Posted on 07/19/2011 6:58:39 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
John Boehner and the Republican caucus in the House passed the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act as promised on a near-party-line vote tonight, 234-190. The move puts the onus back on the White House to propose an alternative or assume responsibility for killing the debt-ceiling hike it contains:
Defying a veto threat, the Republican-controlled House passed legislation Tuesday night to slice federal spending by $6 trillion and require a constitutional balanced budget amendment to be sent to the states in exchange for averting a threatened government default.
The 234-190 vote marked the power of deeply conservative first-term Republicans, and stood in contrast to stirrings at the White House and in the Senate on a renewed effort at bipartisanship to solve the looming debt crisis.
Members of Congress have begun to fill e-mail inboxes with their reaction. From the upper chamber, Pat Toomey “applauds”:
“Today, my House colleagues have shown a willingness to raise the debt limit, but only if the president puts us on a path to a balanced budget. I applaud the House’s passage of the Cut, Cap and Balance Act and hope that the Senate will send this bill to the president’s desk,” Sen. Toomey said. “I find it hard to believe that the president would be so opposed to a path to a balanced federal budget that he would veto this legislation and reject the debt ceiling increase he claims is absolutely vital for the country.”
Paul Ryan declares victory:
“The House of Representatives continues to advance serious solutions to get our budget on the path to balance and our economy on the path to prosperity. The Cut, Cap and Balance legislation passed today cuts $5.8 trillion in spending over the next decade, locks in those savings with enforceable caps on spending, and forces Washington to finally live within its means with a Balanced Budget Amendment.
“The coming debt crisis is the single most predictable economic disaster in the history of this nation. Unfortunately, the White House refuses to put forth a credible plan to solve our spending problem, and Senate Democrats have not passed a budget in over 800 days. I remain hopeful that responsible leaders will work with us to advance specific solutions that uphold our solemn commitment to leave the next generation with a stronger, more prosperous nation than the one we inherited.”
However, Paul Broun sounds a dissent:
“I gave my word to my constituents in Georgia and to the rest of the American people that I would not vote for any bill that increases the debt limit. Although the Cut, Cap, and Balance bill is a step in the right direction, it still raises the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion, and we simply cannot afford it.
“Also missing from the Cut, Cap, and Balance bill is the urgency to pay down the debt by immediately reducing the outrageous spending levels to which Washington has become so accustomed. Unfortunately, the cuts outlined in Cut, Cap, and Balance take effect over a period of ten years. We no longer have ten years to spare – it’s too little, too late.
“Undoubtedly, we have to cap spending and we must enact a balanced budget amendment, but Congress can get these tasks done without raising the debt ceiling. I have introduced bills to both lower the debt ceiling and to balance the budget.
“We’ve been down this road before. Administrations of the past have agreed to raise the debt ceiling on a contingency that cuts would be made in future budgets – but those cuts never materialized. It’s long past time to stop obligating our constitutional duties – along with our budgetary problems – to both future Congresses and future generations.”
Similarly, Michele Bachmann voted no on the final passage. She had been adamant about not raising the debt ceiling, offering a yes vote only in exchange for a full repeal of ObamaCare.
Either way, Republicans have now passed their second bill this session that attempts to address the exploding deficits and the debt crisis, the first being Paul Ryan’s budget plan in April. Meanwhile, Democrats in the Senate haven’t bothered to pass any budget resolution in over 800 days, and the White House still refuses to offer any specific ideas.
You are missing my point. The Republicans have done the responsible thing. They have passed in the House a FY-2012 budget and now another bill, i.e., cut, cap, and balance, to raise the debt ceiling and cut spending now and in the long term. They have put the ball squarely in Obama's court as President of the United States and Commander in Chief. Obama and the Dems have yet to produce a budget in over two years or a real plan to deal with the debt ceiling and cutting expenditures.
This is not grandstanding. It is trying to get Obama and the Democrats to address this crisis, which gets worse by the day. The Democrats control the WH and the Senate. They have to exercise some responsibility and leadership. How is it being callous to present them with a proposal and then ask them to come up with their own or accept the consequences? The August 2 deadline was set by Obama months ago. They have dithered doing nothing, which means that they are trying to create a crisis and take political advantage of it by blaming Reps.
Are my words meant for a plea to compromise? No. I am just asking that we not get too excited about having bad things happen at the hands who those that are ready to hurt our country just so we can throw blame to win elections. At least let’s be solemn about what may be at hand and what cost we may have to endure.
There are times when you must take a stand based on principle and what is best for this nation. I have no idea what you mean by getting "too excited about having bad things happen." Who is causing those bad things to happen? Throwing blame to win elections is what the other side is attempting to do. They are not serious about addressing our national debt and enormous annual deficits. They are playing politics while the country is headed over a cliff.
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson
Thanks kabar,
That was a very thoughtful post, and I agree with you. I don’t blame the Republicans for proceeding with what they should do, and I realize the Democratically controlled congress, previous to this House, would not work on a budget and never had one for a very long time. I totally agree with what you say and with the stand you shared.
I’ll add this, so you can know for sure how I really stand.
You said: There are times when you must take a stand based on principle and what is best for this nation.
Here’s my deal. My husband is retired Army, retired after 25 years of service to our country. Something may change, but from what I can tell so far, I believe we will have exactly what you first described... No deal on the day set by Obama, and I believe he will do his utmost to create chaos, hurt people, and try to make it look like it was somehow the Republicans fault. I know it is not the fault of the Republicans, so please don’t come at me for that. I believe Obama will TRY to make things horrible, blame it on Republicans, and also take good advantage (or try to at least) of a mess he will purposely have created. You see, this is what I expect from this president.
Then this is what will happen to my husband and me if that does happen. I believe Obama WILL chose on August 2nd, and he may be going against some laws or may not need to, but I believe he will cut off those August monthly social security payments and payments to the disabled veterans and retirement checks of retired military (my husband’s and my category being retired military). I don’t worry about active duty military. I have heard plenty of congressmen say active duty military should not have to worry about their families not being able to make mortgage payments and pay electric bills back home. Active duty military families will probably be protected. I have heard nothing of such protections to retired military, and obviously, we can’t even say our spouses are oversees fighting and they should not worry. No. We are just plain citizens, having given already of our time to our nation and now living on a retirement, and for some of those, maybe another job that took its place (for some retired, no job, just retired).
I FULLY expect that if Obama gets a chance, he will sock it to the military, and even if he can’t get a hold on hurting active duty families, he may have the chance to stop retired paychecks going to people like my husband and I.
Do know I understand it doesn’t HAVE to be that way. I just think that if Obama is given the opportunity you mentioned, to pick and chose who he wants to hurt, I think we will be one casualty.
Now please then know this... I told you that so I could tell you this.
Fully aware that my scenario is a possibility, I have spent these last few weeks getting hold of my feelings and emotions about losing our primary income. You see, my husband retired from the military and then went to seminary and doesn’t have a full time job yet. That loss of our retirement income would be devastating to our family. However, I have come to be able to accept the fact that if that is what we have to endure for the good of our country in the long run, then that is what we need to do. And I am NOT going to riot in the streets like I believe this administration, behind the scenes, will muster up along with losses of many people’s income at the same time.
So we may be faced with no retirement check, and then consequently no money to pay our mortgage, electric, or whatever else we won’t be able to muster up funds for.
But you know what, I have struggled with this and have dealt with it so that I know I will stand firm irregardless. I do NOT want to be a part of the chaos I believe could be encouraged. Instead, I will stand with my head high, even if we lose everything, because... well, that was the way it had to be.
I know there are some on here who don’t like the military and don’t like that their tax dollars go to them, but it was my husband’s service, and it is now all we have. If we lose the retirement income, so be it, and I have prepared myself so I can take that stand.
I believe I am taking the stand on principle that is firm and honorable, and I believe I can only do that BECAUSE of my stand for this nation and for doing what is right.
I only wish is didn’t have to be that way for us in doing so.
It is indeed unfortunate that Obama's hyperbolic rhetoric has frightened you and your family. It is really despicable. I think your fears won't be realized for a number of reasons. There is no way you will not receive your SS and pension checks. Obama is the lowest of the low even insinuating that will happen. It is irresponsible and untrue.
I can understand your concerns. I am a retired USG employee with 36 years of service including 8 years in the USN and 28 years in the Foreign Service. I get both a SS check and a federal pension. I don't doubt for a minute that my pensions will be paid. These scare tactics are not going to work. If a long term deal can't be worked out immediately, there will be a short term fix to kick the can down the road a few months. Fear not. Our Founders risked far more than the possible loss of a check from the government. The fate of our nation is at stake.
Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others.
Winston Churchill
Thanks for sharing your positive outlook, and I hope you are right.
I don’t think it is a matter of the scare tactics that cause me as much concern as does what I think Obama would do if given the chance. I hope he never gets the chance to create a mess of our country’s finances for socialist gains (aka Cloward-Piven approach or even just simple attempted blame game tactics), but if he does get an opportunity to “pick and chose” on August 2, and if what COULD happen did, then I am prepared mentally and emotionally to stand firm and continue to believe in what our country has to do to make things right, no matter what the cost to me personally. Don’t like the thought, but if it happens, I wanted to work this out within myself beforehand so if I was faced with a worst case scenario for my family and me, I would handle it gracefully and with character.
And yes, if I understand it correctly, the money you and I get as retirement pensions is in a separate fund away from what should be affected anyway, and military retirement or SS should, by law, and could, by all measures, keep coming. However, Obama did not care about the law by contacting Congress for Congressional approval when he started this last war. Why should I believe he would follow any laws about funding then?
I think my concerns are based far more on distrust than Obama’s fear tactics. I do agree that he is a low life politician, at best, to even make sounds that he will cut these funds off, but he has made them, and I believe the worst of this president.
I hope you are right, that our retirement pensions and those other such retirement incomes for others won’t be purposely used as a ploy by this administration, but as I said in my previous post, if they are, I have spent these last few weeks working it out in my heart and in my mind so that I can hopefully stand for what is right no matter what.
Thanks for the kind post, and if you did place that “courage” tag on there as a means of support in any way, thank you for that as well. I pray I can stand up and be courageous if only in my own little scheme of things.
Best wishes, and I’ll see you around FR.
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