Growls

Yesterday on Capitol Hill, the House of Representatives passed a three week continuing resolution (CR). According to today’s Cypress Times of Texas, Eric Canton, the GOP’s majority leader, said of the bill’s passage in the House:

“In just the last five weeks, House Republicans have achieved $10 billion in spending cuts. This is just the start of our efforts to reduce wasteful government spending so that we can increase economic confidence allowing businesses to grow and people to get back to work. At a time when the government is borrowing nearly 40 cents of each dollar it spends, Washington must tighten its belt and do more with less. We hope that the Senate works quickly to approve this measure which is consistent with the previous short-term CR and H.R. 1 and will prevent a government shutdown."

Terrence Jeffrey of CNS News, however, puts that $10 billion in perspective in an article in today’s CNS News, explaining the national debt increased $72 billion during just the very day the House passed the CR. Jeffrey wrote:

“If Congress were to cut $6 billion every three weeks for the next 36 weeks, it would manage to save between now and late November as much money as the Treasury added to the nation’s net debt during just the business hours of Tuesday, March 15.

“At the close of business on Monday, according to the Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Public Debt, the total national debt stood at $14.166 trillion ($14,166,030,787,779.80). At the close of business Tuesday, the debt stood at $14.237 trillion ($14,237,952,276,898.69), an increase of $71.9 billion ($71,921,489,118.89).

“Since the beginning of fiscal year 2011--which began on Oct. 1, 2010--the national debt has climbed from $13.5616 trillion ($13,561,623,030,891.79) to $14.2379 trillion ($14,237,952,276,898.69) an increase of $676.3 billion ($676,329,246,006.90).

“Congress would need to cut spending by $6 billion every three weeks for approximately the next six and a half years (338 weeks) just to equal the $676.3 billion the debt has increased thus far this fiscal year.”

Thank goodness for the 54 GOP freshman who were supported by the Tea Party (Roll Call Vote 179) for voting against the resolution. They sure seem to understand the need for substantial budget cutes in order to get the nation's fiscal house in order, and not more short term solutions such as the CR’s.

According to today's Politico, "some GOP lawmakers are becoming increasingly wary of a faction that rejects substantial spending cuts because they want deeper ones or the inclusion of divisive social policy riders." It seems to this scribe that it's some of those old-time GOPers who don't fully understand how critical the nation's fiscal crisis really is. The Daily Caller also reported today that "GOP leaders, mainline caucus fume at conservative 'no' votes on three-week CR."

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) is cited in a second Daily Caller article today, which included a quote that was in an op-ed Rubio wrote that appeared in RedState.com:

“I will no longer support short-term budget plans. While attempts at new spending reductions are commendable, we simply can no longer afford to nickel-and-dime our way out of the dangerous debt America has amassed . . . With Congress set to begin another week-long recess next week, every senator and representative should feel ashamed if they have to go home again, look their constituents in the eye, and explain why nothing is being done about our debt crisis.” 

HT Mark Levin Show.