Thursday
Feb042010
GOP Doesn’t Mind Being ‘Party Of No’ On Spending
Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 12:45PM
With Democrats in the Senate getting set to put forth a jobs bill, perhaps as early as Monday, their counterparts across the aisle are saying ‘no’ to more spending.
“We have a situation now that’s just too serious to continue to handle that way,” said Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) on Thursday. “It’s not an exaggeration to say our country is on the edge of a financial cliff.”
DeMint and fellow GOP Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and George LeMieux (R-Fla.) unveiled their party’s latest attempt to restore fiscal responsibility to Washington, calling on Congress to support a one-year moratorium on earmarks along with a Constitutional Amendment to balance the federal budget.
“What we’re doing here today, is to try and challenge everyone in the Senate -- Republican and Democrat -- to join us in those steps that we can take...to address our growing deficit,” said DeMint.
“Everything is gonna get cut...it’s gonna be painful, but I guarantee you that we can cut the agencies of government...by 20 percent even, maybe 30 percent,” added LeMieux.
McCain, a noted opponent of federal earmark spending, blasted President Barack Obama for supporting using unspent Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) funds to fuel a jobs bill which could total over $100 billion.
“The President says he’s gonna have a spending freeze next year, and in the very next breath proposes a hundred billion dollars in new spending called a ‘jobs bill.’ It’s out of control.”
The hard part now for the 11 cosponsors of the measures will be to actually practice what they preach. Graham, for example, has a known record of not being averse to requesting earmarks. As recently as 2009, he helped secure nearly 10 million dollars to fund construction of a fitness center inside Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina.
Graham, however, said he’s willing to bite the proverbial bullet in the short-run.
“It would be tough for us all, but it’s the right thing for the future. So I don’t mind an earmark system in the future that’s transparent, that’s logical and fits within a balanced budget.”
“We have a situation now that’s just too serious to continue to handle that way,” said Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) on Thursday. “It’s not an exaggeration to say our country is on the edge of a financial cliff.”
DeMint and fellow GOP Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and George LeMieux (R-Fla.) unveiled their party’s latest attempt to restore fiscal responsibility to Washington, calling on Congress to support a one-year moratorium on earmarks along with a Constitutional Amendment to balance the federal budget.
“What we’re doing here today, is to try and challenge everyone in the Senate -- Republican and Democrat -- to join us in those steps that we can take...to address our growing deficit,” said DeMint.
“Everything is gonna get cut...it’s gonna be painful, but I guarantee you that we can cut the agencies of government...by 20 percent even, maybe 30 percent,” added LeMieux.
McCain, a noted opponent of federal earmark spending, blasted President Barack Obama for supporting using unspent Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) funds to fuel a jobs bill which could total over $100 billion.
“The President says he’s gonna have a spending freeze next year, and in the very next breath proposes a hundred billion dollars in new spending called a ‘jobs bill.’ It’s out of control.”
The hard part now for the 11 cosponsors of the measures will be to actually practice what they preach. Graham, for example, has a known record of not being averse to requesting earmarks. As recently as 2009, he helped secure nearly 10 million dollars to fund construction of a fitness center inside Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina.
Graham, however, said he’s willing to bite the proverbial bullet in the short-run.
“It would be tough for us all, but it’s the right thing for the future. So I don’t mind an earmark system in the future that’s transparent, that’s logical and fits within a balanced budget.”