM totally responsible, not the Congress. And, its not like the Republicans are going to get anything passed into a bill anyway, so there’s not going to be too many pet projects taken away from Reps to start with. Then, when we get a conservative in there, bar the door Katy, lets start with some serious cuts!


19 posted on 01/26/2010 12:17:17 PM PST by BallparkBoys (Republicans spend $100,000 getting women into clothes while Democrats spend $100,000 getting women o)
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To: GunRunner

Yes, it has been ruled unconstitutional. Mark Levin and his group looked into this extensively and concluded that that was a correct decision.

This is grandstanding.


20 posted on 01/26/2010 12:17:47 PM PST by Bahbah (Only dead fish go with the flow)
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