After adding more than a trillion dollars to the national debt in the first 15 months of the Trump administration, House Republicans ― still insistent that they care about fiscal conservatism ― tried and failed on Thursday to take a symbolic step toward amending the Constitution to prevent deficits.
The balanced budget amendment fell far short of the requisite two-thirds majority needed for passage, with 233 lawmakers voting for it and 184 against it. Supporting it were 226 Republicans and seven Democrats, while six Republicans and 178 Democrats voted no.
While Republicans will point to the failed vote as another example of the fiscal recklessness of Democrats, the no votes on the Republican side largely came from conservatives. Some of these naysayers argued that the amendment didn’t go far enough. Others said they viewed the vote as an attempt to depict the GOP as the party of fiscal restraint after the Republican-controlled Congress approved new spending and tax cuts that nonpartistan estimates predict will add trillions to the debt in years to come.
“Passing a weak constitutional balanced budget amendment only four legislative days after ramming through massive deficit spending is quite an audacious stunt,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told HuffPost, referring to the $1.3 trillion omnibus passed in late March. “My colleagues have already demonstrated with the passage of the omnibus that they aren’t serious about balancing the budget.”
via Huffington Post.
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Seniors Dodge Devastation of Balanced Budget Amendment.
- A balanced budget amendment would have blocked benefit payments from the Social Security and Medicare Part A trust funds since all federal expenditures, including these earned benefits, would have to be covered by revenue collected in the same year.
- It also would have required draconian spending cuts, inviting Congress to slash Medicare Parts B, C and D, Medicaid, and many other social safety net programs for seniors, while opening the door to massive new tax cuts.
