GOP looks to reclaim fiscal responsibility mantle

President Bush's veto of the S-CHIP bill Wednesday was the first fight over '08 spending.

from the October 4, 2007 edition

Page 2 of 2

Page 1 | 2

In the House, some 147 Republicans have already signed a pledge with GOP leadership that they will vote to sustain a presidential veto on any spending bill. If those promises hold, that would be enough to prevent any veto override.

Last week, Congress passed and the president signed a measure to continue funding the federal government at FY 2007 levels until Nov. 16. The move gives Congress more time to finish work on spending bills. Democrats note that the 109th Congress, controlled by Republicans, never completed its spending bills, which were funded by stop-gap measures until the 110th Congress finished the work.

But Democrats are also facing important rifts in their ranks over spending decisions this fall. On Tuesday, Reps. David Obey of Wisconsin and John Murtha of Pennsylvania, top Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee, said they would not take up a new war-funding bill until Bush changes strategy on the Iraq war.

"As chairman of the Appropriations Committee, I have absolutely no intention of reporting out of committee anytime this session any such request that simply serves to continue the status quo," said Chairman Obey, at a press briefing Tuesday. At the same time, Obey and Representatives Murtha and Jim McGovern (D) of Massachusetts proposed a $150 billion tax increase for the war.

The proposed income-tax surcharge ranged from 2 percent for lower-income taxpayers to 15 percent for those in the highest income bracket. The proposal was immediately disavowed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Senate Democratic leaders said they had not been briefed on the plan in advance. Majority leader Harry Reid told reporters after a caucus meeting Tuesday that he had "signed on to nothing and ruled nothing out."

But Republicans jumped on the proposal as evidence that Democrats were not serious about fiscal responsibility in the fight over spending bills.

Referring to the Obey proposal, Sen. Jon Kyl (R) of Arizona charged that at a time when Democrats are proposing to spend $23 billion more than the president has requested, they are also proposing a new tax on every American. "If a lack of revenue is the problem, then let's not spend more than is in the budget," he said on the floor of the Senate Wednesday.

1 | Page 2