McCaskill: New Spending Cap Bill Could Cost Me My Seat

By Rachel Whitt

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) introduced Tuesday a spending cap legislation that “could cost me my Senate seat.”

“This is the kind of bill that people ought to be willing to go home over,” McCaskill said. “This is the time in our history that it’s going to take some courage and something way more important than whether we get re-elected.”

The Missouri senator berated the current “unsustainable path”, saying it is time for Congress to “start making decisions our grandchildren would be proud of.”

McCaskill challenged her fellow lawmakers to support the “politically risky” bill in order to sustain fiscally responsible spending decisions that will lead to “long term” effects on the economy.

“This is the kind of budgeting process the American people long for,” McCaskill said. “If we’re going to get to long term spending decisions that are healthy for our economy…this bill is a necessity.”

The Commitment to American Prosperity (CAP) Act, introduced by McCaskill and Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), is designed to bring the congressional spending rate down from 24.7% of GDP to 20.6%. The CAP Act purposes a ten-year plan to reduce discretionary and mandatory spending. It would also require a complete assessment of all government spending, including previously “off-budget” spending such as Social Security.

“The safest thing to do is to keep spending money and not cause any waves,” McCaskill said. “This bill is all about causing waves.”