The House and Senate last week voted on five separate budgets. Two passed. Three didn’t. And one more doesn’t even exist yet.
The one that doesn’t exist yet is President Obama’s. According to law (the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to be specific) the President of the United States is supposed to submit his budget to Congress by February 4th each year. However, this President (apparently believing himself to be above the law) is already more than seven weeks late, and counting.
Of course when one considers how unserious this President’s budget was last year, his budget this year won’t likely contribute much to the process anyway. Why do I say that? Well, his budget last time was such a joke (proposing higher taxes, more Stimulus spending, and never balancing) that not only did it not get a single Republican vote in the House or in the Senate, but it didn’t get a single Democrat vote either. That’s pretty bad.
Now for the five budgets that actually exist, and were voted on last week.
First, and perhaps most significantly, the Ryan Budget. (I voted for it.) It’s named after the Chairman of the House Budget Committee Paul Ryan. It’s an improvement over last year’s Ryan Budget in one major respect. And that’s that according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it actually balances the budget in 10 years, compared to last year when it didn’t balance until 28 years.
A few other important points to make about the Ryan Budget. It calls for the total repeal of Obamacare. It cuts spending (actually, it reduces the rate of increase in spending) by $4.6 trillion over the next 10 years. This results in bringing federal spending as a percentage of GDP back down to 20%, which is its historic level. It is currently 23% of GDP, and thus stifling economic growth in the private sector of our economy.
Next, the Senate Budget. It’s important to note that the Democrat-controlled Senate has been even more irresponsible in recent years than President Obama. That’s because even though according to the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, they are supposed to enact a budget every year, they have refused to do so for the last four years. Then, earlier this year, Republicans in the House came up with a brilliant idea, and passed No Budget No Pay – if either house failed to pass a budget, they wouldn’t get paid. That apparently got the Senate’s attention because they finally passed a budget last week – 50 to 49. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a very good budget for a number of reasons.
For one thing, rather than get us on track to balance the budget over the next 10 years, this Senate Budget never balances, ever. That’s because rather than reduce spending over time as the Ryan Budget does, it actually increases spending. It even included more Stimulus spending. And it raises taxes. In my view, a lousy budget, but at least they passed one this year (even if it’s just so they can get paid.)
Now I’ll just touch on the three budgets which were voted on last week, but didn’t pass. First, the Republican Study Committee (RSC) Budget. (I voted for it, as I did for the Ryan Budget.) The important feature of the RSC Budget is that it balances the budget in 4 years, rather than in 10 years as the Ryan Budget does. It does this by cutting federal spending more deeply and more quickly, and does not raise taxes.
Then there was the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Budget. It increased spending by $1.1 trillion, increased taxes by $2.8 trillion, and never balanced.
And by far the worst of all the budgets was the Progressive (liberal) Caucus Budget. It increased spending by a mind-numbing $4.1 trillion, raised taxes by a shocking $5.7 trillion, and never balances the budget. Where these people come up with such nonsense is beyond me.
And finally, please allow me to remind you that this Sunday is not only Easter, but it is also March 31st, the end of the first quarter of this election cycle. Candidates for Congress all across America must report how much they have raised for their campaigns as of that date. Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) will be scouring Republican fundraising reports for signs of weakness, and therefore vulnerability. You can help me stay off their target list by clicking here and making a secure online contribution to my campaign, or you can mail a donation to Chabot for Congress, 3030 Harrison Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45211.
I really appreciate your help. See you next week.