Posted on 07/26/2011 5:00:49 PM PDT by RummyChick
Fellow Conservatives:
I have troubling news. I’m very careful about criticizing my party’s leaders, but what is happening in Washington right now cannot be ignored. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has abandoned the Cut-Cap-Balance Act and is now pushing a new plan that is nearly identical to the one proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).
The Boehner-Reid plan gives the President an immediate increase in the debt limit and only promises to cut spending in the future. It violates all three principles of the Cut-Cap-Balance Pledge because it does not substantially cut current spending, it does not truly cap future spending, and it does not require the passage of a strong Balanced Budget Amendment before raising the debt limit.
In short, I oppose the Boehner-Reid plan because it won’t balance the budget and stop the debt that is destroying our country.
The Boehner-Reid Plan
You will hear many claims about this plan over the next few days as it is pushed through the House and Senate. Some of these claims will be true, but many will be false. Here are the facts. The Boehner-Reid plan:
* Provides two increases in the debt limit — $900 billion and $1.6 trillion — totaling $2.5 trillion. It gives the President an immediate $900 billion increase given that Congress does not vote to disapprove it. It gives the President another $1.6 trillion increase next year if a bill written by a new Super Committee passes both houses and becomes law.
* Reduces spending by only $1.2 trillion over the next ten years. This amount won’t even come close to balancing the budget, as the debt is expected to grow by as much as $10 trillion over the next decade. The plan also reduces spending by only $6 billion in 2012. Considering that our government currently spends $10 billion a day, $6 billion is far too little to cut over the first year of the plan.
* Calls for a vote on the Balanced Budget Amendment but does not require its passage. Without passage of a strong Balanced Budget Amendment, Congress will never break its addiction to spending.
* Makes it virtually impossible to stop the debt limit from going up. The debt ceiling increases can only be stopped if Congress passes a resolution of disapproval and then votes to override the President’s veto with two-thirds support in the House and Senate.
* Creates a new, 12-member Super Committee to write another “grand bargain” to reduce the deficit by at least $1.6 trillion. It does not, however, prohibit the Super Committee from writing a bill to raise taxes and destroy jobs. The bill can then be fast-tracked through the House and Senate with no amendments.
Why It Should Be Rejected
After reviewing the details of Boehner-Reid plan, I cannot support it. It won’t balance the budget and stop the debt. Even if the cuts called for in the plan were real, the debt will still increase by $7 trillion over the next ten years.
* It won’t protect our AAA bond rating. According to financial reports, this plan will not reduce long-term spending by enough to prevent a downgrade. If we lose our AAA rating, it will create higher interest rates and cause our debt to grow even faster.
* It will likely result in higher taxes that will destroy even more jobs. The unemployment rate is over 9 percent. We cannot afford to lose more jobs when so many Americans are struggling to find work.
There are some in my party who think I should ignore the flaws of the Boehner-Reid plan, bite my tongue, and support my party’s leaders. If I thought this were a political game, that might make sense. But the future of our country is at stake, I don’t believe this plan will save it, and I have a moral obligation to say so.
The Way Forward
Fortunately, there is a much better solution.
The Cut-Cap-Balance Act would balance the budget, stop the debt, and protect our AAA bond rating. This legislation passed the House with bipartisan support but was blocked by Democrats in the Senate.
The votes in the Senate for Cut-Cap-Balance are there if Republicans stand firm. 23 Democrats in the Senate have expressed support for the Balanced Budget Amendment at some point in their careers. They’re blocking it now because they believe Republicans will blink and agree to something much less.
And that’s exactly what will happen if the Boehner-Reid plan is passed. It gives the big spenders in Washington everything they wanted — an increase in the debt limit, phony spending cuts, and a mechanism to pass tax increases.
Please call your senators today and urge them to oppose the Boehner-Reid plan and to demand passage of the Cut, Cap, Balance Act.
Don't forget the Tea Party rally tomorrow in DC.
bump.
But I guess he decided to throw that all away.
AGAIN!!! is the kicker. When will we ever learn???
Some Freepers think we should wait and not criticize Boehner until we see what he does.
Big mistake.
Here we are, just on the verge of winning the battle, with Obama looking worse and worse every time he goes on TV, and Boehner wants to cave.
Again. He has repeatedly caved, again and again and again. That is why we cannot afford to wait and see what he does. We need to keep the pressure on and make sure they understand that we will throw the bums out if they do this again.
This is their last chance. Screw it up, and the GOP is dead.
I wonder how this happened. It looks like House rules were broken.
Former Rep. Istook Appears on House Floor Opposing Boehner Plan
*ping*
This is Boehner and Dingy Harry's way of giving political cover to the TEA Party Caucus in the House and the Commie Caucus in the Senate. By setting up a BRAC type system, in which this "super committee" determines which cuts to make (if any) and which taxes to raise in secret, its recommendations would be rushed to the floor of both houses, passed by voice vote, and then sent to Obama for his signature. No debate. No amendments. It'll be take it or leave it, and we'll all be sold down the river.
And this thing has Mitch McConnell's fingerprints all over it.
I knew they would cave, just not so quickly.
R U Gonna Be posting some pics? I hope so.
interesting.
i have no knowledge of house rules.
All Boehner had to do was hold the line while Demint and friends worked the vote over the weekend.
Instead, he scares up a non-exsistant Asian Market Emergency....
Trump is right when he said Republicans are horrible negotiators
You got less than one chance, Boner, you sonofabitch, and so do we.
As far as I can tell, the GOP is about to kill itself, and take the country with it in the process.
Well stated. Just damn.
What is WRONG with this man? Boehner, I mean. Is he drunk?
Obama I know. Boehner - I cannot figure out.
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I don't trust Boner. Thank you Sen. DeMint for speaking the truth. Now if you'd only dump Romney.
This is the second time. Looks like time for a new Speaker to me.
I like CC&B because it has teeth. I also think Boehner believes
the passage of CC&B will be blamed on Republicans in 2012 fostered by the MSM. Pass Boehners plan and we get Obama for another 4 because the MSM will make him a hero negotiator even though he did squat. I say go for CC&B and let the chips fall where they may.
I don’t see how this will get past a House vote... considering what was said earlier today by several House leaders... like 176 House Republican Members are not in favor...
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