GOP slams Dems for failure to pass budget
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., drew a direct line between Washington's "out of control spending" and the Democratic Senate's failure to pass a budget for the past four years.
"The only way to...put our country on a sound financial footing is to get spending under control," Thune argued during the weekly Republican address. "And the way to start is by passing a budget."
"I think most American families would agree that having a budget is essential to keeping their spending under control," Thune said. "Yet it's been almost four years since the Democrat-led Senate passed a formal budget. The last time Senate Democrats passed a budget, the iPad didn't even exist!"
Budgets passed by Congress do not allocate spending; instead they act as blueprints for Congress as they work on spending - or appropriations - bills, which have been passed and are the bills that actually fund the government.
Thune argued that, rather than continuing to spend government money to produce growth, "Washington should approve private sector economic projects like the Keystone XL pipeline" to spur job growth and enhance energy independence.
And he reiterated the GOP's call for serious reforms to entitlement programs that "are on an unsustainable path."
"Social Security began running a deficit in 2010, and without meaningful reform, Medicare will be bankrupt by 2024," Thune said. "Despite this dire situation, Democrats have resisted any discussion of reform. But the only way to save our entitlement programs is to reform them. It's as simple as that."
Meanwhile, in his own weekly address, President Obama touted two nominations he announced on Thursday, pitching Mary Jo White as the Securities and Exchange Commissioner and Richard Cordray as the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
"We passed tough reforms to protect consumers and our financial system from the kind of abuse that nearly brought our economy to its knees," Mr. Obama said, referring to the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform bill passed in 2010. "But it's not enough to change the law - we also need cops on the beat to enforce the law."
And Mr. Obama argued that White and Cordray are just the cops we need. "Mary Jo White has decades of experience cracking down on white-collar criminals and bringing mobsters and terrorists to justice," he said. "At the SEC, she will complete the task of reforming Wall Street and keep going after irresponsible behavior in the financial industry so that taxpayers don't pay the price."
As for Cordray, who was appointed in 2011 while Congress was in pro-forma session, Mr. Obama argued that his record of protecting "Americans from predatory lenders" and cracking down "on credit card companies that charge hidden fees" has earned Cordray an up or down vote to be able to stay on the job.
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Not true BOB.. ..I guess that is another made up GOP premis.
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Uhhhhh, yeah true MORON. I guess another made up moron premis.
Budget bills are governed under special rules called "reconciliation" which do not allow filibusters. Reconciliation once only applied to bills that would reduce the budget deficit, but since 1996 it has been used for all matters related to budget issues.
Bob, that's not exactly true.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2012/02/parliamentary-procedure
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...a budget resolution cannot be filibustered and thus only needs a simple majority vote - typically 51 votes - to pass. Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post's fact checker, awarded Mr Lew four Pinocchios, the top score, for fibbing.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2012/02/parliamentary-procedure
Republicans desire another war so they and their friends can make more money.
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I've looked around and find no comments by Republicans that supports this statements so you must have some kind of link to prove what you're saying?
Or is this just more baseless liberal vitriol?
You mean the ones YOU BLOCKED with a FILIBUSTER for the LAST 4 YEARS??? Get a life you frigging moron, you don't deserve to live in America much less be a Senator!
http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2012/02/parliamentary-procedure
This guy's speech is so full of it; it should never been allowed to be aired.
The Exxon pipeline will not benefit the US need for oil at all.
The oil from the pipeline is going to be sent to China.
As for passing a budget, it strikes me that John Boehner has been refusing to address our national debt through stalling, blackmail, going into recess or on vacation for years.
Even after all this time; he still does not get the fact that raising the debt limit is to pay for all the past actions by Congress (primarily pissing money down rat holes)and the proposed "budget" is a separate issue.
Congress has already spent this money and the debt limit needs to be raised to cover these amounts.
Why Boehner and the rest of the House do not get this is beyond me.
HE needs to agree to raise the debt limit before he can address the NEW budget.
Paul Ryan is another onE.!
"We need to pick our battles with Obama".
"We don't want to come across looking like the villain."
TOO LATE.!!
Boehner has had the House looking like the villain for the last 3+ years
He has had the entire population in constant turmoil because of his tactic of bringing the passage of this down to the last minute before kicking the can further down the road.
He then promptly either shuts the House down, goes into recess or on vacation so he doesn't have to deal with the flak.
Somebody (preferably somebody with two functioning brain cells or who breathes at least once every four minutes) obviously needs to explain this to him.
If he hasn't grasped this concept in the last three + years, I doubt he ever will.
Therefore; your party will continue to look like the villain and the US financial crisis will be hanging over our heads for four more years.!
I confess; I'm not looking forward to them.
Both parties in Congress represent something other than America's interests, like the United States of Republicans, or the United States of Democrats. Nothing but a bunch of clowns more concerned with their own career dynamics and stock portfolios.
Note that already the income limit for taxing grows by about twice the inflation adjusted COLA paid out.