Government raises the debt ceiling again. 193 dems and 28 republicans to blame

The debt ceiling just got raised again. Again. The credit limit got extended, bailing out fiscal irresponsibility.

All of the house dems except 2 (and 5 no votes) voted to increase the debt ceiling. Barrow and Matheson voted right. The rest of the dems screwed over this county.

All of the house republicans except 28 voted no (and 5 no votes). 28 of them screwed this country. 28 of them took the easy way out by giving Obama all that he wanted because they either wanted more spending, didn't have the balls for a battle, or assumed that they can make up for this if Republicans take the senate. Didn't they forget that Obama has three years left?

Here's the roll call vote.. While the description is to "To designate the air route traffic control center located in Nashua, New Hampshire, as the “Patricia Clark Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center”, it's used as the vehicle for the debt ceiling increase.

S.540
Latest Title: A bill to designate the air route traffic control center located in Nashua, New Hampshire, as the "Patricia Clark Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center".
Sponsor: Sen Shaheen, Jeanne [NH] (introduced 3/12/2013)      Cosponsors (1)
Related Bills: H.R.1092
Latest Major Action: 3/26/2013 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Aviation.
Note: The measure is expected to be a vehicle to extend the public debt limit and repeal a reduction in the cost-of-living adjustment for military retirees. The House Committee on Rules has posted a text.

Apparently the cost of living adjustment repeal was not included. 

The 28 screw ups are:

1. John Boehner - the speaker. The house should have listened to me years ago and put Mike Pence in charge instead. Boehner gave us the bank bailouts and caved on every single debt ceiling measure. Big spending Bush Republicanism didn't work, and Obama broke his records and made it worse. Both are unacceptable. Boehner was there for all of it. All of it. Every single time. 

2. Ken Calvert - California

3. Dave Camp - Camp may be the most economic liberal congressman in Michigan

4. Eric Cantor - Our next speaker? I hope not.

5. Howard Coble - Retiring

6. Chris Collins - Swing district

7. Charlie Dent - Swing district

8. Mike Fitzpatrick - Swing district

9. Russ Grimm - Swing district

10. Richard Hanna - liberal republican

11. Doc Hastings - What's his excuse?

12. Darrell Issa - Defense guy

13. Peter King - Big spender.

14. Frank LoBiando - Democrat leaning district

15. Kevin McCarthy -Majority whip

16. Buck McKeon - Retiring

17. Pat Meehan - Swing District

18. Gary Miller - surprised he's still got a job.

19. Devin Nunes - What's his excuse

20. Dave Reichert - swing district

21. Hal Rogers - Big spender

22. Peter Roskam - Expected better from him

23. Ed Royce - What's his excuse?

24. Jon Runyan - Retiring.

25. John Shimkus - What's his excuse?

26. Chris Smith - Fiscally liberal. Great on life issue, but not as good on other issues.

27. David Valadao - Swing district

28. Frank Wolf - Retiring and in a government workers district.


I'm not a big Paul Ryan fan becuase he's not nearly as fiscal conservative as people make him out to be. He did come through this time.

Mike Rogers voted correctly as well, as did most of the Republicans in the Michigan delegations, Benishek, Huizenga, Amash, Upton, Walberg, Rogers, Miller, and Bentivolio came through this time.

Boehner needs to go. He needs a primary.

As I said before with this issue.

Obama and Congress both deserve the blame. This keeps going up and up and up because you have House leadership wanting to "balance" the budget over 30 years (not good enough) with a halfway job and Obama and the Senate (Both dems and the beyond worthless McCain/Graham) calling a cut in the growth of increased spending a "cut" when it really is a spending increase. The goalposts are shifted way too far with those proposals and "negotiations". Paul Ryan is no Mike Pence. John Boehner is at the point where I can't even comment except to say that he's making our jobs here much more difficult. This is unacceptable. It's killing us. We get tainted by DC even though Livingston County does such a good job with budget issues that they aren't even in our league. Budgets are always balanced and taxes aren't increased here.

It's not too much to ask for DC to balance the budget without raising taxes. It can be done. It just takes something that isn't there in DC. Guts and a plan.

The price for increasing the debt ceiling needs to be this (at a start) with a take it or leave it.:

1. Zero based budgeting of all departments. All of them.
2. Anything not needed needs to go. That includes the BATF.
3. Repeal Obamacare
4. Repeal the TSA

That's a start and by no means a finish.

Balance the damn budget and cut the spending

When it comes to budget leadership in DC, I've haven't seen Jackshit since then Congressman Mike Pence and the Republican Study Committee fought Bush in 2006 over the deficit. That goes for most in both parties.

Once again the debt ceiling argument is back, along with the continuing resolutions and no budget. Here we go again.

From Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Congress, struggling to avert a government shutdown next week, was warned by the Obama administration on Wednesday that the Treasury was quickly running out of funds to pay government bills and could soon face a damaging debt default.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew pleaded with Congress to raise the $16.7 trillion debt limit and said the government would not be able to borrow funds past October 17.

After that date, only $30 billion would be left in the Treasury's checking account, putting the country on course to miss crucial debt payments, Lew said.
Amid Treasury's dire default warning, lawmakers grappled with another potential crisis: federal agency shutdowns that could begin with the new fiscal year next Tuesday unless Congress comes up with emergency funds.

Every few months it's the same old song and dance. 16.7 Trillion.

Bush Start 5,807,463,412,200.06
Bush Finish 11,909,829,003,511.70

Eight years, 6.1 Trillion. 3.4 of that in the last term when the dems took congress.   That's extremely unacceptable, and the 2006 Republicans blundered in the extreme for not listening to Mike Pence and the RSC. For some of the more radical wings of the tea party that want "split control" due to caving republicans like the worthless Lindsay Graham, this is what that sometimes gets you - RECORD spending. Split control from 06-08 was a disaster.

Obama Start -  11,909,829,003,511.70
Current - 16.7 Trillion 

And we still got over 2 years left with the Peter Principle in Chief. Obama and Congress both deserve the blame. This keeps going up and up and up because you have House leadership wanting to "balance" the budget over 30 years (not good enough) with a halfway job and Obama and the Senate (Both dems and the beyond worthless McCain/Graham) calling a cut in the growth of increased spending a "cut" when it really is a spending increase. The goalposts are shifted way too far with those proposals and "negotiations". Paul Ryan is no Mike Pence. John Boehner is at the point where I can't even comment except to say that he's making our jobs here much more difficult. This is unacceptable. It's killing us. We get tainted by DC even though Livingston County does such a good job with budget issues that they aren't even in our league. Budgets are always balanced and taxes aren't increased here.

It's not too much to ask for DC to balance the budget without raising taxes. It can be done. It just takes something that isn't there in DC. Guts and a plan.

The price for increasing the debt ceiling needs to be this (at a start) with a take it or leave it.:

1. Zero based budgeting of all departments. All of them.
2. Anything not needed needs to go. That includes the BATF.
3. Repeal Obamacare
4. Repeal the TSA

That's a start and by no means a finish.

Debt Ceiling Agreement - Not Good Enough

There's a debt ceiling agreement. It's yet another half-assed measure. It's not good enough. I don't give a damn about how it was supposedly routine in the past. It should not have been routine, then either.

The only thing acceptable to me is a balanced budget that doesn't raise taxes.

I understand that when you control one house, that you sometimes take what you can get. That was the view of normally strong conservatives Mike Pence and Tim Walberg, who voted for this. It was the view of Paul Ryan and Mike Rogers as well. The reality is this. Nothing significant on the debt will be done as long as the senate and presidency is held by the democrats. In addition, even if republicans control all branches of government, nothing will be done fiscally if Bush types control the purse-strings. ALL of them failed. Bush, Frist, and Hastert set records in 06. Bush, Pelosi, McCain, Obama, and Reid shattered the records in 07-08. Obama, Reid, and Pelosi shattered those records. Now this may possibly be a 1/4 step back to either the 08 levels. The folks that passed that are CELEBRATING this? I can respect a vote for this if it had the truth as a comment. "I voted for this because it sucks less than other options like a default and it is the only thing we could get past Reid and Obama." That's basically what Mike Pence said, calling this a "modest first step".


Walberg's office said this.

Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Tim Walberg released the following statement:

"The President with the support of the previous Congress has spent a trillion dollars on a failed stimulus and trillions on a government takeover of healthcare. In less than a year, this Republican-led House has made significant progress to reverse course. We have passed a budget that cuts more than $38 billion for 2011, the first six spending bills for 2012 that return to pre-bailout, pre-stimulus levels, and the Ryan Budget that will save $5.8 trillion over ten years."

"Unfortunately, the president and majority in the Senate fail to understand the true meaning of fiscal responsibility, but with the pressure of the American people, we have at least brought them to agree to $2.1 trillion in spending cuts, including two-thirds of the discretionary cuts in the Ryan budget, and a vote on the Balanced Budget Amendment. The plan that passed tonight is one more step that Congress has taken to end the culture of government overspending and rapidly mounting debt. But this is not the end, and it's clear a true solution will not occur until America has a fiscally responsible president. I will continue to work to solve our government's debt addiction and encourage job creation so that America can maintain its greatness."

Background Facts:

· At least $2.1 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years. $917 billion immediately and at least an additional $1.2 trillion either through the work of a joint congressional committee or as across the board reductions.
· This legislation achieves two-thirds of the discretionary spending cuts contained in the Paul Ryan Budget.
· No tax increases. The legislation contains zero tax increases and due to budgetary procedures, it will be practically impossible for the joint committee to propose tax increases. The bill is silent on expiring tax cuts.
· Guaranteed vote in the House and Senate on a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution.

I like Tim Walberg, but this isn't good enough.

• 1 Trillion immediately? That's the deficit of less than a year of spending.
• 10 Years is a joke. It's nothing, frankly.
• A promise of a vote on the balanced budget amendment is nothing.
• Tax cuts that expire are a tax increase.

From the Argus

About $900 billion would be cut over 10 years through spending caps. Another $1.5 trillion would be sought this fall by a special committee with unique power to force congressional action. If it fails to reach that goal, spending could be cut by $1.2 trillion automatically, divided equally between defense and domestic programs.

Ten years of chump change (relatively speaking)? What a joke. That'll get trumped by the interest alone.

Justin Amash's office has this to say.

As I have said consistently since before I was a Representative in Congress, I will not consider voting to raise the federal government’s debt ceiling unless the vote is tied to fundamental reform such as a repeal of the President’s onerous healthcare legislation or passage of a well-structured balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

“I am open to a compromise that includes some of the elements of the House and Senate plans, but it must also include structural reforms that actually would pull us back from the government’s looming fiscal crisis.

“The House’s Budget Control Act raises the government’s debt ceiling by $900 billion but requires no structural reforms and only $25 billion in cuts next year. It includes a mere pledge to pass a balanced budget amendment in exchange for authorizing another $1.6 trillion of debt next year. The pledge is not binding. It can be ignored at any time.

“It is wrong to continue to burden our children and grandchildren with trillions upon trillions of dollars of debt. Time is up. Congress cannot wait any longer to act responsibly and begin to address its addiction to reckless spending.”

That I agree with. There shouldn't even be discussion of "2008 levels" like it's a benchmark. The 2008 levels suck. Government needs to live within its means, and that means a balanced budget is required without raising taxes. Anything else is unacceptable.