Nelson & Fellow Senate Budget Committee Democrats Once Again Shut Down Budget Process
As a candidate for the Senate in 2000 and again for re-election in 2006, Bill Nelson repeatedly invoked the mantra of fiscal responsibility and stressed the importance of a “pay-as-you-go” system.
Yet, in the 12 years Nelson has been in the Senate, the federal debt has skyrocketed by trillions and trillions of dollars. In fact, since President Obama took office Nelson has unabashedly supported every one of his big government spending programs, the government’s credit card bill has increased an additional $5 trillion — from $10.6 trillion to $15.6 trillion.
What’s worse – Senate Democrats, including Nelson who sits on the Senate Budget Committee, have refused to pass a budget for over three years – 1,085 days to be exact.
And earlier today, Nelson and his fellow Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee cancelled a planned markup of a federal budget for 2013, and announced that no action would be taken on the budget this year until after the November election. As numerous news reports from Capitol Hill pointed out, Nelson and his Democratic colleagues are apparently more concerned with their own re-elections than with tackling the country’s skyrocketing debt.
“The decision by Senator Nelson to punt on a federal budget for the third year in a row makes clear that he’s more concerned with his own political survival than with trying to secure America’s economic future,” National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Jahan Wilcox said today. “As a member of the Senate Budget Committee, Floridians expect Bill Nelson to do his job, but for over 1,000 days he’s refused to fulfill the most basic duty of his office.”
“Florida deserves a Senator who is focused on doing what’s right for his state and his country and not what’s best for his own political career,” Wilcox concluded
BACKGROUND …
BILL NELSON CAMPAIGNED ON FISCAL REFORM
NELSON: “But What We Ought To Do Is We Ought To Have A Pay-As-You-Go Policy, That If You Want To Pay For Something, And You Want To Spend The Money For This, You’re Going To Have To Identify A Revenue Source To Pay For It. And That’s The Only Thing That’s Going To Get Us Out Of This Mess That We’re In.” (November 1, 2006 debate, http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/FloridaSenateDeba)
BUT IT’S BEEN 1,085 DAYS SINCE NELSON & HIS DEMOCRAT COLLEAGUES HAVE PASSED A BUDGET
APRIL 29, 2009: The Senate has passed the President’s budget by a vote of 53-43. (Brian Beutler, The Budget Passes Both Houses, TPM, 04/29/09)
WHICH IS LONGER THAN IT TOOK TO BUILD THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING: The [Empire State Building] was actually completed ahead of schedule, taking only one year and 45 days to build. (Jennifer Rosenberg, Empire State Building Facts, Accessed 01/23/12)
AND IN 2012 NELSON & HIS FELLOW LIBERAL DEMOCRATS HAVE REFUSED TO EVEN INTRODUCE A BUDGET
- The Hill: Sen. Conrad Backs Off Plan To Vote On Budget. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) bowed to pressure from fellow Democrats on Tuesday and postponed a committee vote on a 2013 budget resolution, most likely until after the November elections.
- Congressional Quarterly: Conrad to Hold No Votes on Budget. Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad is offering a long-term deficit reduction plan at what he is calling a markup Wednesday, but the more immediate effect of his action will be to spare Democrats potentially difficult election year votes on spending priorities. The North Dakota Democrat plans to offer his budget resolution without a final vote or possible amendments….Avoiding a vote also allows Conrad to meet the concerns of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has insisted he will not bring a budget to the floor.
- ABC News: Senate Budget Chair Defends Kicking the Can Down the Road. Why do today what you can put off until after Election Day? Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., has a plan for solving the nation’s debt crisis but doesn’t expect anything to get done before the fall election.
- Politico: Conrad budget a study in gridlock. The Democratic-led Senate hasn’t passed a budget blueprint since April 2009, and it won’t do so again this spring as election-year pressures consume Capitol Hill. In fact, Conrad’s budget “markup” Wednesday won’t even be a real markup because senators won’t actually offer amendments or vote…. Last year, despite weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations with his own conference, Conrad abandoned a budget markup after it became clear it lacked support from Democrats, who complained it was too conservative. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) sealed its fate, saying it was “foolish” to pass a budget as Vice President Joe Biden was negotiating a deal to raise the debt ceiling.
- Washington Post’s Right Turn: Senate Democrats Punt On The Budget, Again . Sen. Kent Conrad (D-S.D.) had a bright idea: The Senate should pass a budget. It was a fine insight, since it legally is supposed to do just that but hasn’t in about three years. He decided he would use the Simpson-Bowles debt commission proposal. Sounds like a respectable idea. But then the Senate Democrats and Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) swooped in, forcing Conrad to retreat. No votes on the budget! Don’t make us show our hand!
