Topic: Government Spending
Public Strongly Opposes Debt Limit Increase
Posted on Jan. 12, 11 | 08:48 AM by Andrew Roth | Topic: Government Spending
From Reuters:
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The U.S. public overwhelmingly opposes raising the country's debt limit even though failure to do so could hurt America's international standing and push up borrowing costs, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday.
Some 71 percent of those surveyed oppose increasing the borrowing authority, the focus of a brewing political battle over federal spending. Only 18 percent support an increase.
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Senator Toomey on the Debt Ceiling
Posted on Jan. 07, 11 | 03:37 PM by Andrew Roth | Topic: Government SpendingThe Omnibus is Dead.
Posted on Dec. 17, 10 | 08:50 AM by Andrew Roth | Topic: Government Spending
Despite Sen. Bennett working hard to help the Democrats in his final days as a Senator, fiscal conservatives led by Sens. DeMint and Coburn were able to defeat the pork-infested $1.1 trillion omnibus bill. From the Politico:
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Senate Democrats abruptly abandoned an omnibus budget bill for the coming year, pushing major spending decisions into the next Congress and giving Republicans immense new leverage to confront President Barack Obama priorities.
The decision Thursday night sweeps away months of bipartisan work by the Senate Appropriations Committee which had crafted the $1.1 trillion bill to meet spending targets embraced by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) himself prior to the elections.
Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah), an old McConnell friend, worked actively to round up as many as nine potential Republican votes for the compromise, but these numbers rapidly evaporated amid personal attacks and the uproar this week over spending earmarks in the package.
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Club for Growth Predicts Primary Challenges for GOP Omnibus Supporters
Posted on Dec. 15, 10 | 11:53 AM by Michael Connolly | Topic: Government Spending
WASHINGTON – The Club for Growth today blasted the $1.1 trillion, 1,924-page, earmark-laden omnibus spending bill released in the Senate last night, and predicted pro-growth conservative primary challenges for Republican members of Congress who vote for it.
“Given the nation’s fiscal crisis, and the unequivocal mandate of last month’s election, this omnibus spending bill is an arrogant and unforgivable insult to the American people,” said Club President Chris Chocola.
“The Democratic leadership should not be misusing a lame duck session to jam such a reckless bill through Congress,” Chocola said. “Any congressional Republican who supports the Democratic leadership’s porked-up monstrosity would forfeit any claim to fiscal responsibility and economic conservatism. Every Republican aye vote will likely face a serious primary challenge from the right in their next re-election campaign, and should.”
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“Given the nation’s fiscal crisis, and the unequivocal mandate of last month’s election, this omnibus spending bill is an arrogant and unforgivable insult to the American people,” said Club President Chris Chocola.
“The Democratic leadership should not be misusing a lame duck session to jam such a reckless bill through Congress,” Chocola said. “Any congressional Republican who supports the Democratic leadership’s porked-up monstrosity would forfeit any claim to fiscal responsibility and economic conservatism. Every Republican aye vote will likely face a serious primary challenge from the right in their next re-election campaign, and should.”
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Club for Growth Endorses Jack Kingston for Appropriations Chair
Posted on Nov. 29, 10 | 11:23 AM by Michael Connolly | Topic: Government Spending
WASHINGTON – Club for Growth President Chris Chocola today made the following statement regarding the chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee in the 112th Congress:
“After reviewing the voting records of the candidates to chair the Appropriations Committee in the new House of Representatives, the Club for Growth has concluded that Rep. Jack Kingston is the best of the field.
“Congressman Kingston earned one of the highest scores of any appropriator on the Club for Growth’s score card, and fared far better than other senior members of the Committee on our RePork Card. He supports the inclusion of true pro-growth, limited government conservatives on the Committee, greater transparency in the spending process, and understands the fundamental mood change in the country about the size and scope of government.
“If fiscal conservatives want to get control of federal spending, we must first get control of the Appropriations Committee. And Jack Kingston gives us the best chance to accomplish that goal.”
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Permalink: http://www.clubforgrowth.org/perm/?postID=14529
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“After reviewing the voting records of the candidates to chair the Appropriations Committee in the new House of Representatives, the Club for Growth has concluded that Rep. Jack Kingston is the best of the field.
“Congressman Kingston earned one of the highest scores of any appropriator on the Club for Growth’s score card, and fared far better than other senior members of the Committee on our RePork Card. He supports the inclusion of true pro-growth, limited government conservatives on the Committee, greater transparency in the spending process, and understands the fundamental mood change in the country about the size and scope of government.
“If fiscal conservatives want to get control of federal spending, we must first get control of the Appropriations Committee. And Jack Kingston gives us the best chance to accomplish that goal.”
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Club for Growth Endorses DeMint Earmark Ban
Posted on Nov. 10, 10 | 03:20 PM by Michael Connolly | Topic: Government Spending
WASHINGTON – Club for Growth President Chris Chocola made the following statement endorsing the Senate rule change proposed by U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) to ban spending earmarks:
“Earmarks are a symbol of everything wrong with Washington. Sen. DeMint’s earmark ban is not only essential to any hope for fiscal reform in the Senate, it is the very least voters should expect from a Republican Party they only reluctantly supported on election day. The Senate Republican Conference has a clear choice: either they get rid of earmarks, or the voters will get rid of them.”
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Permalink: http://www.clubforgrowth.org/perm/?postID=14455
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“Earmarks are a symbol of everything wrong with Washington. Sen. DeMint’s earmark ban is not only essential to any hope for fiscal reform in the Senate, it is the very least voters should expect from a Republican Party they only reluctantly supported on election day. The Senate Republican Conference has a clear choice: either they get rid of earmarks, or the voters will get rid of them.”
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Hensarling to Replace Pence in Leadership?
Posted on Oct. 28, 10 | 03:34 PM by Andrew Roth | Topic: Government Spending
From Roll Call:
This is great news. The Club is a big fan of Hensarling. If he's at the leadership table, he will work non-stop to keep the conference honest and true to the principles of limited government. He's an overall great guy. If Pence steps aside, Hensarling is the perfect man to replace him.
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House Republican leaders are quietly encouraging Rep. Jeb Hensarling (Texas) to run to succeed Conference Chairman Mike Pence should the Indiana lawmaker choose to step down from his position to run for higher office, GOP sources said.
Pence, who is rumored to be eyeing a presidential or gubernatorial bid, has not declared he will step aside from his post and Hensarling has not publicly expressed interest in replacing him, but Republican sources familiar with discussions say Hensarling’s conservative credentials as a former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, close relationships with leaders and ability to raise millions of dollars for the National Republican Congressional Committee make him a prime candidate for the chairmanship.
“It’s no surprise that some in Congress are rallying around Hensarling. He’s a rising star in the Republican Party that would be absolutely vital to have at the leadership table,” said one House GOP aide with knowledge of the discussions. “He’s a beloved conservative who has never once checked his principles at the door.”
This is great news. The Club is a big fan of Hensarling. If he's at the leadership table, he will work non-stop to keep the conference honest and true to the principles of limited government. He's an overall great guy. If Pence steps aside, Hensarling is the perfect man to replace him.
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You Can't Stimulate Dead People
Posted on Oct. 08, 10 | 10:25 AM by Andrew Roth | Topic: Government SpendingDeMint Plans to Shut Down the Senate
Posted on Sep. 28, 10 | 09:34 AM by Andrew Roth | Topic: Government Spending
DeMint defends taxpayers again. He's a rock star. From Roll Call newspaper ($):
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Sen. Jim DeMint warned his colleagues Monday night that he would place a hold on all legislation that has not been “hot-lined” by the chamber or has not been cleared by his office before the close of business Tuesday.
Although the South Carolina Republican has objected for years to the hot-lining of legislation until his staff at the Republican Steering Committee has reviewed it, DeMint’s threat to essentially shut down legislation in the chamber is remarkable.
[...]Democratic and Republican aides alike were stunned, arguing that DeMint had essentially made a unilateral decision to end legislative activity in the Senate.
[...T]he political ramifications, particularly within the GOP Conference, could be significant. DeMint has spent much of his career operating as an outsider and has repeatedly ruffled the feathers of his Republican colleagues. His crusade against earmarks and demands for ideological purity have been particularly troublesome to the conference’s “Old Bulls” and appropriators.
DeMint spokesman Wesley Denton defended the Republican’s decision, arguing that the move is necessary to keep the Senate from passing a slew of expensive measures in the last minutes of the session.
“Americans are sick of Washington ramming through bills that no one reads. Big spenders play a hide-the-bill game at the end of every Congress, hoping to pass secret bills with deficit spending and new regulations without any debate or even a vote,” Denton said.
“The Senate Steering Committee has simply asked that if a Senator wants to pass a bill before recess, allow 48 hours for Senators to review the bill and for the CBO to score it,” he added. “If you wait until Thursday night and then unveil some big spending bill, your bill is not going to pass.”
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The Milquetoast GOP "Pledge"
Posted on Sep. 23, 10 | 10:00 AM by Andrew Roth | Topic: Government SpendingI want to like the new GOP Pledge to America. I want to endorse it, but it's so milquetoast that it proves to me that these guys just aren't ready to lead.
In order to prevent a return of the big-spending Republican ways during the Bush years, the House GOP needs to institute two things that will FORCE them to behave -- getting rid of earmarks and enacting a balanced budget amendment or a spending limit amendment.
This new Pledge was silent on both. Therefore, the Pledge has no teeth. Voters have no reliable assurances that House Republicans will behave appropriately.
Hogan at RedState has a great blog post up that makes several other excellent points. Specifically, this pledge does not address the 800-lb gorilla in the room. Excerpt:
The Pledge fails to address the single greatest threat to our nation’s long term fiscal health - the fact that we have precisely $0 set aside for the more than $106 trillion in unfunded liabilities staring us in the face for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Instead, we get more of the same political rhetoric about seniors standing to lose Medicare because of Obamacare. MEDICARE IS BANKRUPT. SOCIAL SECURITY IS BANKRUPT. FOR GOODNESS SAKE, MAN UP AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
Finally, did anyone notice the GLARING contradiction in the pledge? Under the section titled "A Plan to Reform Congress and Restore Trust," the pledge states that the House GOP will adhere to the Constitution. Specifically, it will require every bill to have a clause in it citing the constitutional authority upon which it is justified. Solid stuff. But in the section on healthcare, the House GOP wants to slap three new mandates on health insurance companies. They want to FORCE health insurers to insure anyone who wants coverage, regardless of the cost, FORCE insurers to eliminate annual and lifetime spending caps, and FORCE insurers to not drop your coverage if you get sick. How is that constitutional? And how does this make health insurance cheaper? It will only raise costs.
This Pledge is weak. I wasn't expecting bold leadership with this Pledge, but I was hoping for it. It didn't deliver.
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Top 20 Bills to Veto in California
Posted on Sep. 17, 10 | 01:53 PM by Andrew Roth | Topic: Government Spending
Jon Fleischmann has the list. The ones pertaining to economic issues are offensive. The bill that requires all individual health insurance policies to cover maternity care...even those for men strikes me as particularly dumb and costly.
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