When Democrats took the House in 2006, they did the responsible thing and instituted PAYGO. But House Republicans are changing the rules to stack the deck against the American people. The following article explains the changes and examines some effects. However the author seems to miss that Republicans are laying the groundwork to take back most of what Obama gained in negotiating the Tax Capitulation Act.
In 2007, just weeks after Republicans lost control of the House and Senate and six years after the first passel of Bush tax cuts were signed into law, Democrats made a key change to the budget rules to prevent that episode from repeating itself.
Republicans had used the budget reconciliation process — immune from a filibuster — to pass the cuts and explode the deficit: two things the reconciliation process was never meant to allow. To get away with it, Republicans were forced to include a 10-year sunset in package — planting the seeds for the tax cut fight we just saw on Capitol Hill. After Dems wrested control of Congress, they banned the reconciliation loopholes used by the GOP altogether.
But as they return to power in the House of Representatives, Republicans are taking steps to unravel those changes.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities examined the GOP’s proposed new rules for the House, and here’s what they found.
The new rules would stand the reconciliation process on its head, by allowing the House to use reconciliation to push through bills that greatly increase deficits as long as the deficit increases result from tax cuts, while barring the use of reconciliation in the House for legislation that reduces the deficit if that legislation contains a net increase in spending (no matter how small) that is more than offset by revenue-raising provisions.
To translate: Bush tax cuts are fine, but, say, paying for infrastructure projects by taxing carbon would be forbidden, even if the net result would be a reduction in the deficit… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <TPM>
What I see happening here is that, when it comes time to fund unemployment extensions, Republicans will demand offsets from either entitlement spending or stimulative spending. In addition, using reconciliation rules to pass more tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires in the House, prevents Democrats in the Senate from using even a talking filibuster to block an alliance between Republicans and DINOs. This leaves, the veto pen as the only defense, and I fear the hand holding that pen is a shaky one.
10 Responses to “Republican Reconciliation Rules: A Stacked Deck”
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This will be one in a long line of moves the GOP will make to try and undo all that has transpired over the past 4 years. Brace yourselves for it!
It’s going to be an emotionally charged time, Jack, making it all the more important that we be clear headed.
But tax cuts create lots and LOTS and LOTS of jobs! At least that’s what you believe if you’re one of the “Most Misinformed” Faux News viewers.
I wrote a piece on that research poll, Nameless. I loved it!
I think there’s hope within us, which causes us to believe the Democrats are the good guys fighting for us and all of the bad policy the last several years is due to Republican trickery and misogyny. I just don’t see it anymore. I hear Democrats talk a good game until it’s time to vote, then they vote for Republican policy and call it progress. How many times must Obama kiss corporate ass and kick liberal ass before we realize he’s not being forced to do it – it’s the actual policy he and his corporate contributors desire?
I understand I offer no solution here, I don’t know that there is any solution.
Oso, all Democrats are not alike. There are some that live up to that hope, some that are no better than Republicans, and most spread out across the scale in between the two extremes. The solution is to target the worst and keep moving the curve to the left.
Oso, that is a very astute observation. For now, Obama must do what he can to get re-elected. If he is, do you think he will still act beholden to the “big” guys?
If you don’t play the game, then you are not in the game. Obama must know this.
It would be nice to think that BHO’s waiting to pounce, but I think it’s a pipe dream. Lot of his supporters believed once elected he was gonna make significant change (actual change, not the Potemkin stuff that sounds good on a resume). They keep waiting, thinking he’s about to do something, the REAL Obama’s about to come out. I think the real Obama came out during the campaign, got elected and is doing and getting exactly what he wanted. BHO’s a politician, if he was the source of change and hope many people thought and still think he is-he never would have passed the vetting process and gotten elected.
OTOH what the hell do I know,if I was smart I wouldn’t be slithering under houses and climbing up and down ladders for a living.
The hope for Obama is to make him a politician who knows hos future depends on doing the right thing. At this point, I would support a more progressive primary challenger against him, but he can restore my support if he changes his ways.
JMyste, may I suggest using the reply link directly under comments to which you wish to reply? That nests them like this.