Posted on 03/03/2011 9:37:57 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
Senate Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) took Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to task Thursday for the Obama administration’s call for a massive increase in transportation spending.
Given the record deficit this year, Sessions said he was surprised to see Obama’s 2012 budget call for an 11 percent spending increase and a 9.5 percent increase for the Education and Energy departments, respectively.
But, he said, “I was flabbergasted to see Transportation wants 62 percent increase in spending.”
Sessions noted, ahead of LaHood’s testimony on the request, that the Obama budget calls for an unspecified new tax to raise $435 billion to pay for the new six-year, $556-billion infrastructure build-out.
“I just have to say that is unrealistic,” Sessions said. “If you can’t tell us what kind of tax this is, I think there is zero chance of us passing such a tax as this.
“This is another huge gimmick in the budget,” Sessions said later. “This kind of Washington logic has put us in the financial crisis we are in. We cannot continue it. We cannot continue to authorize spending based on a tax that is not going to be collected, probably.”
Sessions asked for suggestions for the tax, and LaHood did not offer any.
LaHood said “we want to work with Congress on that.” He said Obama is not in favor of raising the gas tax in a “lousy economy.”
The new tax would be necessary, in part, because the gasoline tax used to fund the highway trust fund is collecting less revenue than projected due to increasing fuel efficiency.
The exchange between Sessions and LaHood degenerated into a shouting match, with the Transportation secretary emphasizing that infrastructure can be improved and jobs created while paying down the debt.
Sessions shouted back that the Obama budget doesn't pay down a "dime" of the debt.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) countered Sessions by saying, "I think improving infrastructure is more important than tax breaks for billionaires. My colleague may disagree, but that is my view."
Committee Chairman Kent Conrad said U.S. infrastructure is now grade D, but called the funding shortfall a “harsh reality.”
LaHood said other Obama cuts make room for the increase in infrastructure investment, but the plan is necessary to reduce unemployment.
“The president recognizes this is a jobs bill,” he argued.
“...that the Obama budget calls for an unspecified new tax to raise $435 billion...”
I thought porkulus was supposed to be used for “shovel ready” infrastructure jobs. What the heck!
Isn’t every line item a union payoff of some kind?
You can take the ward heeler out of the ward....
Massive increase in transportation spending while cheering that gas heads to $4 per gallon. Obama’s got a schizo goin’ on.
Deficits during the Bush years averaged 3 or 4 hundred billion. The past two years its been around 1.3 trillion.
How hard can it be to refute the administration's argument that excessive cuts would hurt public services? 2/3 of the current deficit is from brand new spending.
And now the Senate is starting to chime in on the theme.
The platform for 2012 is being built in the House and Senate. It's being built in statehouses across the country.
Because they only have the House. They can only do so much legislatively, before the Senate and WH shut the bills down.
But for building a platform for the next election .... that, I think, is being done.
This is a level of corruption beyond belief! Who could possibly support this crap?
“This administration is flat out of control. Why is the GOP pussyfooting around with the democrats on the budget?” ~ skeeter
Because they have no idea what they’re dealing with:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2683024/posts?page=26#26
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2683024/posts?page=27#27
Allowing the current baseline to become institutionalized is a 100 megaton bomb waiting to go off. The GOP has to begin acting like it.
I hope the first order of business in 2013 under the new Republican administration (WH< Senate and House) will be to dismantle the Depts of Education, Energy, Transportation, HHS, HUD, EPA, PBS and any other leaches on the government teat. Next should be to make unions illegal for government employees. That should take care of lots of other excess government employees.
Pass it with a provision that union members are disqualified from working on any projects. They’re doing fine, it’s the non union that need the jobs.
Class warfare. Can it be played both ways?
How many Billionaires do we have and just how much infrastructure could they, combined, afford to improve? Why do these Socialist Democats hate Millionaires more than they hate muslim terrorists?
For decades the Democrats have punished and waged war against achievement...and rewarded undesirable behaviors.
Any jobs created would end up being union jobs,no question about it. It seems like Obama’s whole agenda for the next 22 months till hes replaced is about union building.
Just tell him, we are on to your stupid crap, we don’t care what you want, its time to chop your hands off our wallets..
Hell no..you get nothing...
The left has cultivated the politics of class warfare for decades. How hard could it be to turn their favorite weapon against them, when it has the added advantage of being true?
Given LaHoodlum’s hatred of cars, I’m betting on a gas tax.
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