Days & Counting Since Senate Democrats Passed A Budget
It’s been 769 days since the Democrats who run the U.S. Senate have performed the most basic job function of Congress by passing a federal budget. In the current 112th Congress, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and his fellow Senate Democrats have yet to propose, much less pass, any budget.
As West Virginians continue to demand substantial action to address our country’s unsustainable debt-and-spending crisis, Democrats have attempted to defend their dereliction with a string of implausible excuses…
First, Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said it would be “foolish” to propose a budget. Then, the Senate Democrats’ designated communications guru Chuck Schumer (D-NY) complained that Democrats just don’t have the time to propose a budget.
Not to be outdone, Senate Democrat Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) has offered yet a third excuse – asserting that Senate Democrats shouldn’t be expected to put forward a federal budget because they only have 53 votes in the chamber of 100. As Politico reported today:
“I think people also understand the Leader [Reid] faces a tough situation with 53 votes and a Republican House,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin. “It’s just not an easy year to engineer the outcomes you’d like to have.”
But Manchin himself has yet to explain to West Virginians why he believes it is acceptable for him and his fellow Washington Democrats not to fulfill this most basic responsibility of Congress – particularly after he was elected to the Senate by promising a balanced federal budget.
“We’ve heard a wide variety of excuses from Senator Manchin’s liberal Washington party bosses as to why he and the Democrats have failed to even propose, much less pass, a federal budget for 769 days. But Manchin himself has yet to explain to West Virginians why he thinks it’s acceptable for him and his fellow Democrats to ignore their most basic job responsibility while our national debt continues to skyrocket on the backs of West Virginia families,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Chris Bond.
Since The Democrat-Controlled Senate Last Passed A Budget, The Federal Debt Has Risen By An Additional $3.1 Trillion:
- On April 27, 2009, The National Debt Was $11.2 Trillion. (Treasury Direct Website, www.treasurydirect.gov, Accessed 6/7/11)
- Today, The National Debt Is Over $14.3 Trillion. (Treasury Direct Website, www.treasurydirect.gov, Accessed 6/7/11)
