Tea Party wins: $100 billion in cuts in House GOP spending bill
The Hill
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) on Friday evening introduced a revised 2011 government spending bill that the GOP said will cut at least $100 billion in spending this fiscal year, bowing to demands by Tea Party-backed House freshmen.
The continuing resolution funding the government after March 4 cuts deeply across all areas of domestic spending and singles out many programs for complete elimination.
In the CR $81 billion has been cut from non-security programs, and security-related programs have been reduced by $19 billion, compared to Obama’s 2011 budget request.
The legislation will increase funding for the Department of Defense by 2 percent over last year’s level.
“This evening, on behalf of House Republicans, Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers introduced a Continuing Resolution that will reduce spending by at least $100 billion in the next 7 months – a historic effort to get our fiscal house in order and restore certainty to the economy,” Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said in a statement.
“At a time when unemployment is too high and economic growth is elusive in part because of the uncertainty created by our skyrocketing debt, this legislation will mark the largest spending cut in modern history and will help restore confidence so that people can get back to work. These are not easy cuts, but we are finally doing what every other American has to do in their households and their businesses, and that’s to begin a path of living within our means,” he said.
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The committee had raced to produce the bill Friday in order to leave enough time to hold a vote on the bill next week before the House recesses for a Presidents Day district work period next Friday.
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) said Friday that there will be three days of debate next week, and an open rule will allow for lots of amendments.
Under a three-day waiting period the GOP instituted in January, the bill debate cannot begin until Tuesday at the earliest.
If the bill is not passed before Presidents Day recess, the House and Senate would have only one week left of work to negotiate out a spending bill before March 4.
If a new CR is not passed by March 4, the government will shut down. Congress can pass short-term extensions of the current CR, however.
Wild Thing’s comment………
Thank God for the TEA PARTY keeping their feet to the fire.
It should be law that the government cannot spend one more dime than they receive. $100B is a good start.
The Dems of course will scream and we will hear stories in the MSM on how the cruel the Conservatives are.
Thats a drop in the bucket 1/10 of a trillion dollars. We are 14 Trillion dollars in the hole. One encouraging sign is they are getting resistant to raising the debt ceiling again. And it may not pass. That would be good news.
Mark, well said! Thanks Mark,