Posted on 02/11/2011 2:31:28 PM PST by Libloather
GOP veteran: Tea Party freshmen may rue $100B in cuts
By Erik Wasson - 02/11/11 04:59 PM ET
The $100 billion in budget-cuts being forced by Tea Party freshmen may come back to haunt them, a veteran lawmaker and close ally of Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Friday.
Asked if new members grasp what it means to cut $100 billion, Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa) said “they’ll be informed soon I am sure by a lot of constituents.”
“There are going to be ramifications,” said Latham, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee sub-panel on transportation and housing.
GOP leaders and appropriations on Friday were scrambling to put the final touches on a spending measure after having to re-write their bill because of a revolt by junior members.
The GOP leaders were going to present a measure funding the government for the rest of the fiscal year that would cut spending by $74 billion from President Obama’s budget request last year. Obama’s budget was never enacted, so the GOP’s initial plan would have reduced current spending by $32 billion.
Tea Party freshman balked, saying they wouldn’t accept cuts less than $100 billion from Obama’s budget request. The new plan would cut about $58 billion from current spending.
Latham added that it is also important to keep your word, and he understands where freshmen are coming from.
He also said the dispute between leadership and freshmen arose over “a matter of interpretation” of what the Pledge to America meant when it said the GOP would cut spending to 2008 levels in the first year.
Freshmen, he said, take that to mean the final seven months of fiscal 2011. Leadership believes it means the GOP’s whole first year in office, which would include the first three months of the next fiscal year.
The Appropriations cardinal also said that the leadership version of the bill had a better chance of being accepted by the Senate and becoming law, and this was a reason to back it. He said the new deeper cuts risk a situation where only a funding measure at the 2010 level remains in place once the Senate blocks the bill.
“I did think that there was a reasonable opportunity for us to come up with an agreement the way the bill was before,” he said. “I would like to see some real cuts enacted and my concern is that we could end up just with a continuing resolution getting re-enacted that just continues funding at current levels and we don’t see any reductions.”
Interior and Environment Appropriations subcommittee Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) agreed Friday that the new version of the bill has less of a chance of getting through the Senate than the old bill.
But he said, the House cannot worry about the Senate at this point, and will have to negotiate when the time comes. This could lead to a government shutdown, he acknowledged, but he said that is not the GOP aim.
“I know for a fact that House leadership does not want a shutdown,” he said, adding that a series of short-term funding measures is the likely scenario next month.
One of the Tea Party-backed freshman acknowledged Friday that the new members are unlikely to see $100 billion in cuts make it into law.
“There is no question that the Senate is not going to do what we want them to do,” said freshman Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). “There is going to have to be negotiations.”
I agree. Make it $200 billion - minimum.
I’m looking for $700-800 billion myself.
The Democrats were jacking up spending a trillion at a time, and we are debating $100 billion in a full year? Really?
Good God. DC is lost.
I RUE that’s it’s not 500b in cuts!!
If our government is not capable of cutting a mere $100B from today’s bloated federal budget, it’s time to water the tree of liberty. Any politician who will rue the reaction to those cuts has no business in DC in the first place.
Let’s make it an even trillion. You know what they say: a trillion here, a trillion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.
How about $1,000 billion in cuts to start?
Looks like Latham needs to be replaced. I hope someone is keeping track.
The Democraps are always bragging about the wonderful economy under Clinton.
Fine, Republicans should just admit that the economy was wonderful under Clinton and adopt Clinton’s budget for 2001, his last year in office.
“There is going to have to be negotiations”
Absolutely false. Make the cuts and send the bill to the Senate with the message “This is the deal and there will be no changes”. Let the Rinos and Rats in the Senate vote it down and blame the ensuing govt. shutdown on the Rats.
NO NEGOTIATIONS!....red
The real question is why did John Bonehead and the GOP promise 100 Billion in cuts before the election, if they could not deliver?
The answer is they thought that they could promise the cuts to get votes and let it slide after they regained power.
Unfortunately for Bonehead and the old guard, people are holding them to their word these days.
Plus 100 Billion is a drop in the bucket of the overall budget. It’s time to name names of those resisting so that they can be replaced by non-liars. It appears the Tea-Party has much work left to do in the coming elections.
“I agree. Make it $200 billion - minimum.”
Yep. We’re big boys and girls and we can just tighten our belts and quit looking to poor old Uncle Sucker for everything. He’s tapped out!
So sick of those BIG FAT OLD GUYS!!!!
By the time this is over, the federal government will be bankrupt, and the people will be demanding the arrest of these fools, and the seizure of their property.
The way they are acting is like they don't wanna put on a jock strap, pads and helmets and get out there to play the game like they mean it. They think this is a damned Pep Rally and all they have to do is show up and look pretty while making a few stage moves.
They either make real cuts - damned deep ones, or they will lose this country; they've already lost me. I'm not going to give them one red cent.
Let's see how they like their perks as the minority again and not having any money at all. Let them dodge the hundreds of whackos that are going to lose their government largesse....let'em dodge that.
ONE HALF TRILLION DOLLARS is meaningful, anything less is bullshit.
I know I’ve said in the past I would never vote third party......I’m seriously reconsidering it now. The GOP is about to split apart at the seams. They better pull their heads out or no more GOP for me.
If AMTRAK can’t be cut, nothing can be.
We need more Tea Partiers in DC, and I’ll push the cutting to 300 billion.
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