Sunday, February 06, 2011

Conservatives in the Senate Demand More Spending Cuts

Ever since the November electoral triumph, we were eagerly anticipating the budget cuts the would be implemented by House Republicans.  They promised $100 billion in cuts for FY 2011, and although that is a paltry sum in relation to our deficit, it seemed like a prudent start.  Unfortunately, they announced last week that there would only be $32 billion in cuts for the remainder of the fiscal year.  This is simply unacceptable.  The federal deficit stands at $14.1 trillion, while our annual budget is slated to top $1.6 trillion.  In fact, our monthly deficits have appreciated to over $100 billion.  Yet, the Republicans cannot even commit to a comparable deduction for a full year!

It is heartening to see that Conservative members of the Senate sent House Republicans a letter imploring them to implement the full $100 billion in cuts this year.  Here is a list of the 12 members who signed the letter:

Ron Johnson of Wisconsin
Mike Lee of Utah
Rand Paul of Kentucky
Marco Rubio of Florida 
Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
Sen. Demint of South Carolina
Tom Coburn of Oklahoma
John Ensign of Nevada
Mike Enzi of Wyoming
Mike Johanns of Nebraska 
David Vitter of Louisiana

It's good to see that we are reaping the benefits from the freshmen who we worked so hard to elect.  Although, it is a bit disappointing that Robert Portman, Kelly Ayotte, and Jim Moran are not on the list.  Either way, we must keep up the pressure throughout the next month as we come to a crossroads with the Continuing Resolution and the debt limit deadline.

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