“NO” on H.CON.RES.11 & S.CON.RES.5, The Shell-Budget Resolutions

Club for Growth opposes H.CON.RES.11 and S.CON.RES.5, the Democrats’ shell budget resolution, and urges all Representatives and Senators to vote no on the legislation. The result of the vote will be included in the Club for Growth Foundation’s 2021 Congressional Scorecard.

The Budget Resolution is intended to be an aspirational document that lays out a budgetary vision for the federal government. But now that President Biden and Democrats have unified government, they’re using the budget resolution merely as a vehicle to advance President Biden’s far-left agenda through budget reconciliation.

A budget resolution should propose constraints on the federal government on spending and revenues. But Democrats are using this budget resolution as a legislative “shell” that will merely serve as the legislative vehicle to allow for enactment of President Biden’s agenda. President Biden hasn’t even proposed a budget, nor has the House or Senate had any Committee hearings on the budget in 2021. The budget resolution is expected to advance a $1.9 trillion partisan COVID relief package the same week that the CBO projected economic growth to return to pre-COVID. Democrats also intend to include the extension the expansion of federal unemployment benefits, distribute stimulus checks to most Americans (including people that have not been economically harmed by the pandemic), and provide hundreds of billions of dollars to Governors in a cash bailout to states that have irresponsibly played games with their economy in order to damage political opponents, among other costly provisions.

Although subsequent legislation is forthcoming, this shell budget resolution is the first step forward for President Biden and Congressional Democrats to radically change America on a partisan vote through reconciliation. Members of Congress should instead negotiate pro-growth COVID relief legislation that safely reopens the American economy, reduces regulatory and tax burdens, and accommodates a rapid delivery of the COVID vaccination.

Club for Growth Foundation’s Congressional Scorecard for the 116th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to the public.