Two Months and Counting: Target Dems Have Yet to Produce a Budget

FYI, a version of the release below went out to the following incumbent and challenger districts: John Adler (NJ-03); Jason Altmire (PA-04); Michael Arcuri (NY-24); John Barrow (GA-12); Ami Bera (CA-03); Sanford Bishop (GA-02); Tim Bishop (NY-01); John Boccieri (OH-16); Leonard Boswell (IA-03); Allen Boyd (FL-02); Rick Boucher (VA-09); Paula Brooks (OH-12); John Callahan (PA-15); Dennis Cardoza (CA-18); Russ Carnahan (MO-03); Chris Carney (PA-10); Ben Chandler (KY-06); Travis Childers (MS-01); Gerry Connolly (VA-11); Jim Costa (CA-20); Joe Courtney (CT-02); Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03); Lincoln Davis (TN-04); Suzan DelBene (WA-08); Joe Donnelly (IN-02); Chet Edwards (TX-17); Bob Etheridge (NC-02); Bill Foster (IL-14); Joe Garcia (FL-25); Gabby Giffords (AZ-08); Alan Grayson (FL-08); John Hall (NY-19); Debbie Halvorson (IL-11); Colleen Hanabusa (HI-01); Denny Heck (WA-03); Martin Heinrich (NM-01); Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD-AL); Baron Hill (IN-09); Maurice Hinchey (NY-22); Tim Holden (PA-17); Rush Holt (NJ-12); Steve Israel (NY-02); Steve Kagen (WI-08); Paul Kanjorski (PA-11); Marcy Kaptur (OH-09); Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15); Ron Kind (WI-03); Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01); Ron Klein (FL-22); Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24); Frank Kratovil (MD-01); Rick Larsen (WA-02); Bryan Lentz (PA-07); Dave Loebsack (IA-02); Dan Maffei (NY-25); Betsy Markey (CO-04); Jim Marshall (GA-08); Jim Matheson (UT-02); Michael McMahon (NY-13); Jerry McNerney (CA-11); Walt Minnick (ID-01); Harry Mitchell (AZ-05); Chris Murphy (CT-05); Patrick Murphy (PA-08); Glenn Nye (VA-02); Bill Owens (NY-23); Ed Perlmutter (CO-07); Tom Perriello (VA-05); Gary Peters (MI-09); Earl Pomeroy (ND-AL); Steve Pougnet (CA-45); Nick Rahall (WV-03); Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23); Mike Ross (AR-04); John Salazar (CO-03); Loretta Sanchez (CA-47); Mark Schauer (MI-07); Kurt Schrader (OR-05); Dan Seals (IL-10);Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01); Ike Skelton (MO-04); Zack Space (OH-18); John Spratt (SC-05); Betty Sutton (OH-13); Harry Teague (NM-02); Dina Titus (NV-03); Manan Trivedi (PA-06); Niki Tsongas (MA-05); Tim Walz (MN-01); Tom White (NE-02); Charlie Wilson (OH-06); David Wu (OR-01) and John Yarmuth (KY-03).

Washington– With two months passed since their April 15 deadline and still no budget produced by Washington Democrats, the majority in Congress continues to miss opportunities to rein in government spending and provide the fiscal discipline needed to create jobs and grow a healthy economy. Since the Congressional Budget Act was adopted in 1974, the House has never failed to pass a budget resolution, but Chet Edwards and the current Democrat majority continue to forge ahead with their out-of-control spending spree and still no budget resolution in sight.

As the Democrats’ agenda of wasteful spending pushes our economy further into the red, many Democrats appear to be resolving the budget resolution issue by simply refusing to pass one at all:

“Facing the uncomfortable reality that the federal government’s 2011 budget shows record levels of red ink, congressional Democrats may resolve the politically thorny situation by simply refusing to pass a budget resolution this election year.

“With voters in no mood to hear about Washington’s $1.3-trillion deficit, some moderate and conservative Democrats say they would rather sit this one out. They have found common cause with liberal colleagues who don’t want to pass spending cuts, especially while the economy is still struggling.” (“Budget Woes? Just don’t pass one,” Los Angeles Times, Lisa Mascaro, 5/22/2010)

In a year of anti-incumbent sentiments and a record deficit of $1.3 trillion, Democrats like Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) worry that voting on a budget is a risky decision to make:

“‘I’m not going to vote for anything with that magnitude [of deficit],’ said Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), a freshman running for reelection in the fall… ‘It’s totally inside baseball.'” (“Budget Woes? Just don’t pass one,” Los Angeles Times, Lisa Mascaro, 5/22/2010)

“With two months and counting since Chet Edwards and his Washington friends promised the American public a responsible, honest budget, it’s no surprise that this has become another one of the Democrat party’s unfulfilled promises,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “The longer Edwards and the rest of his party fail to pass a budget, the more they continue to dismiss opportunities to rein in runaway government spending and provide the fiscal discipline needed to create jobs. Instead of piling on to the record-breaking $13 trillion national debt with no budget to outline their spending, Democrats should be evaluating each government program in terms of whether it is worth forcing our children and grandchildren to pay for it.”