House prepares to vote on balanced budget proposal

[jaxx]

House prepares to vote on balanced budget proposal
Nov 18, 10:08 AM (ET)
By JIM ABRAMS

WASHINGTON (AP) - The House votes Friday on whether to adopt a constitutional balanced budget amendment as a means of forcing Congress to come to grips with its inability to deal with spiraling deficits.

The vote takes place as the bipartisan supercommittee tasked with coming up with at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade appears locked in partisan gridlock. The amendment, dictating that Congress not spend any more than it takes in in any given year, also comes up after a budget year in which government spending topped revenues by $1.3 trillion.

"Only a balanced budget constitutional amendment will save us from unending federal deficits," said Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas. "It is our last line of defense against Congress' unending desire to overspend and overtax."

<..> If all 434 active members of Congress voted and all 242 Republicans supported the amendment, it would still require 48 Democratic votes to reach the 290 needed for a two-thirds majority. There is one vacancy in the 435-member House.

http://apnews.excite.com/article/2011111...79T02.html

I don't want to see one Democrat vote for this piece of shit amendment. It would produce draconian cuts and further help to destroy our economy. It's more republican vandalism against the American people.

[DFW]

Not to mention that when in power, Republicans spend with unfettered abandon, just as they did under Reagan, Bush and Cheneybush. So they'd get the amendment repealed just as soon as they return to power.

[jaxx]

(11-18-2011 12:25 PM)DFW Wrote:  Not to mention that when in power, Republicans spend with unfettered abandon, just as they did under Reagan, Bush and Cheneybush. So they'd get the amendment repealed just as soon as they return to power.

It's not so easy to get an amendment passed and then repealed. With both houses of congress having to pass it with 2/3 and then 2/3 the states having to pass it, a lot of damage can be done in the meanwhile. I think it's utter nonsense to even contemplate such a move.

[jaxx]

NancyPelosi Nancy Pelosi
House vote on #BBA today-does it create jobs, you ask? Economists find it doubles unemployment & costs 15 million jobs: goo.gl/6LDtV
1 minute ago

Study: GOP’s Balanced Budget Amendment Would Double Unemployment Rate, Put 15 Million Out Of Work

By Travis Waldron on Nov 9, 2011 at 5:10 pm

<..> Republicans have taken to ignoring the obvious perilous consequences of the amendment even as voices on both sides of the aisle denounce it as the “worst idea in Washington.” The current amendment, former Reagan adviser Bruce Bartlett said, “looks like it was drafted by a couple of interns on the back of a napkin.” Today, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) added to that criticism, releasing a study highlighting a piece from Macroeconomic Advisers that notes that such an amendment would make future recessions “deeper and longer” and saying that if a BBA had been enacted prior to the 2008 recession, the “effect on the economy” would have been “catastrophic.”

And according to CBPP, passing a Balanced Budget Amendment now, with the country trying to climb out of the hole of joblessness caused by the recession, would have the exact opposite affect one would expect policy makers to try and achieve. In fact, the budget cuts required by such an amendment now would double the unemployment rate and slide the country back into the throes of recession:

Quote:If the 2012 budget were balanced through spending cuts, those cuts would total about $1.5 trillion in 2012 alone, the analysis estimates. Those cuts would throw about 15 million more people out of work, double the unemployment rate from 9 percent to approximately 18 percent, and cause the economy to shrink by about 17 percent instead of growing by an expected 2 percent.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/11...t-of-work/

[There Is No Spoon]

(11-18-2011 12:25 PM)jaxx Wrote:  NancyPelosi Nancy Pelosi
House vote on #BBA today-does it create jobs, you ask? Economists find it doubles unemployment & costs 15 million jobs: goo.gl/6LDtV
1 minute ago

Study: GOP’s Balanced Budget Amendment Would Double Unemployment Rate, Put 15 Million Out Of Work

By Travis Waldron on Nov 9, 2011 at 5:10 pm

<..> Republicans have taken to ignoring the obvious perilous consequences of the amendment even as voices on both sides of the aisle denounce it as the “worst idea in Washington.” The current amendment, former Reagan adviser Bruce Bartlett said, “looks like it was drafted by a couple of interns on the back of a napkin.” Today, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) added to that criticism, releasing a study highlighting a piece from Macroeconomic Advisers that notes that such an amendment would make future recessions “deeper and longer” and saying that if a BBA had been enacted prior to the 2008 recession, the “effect on the economy” would have been “catastrophic.”

And according to CBPP, passing a Balanced Budget Amendment now, with the country trying to climb out of the hole of joblessness caused by the recession, would have the exact opposite affect one would expect policy makers to try and achieve. In fact, the budget cuts required by such an amendment now would double the unemployment rate and slide the country back into the throes of recession:

Quote:If the 2012 budget were balanced through spending cuts, those cuts would total about $1.5 trillion in 2012 alone, the analysis estimates. Those cuts would throw about 15 million more people out of work, double the unemployment rate from 9 percent to approximately 18 percent, and cause the economy to shrink by about 17 percent instead of growing by an expected 2 percent.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/11...t-of-work/

It's these "for show" bullshit votes that make me want to beat to death every Republican.

[jaxx]

(11-18-2011 12:53 PM)There Is No Spoon Wrote:  

(11-18-2011 12:25 PM)jaxx Wrote:  NancyPelosi Nancy Pelosi
House vote on #BBA today-does it create jobs, you ask? Economists find it doubles unemployment & costs 15 million jobs: goo.gl/6LDtV
1 minute ago

Study: GOP’s Balanced Budget Amendment Would Double Unemployment Rate, Put 15 Million Out Of Work

By Travis Waldron on Nov 9, 2011 at 5:10 pm

<..> Republicans have taken to ignoring the obvious perilous consequences of the amendment even as voices on both sides of the aisle denounce it as the “worst idea in Washington.” The current amendment, former Reagan adviser Bruce Bartlett said, “looks like it was drafted by a couple of interns on the back of a napkin.” Today, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) added to that criticism, releasing a study highlighting a piece from Macroeconomic Advisers that notes that such an amendment would make future recessions “deeper and longer” and saying that if a BBA had been enacted prior to the 2008 recession, the “effect on the economy” would have been “catastrophic.”

And according to CBPP, passing a Balanced Budget Amendment now, with the country trying to climb out of the hole of joblessness caused by the recession, would have the exact opposite affect one would expect policy makers to try and achieve. In fact, the budget cuts required by such an amendment now would double the unemployment rate and slide the country back into the throes of recession:


http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/11...t-of-work/

It's these "for show" bullshit votes that make me want to beat to death every Republican.

I agree!! All we get are bullshit votes from this House of ill repute.

[Andy823]

So I wonder how many republicans would be voting for this "if" McCain had won? Seems like when they are in power, they have no problem with spending money, raising the debt ceiling, or spending like drunken sailors! The whole idea that republicans want to decrease the debt is just plain BS! This is all about doing their best to keep president Obama from getting a second term, period!

They know these things won't pass, they are simply catering to the tea party base, but if they did take control of things next year, and I really doubt the will, all the same things they propose now will never be brought back up!

[Cha]

(11-18-2011 12:30 PM)Andy823 Wrote:  So I wonder how many republicans would be voting for this "if" McCain had won? Seems like when they are in power, they have no problem with spending money, raising the debt ceiling, or spending like drunken sailors! The whole idea that republicans want to decrease the debt is just plain BS! This is all about doing their best to keep president Obama from getting a second term, period!

They know these things won't pass, they are simply catering to the tea party base, but if they did take control of things next year, and I really doubt the will, all the same things they propose now will never be brought back up!

NONE?

[jaxx]

People need to be told the truth about this. It's not balancing the budget for the good, it's cutting the life lines away from the people and the country. This country is too big to be put in horse harness as to what can be done to move us forward. Too big to fail? Yes, I said it! This would set the USA up for failure and that is not an option.

[jaxx]

ezraklein Ezra Klein
RT @jamiedupree: US House defeats Balanced Budget Amendment; final vote was 261-165 in favor, short of two-thirds majority
39 seconds ago

That means 19 Democrats voted for this. Bums.

But I'm glad it FAILED.

[jaxx]

SpeakerBoehner Speaker John Boehner
It’s disappointing that Democrats don’t recognize the urgency of addressing our spending-driven debt crisis j.mp/rSMd6Y #4jobs
2 minutes ago


Tough shit!

[sandnsea]

DeFazio voted for it. That tells you a lot about him. He'd rather vote for something harmful than stand up to our right wing crazies and explain to them that balanced budget amendments are window dressing. He also just appeared at an opening of a new rail line and completely omitted that the majority of the money to fund it came from the stimulus. But it all works because the left who adore him can join him in his Obama and Democratic Party bashing, which also helps him convince a chunk of the right that he's "independent" - and the rest of us just sit here unrepresented and especially frustrated when we have to figure out how to get a President elected without calling DeFazio a liar.

[Cha]

(11-18-2011 01:21 PM)sandnsea Wrote:  DeFazio voted for it. That tells you a lot about him. He'd rather vote for something harmful than stand up to our right wing crazies and explain to them that balanced budget amendments are window dressing. He also just appeared at an opening of a new rail line and completely omitted that the majority of the money to fund it came from the stimulus. But it all works because the left who adore him can join him in his Obama and Democratic Party bashing, which also helps him convince a chunk of the right that he's "independent" - and the rest of us just sit here unrepresented and especially frustrated when we have to figure out how to get a President elected without calling DeFazio a liar.

I thought of you, sandnsea, when I saw DeFazio's name on the list of yeas. What you explained very well is just what I thought was going on. I got a word for that..and it's a giant moronic COWARD. Okay 3.

[jaxx]

There were 25 Dems who voted for this!!

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 858
(Republicans in roman; Democrats in italic; Independents underlined)

H J RES 2 2/3 YEA-AND-NAY 18-Nov-2011 1:58 PM
QUESTION: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended
BILL TITLE: Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States

Yeas Nays PRES NV
Republican 236 4 2
Democratic 25 161 6
Independent
TOTALS 261 165 8

Dem Yeas:
Altmire
Barrow
Bishop (GA)
Boren
Boswell
Cardoza
Chandler
Cooper
Costa
Costello
Cuellar
DeFazio
Donnelly (IN)
Hochul
Holden
Inslee
Kind
Kissell
Lipinski
Loebsack
Matheson
McIntyre
Peterson
Ross (AR)
Shuler

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll858.xml

[yowzayowzayowza]

Thx for the updates jaxx. Looks like alotta Dems looking for cover voting for a pointless bill.

[Cha]

(11-18-2011 01:29 PM)jaxx Wrote:  There were 25 Dems who voted for this!!

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 858
(Republicans in roman; Democrats in italic; Independents underlined)

H J RES 2 2/3 YEA-AND-NAY 18-Nov-2011 1:58 PM
QUESTION: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended
BILL TITLE: Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States

Yeas Nays PRES NV
Republican 236 4 2
Democratic 25 161 6
Independent
TOTALS 261 165 8

Dem Yeas:
Altmire
Barrow
Bishop (GA)
Boren
Boswell
Cardoza
Chandler
Cooper
Costa
Costello
Cuellar
DeFazio
Donnelly (IN)
Hochul
Holden
Inslee
Kind
Kissell
Lipinski
Loebsack
Matheson
McIntyre
Peterson
Ross (AR)
Shuler

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll858.xml

I don't understand DeFazio and Inslee..it's all Orwellian and these Dems are falling in their trap, imv.

[Cha]

(11-18-2011 01:29 PM)jaxx Wrote:  There were 25 Dems who voted for this!!

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 858
(Republicans in roman; Democrats in italic; Independents underlined)

H J RES 2 2/3 YEA-AND-NAY 18-Nov-2011 1:58 PM
QUESTION: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended
BILL TITLE: Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States

Yeas Nays PRES NV
Republican 236 4 2
Democratic 25 161 6
Independent
TOTALS 261 165 8

Dem Yeas:
Altmire
Barrow
Bishop (GA)
Boren
Boswell
Cardoza
Chandler
Cooper
Costa
Costello
Cuellar
DeFazio
Donnelly (IN)
Hochul
Holden
Inslee
Kind
Kissell
Lipinski
Loebsack
Matheson
McIntyre
Peterson
Ross (AR)
Shuler

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll858.xml

I see my Rep, Mazie Hirono, isn't on that stupid list. Good. Shuler is..the one who wanted to take over Nancy's Job as Minority Speaker..

[jaxx]

My pub rep tweeted how proud he was to vote yes.

RepSchilling Rep. Bobby Schilling
Proud to vote in favor of today’s #BBA #4jobs. We must fundamentally change how Washington does business.

My response:

24Sass
@
@RepSchilling I'm sorry that you can't understand how that amendment would hurt the progress of the USA.

[Cha]

(11-18-2011 06:02 PM)jaxx Wrote:  My pub rep tweeted how proud he was to vote yes.

RepSchilling Rep. Bobby Schilling
Proud to vote in favor of today’s #BBA #4jobs. We must fundamentally change how Washington does business.

My response:

24Sass
@
@RepSchilling I'm sorry that you can't understand how that amendment would hurt the progress of the USA.

Stupid Damn robots..they want Washinton to go back to the way bush did business only more Dictorial. President Obama is changing the way they do business and they don't like it.

The Amendment went DOWN...yea!