Tag Archives: debt ceiling.

Letter to Senator Mark Pryor concerning debt ceiling debate July 26, 2011

July 26, 2011 – 4:14 pm

Dear Senator Pryor,

The President asked us to contact those representing us in Washington and that is exactly what I am doing today. Let make a few points.

First, in the past few months I have responded to your request to provide SPECIFIC SPENDING CUT SUGGESTIONS to your office. I have done so over 100 times and I have also posted them one at a time on my blog www.HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com .

Second, I have also written many posts concerning your political views and many of these articles have got lots of hits on my blog. In fact, when I started in December of 2010 I was only getting a handful of hits every week, but now I have got over 60,000 hits in the first 7 months on my website and I have you to thank for a lot of those hits.

Third, Arkansas is turning conservative and I wonder if you will change with Arkansas. Just recently you went across the state saying that the Republicans wanted to push granny off the cliff. Does that sound like you are open to making changes to make sure that Medicare survives?

Fourth, you wanted me to give you specific suggestions to cut federal spending. I have an easy one for you: Eliminate the Dept of Education!! That would save over 100 billion right there!!!

Fifth, if you want to raise taxes on the job creators during this time then you will be guilty of  destroying the recovery. You have already been guilty of slowly down the recovery with the silly stimulus bill. Every prediction that President Obama made about the stimulus have proven to be incorrect!!! Everyone of them!!!

I have done my duty that my President asked me to do by contacting you. Below you will find a letter that says perfectly what I think about this current debt ceiling crisis. Recently I got to hear Ernest Istook the president of the Heritage Foundation speak in Little Rock. He did a great job.

Below is an excerpt from a letter that went out today from the Heritage Foundation:

Our nation is in the midst of a fiscal crisis, but it is one that has nothing to do with an August 2 “deadline” for a deal or President Obama and Secretary Geithner’s fear mongering over recent days and weeks. The crisis is one of over $62 trillion in unfunded obligations that are the loudest warning bell possible of the systemic problems plaguing our nation. Washington should not ignore or postpone dealing with this problem once again.

Twice already this year, the House of Representatives has voted for plans that would address our fiscal crisis and save our nation from a creditworthiness downgrade. In April, the House passed a bold budget, which would place our nation on a different, more sustainable and prosperous course. Last week, the House passed the Cut, Cap and Balance Act, which would force future Congresses to live within their means and rapidly bring down our nation’s debt-to-GDP ratio. Unfortunately, both of these responsible proposals were defeated by an ideological Senate, which has offered few ideas of its own.

Clearly, the most blame belongs to the President and the Senate – a President who comes up with no useful fiscal plan of his own and a Senate that refuses to pass meaningful legislation to save the American dream from a fiscal tsunami. We cannot, however, continue business as usual by raising the debt limit without substantively addressing our nation’s fiscal challenges. The entire purpose of the debt limit is to put an end to borrowing when it reaches a point that our nation finds unacceptable. There is no point in having a debt limit if the option of using it to address overspending and overborrowing is so intimidating that it is unilaterally taken off the table.

 

Speaker Boehner’s most recent proposal to raise the debt limit is regrettably insufficient to our times. Step one of the Speaker’s proposal would cut $1.2 trillion in discretionary spending. Assuming all of these cuts materialized, this would reduce our nation’s projected debt at the end of the decade from $24.9 trillion to $23.7 trillion. Step two would create a special committee, which has three major problems: (1) The “deficit reduction” of $1.8 trillion remains insufficient for our times; (2) “Deficit reduction” is a well-known codeword for “tax increases”; and (3) 17 blue-ribbon panels, commissions and the like since 1982 have gotten our nation into the mess we are in and there is no obvious reason as to why the 18th will get us out. Further, this proposal would outline a fast track proposal that unduly limits the rights of the congressional minority.

All in all, under a best case scenario where all of the cuts envisioned in the Boehner plan come to fruition, they would only reduce our nation’s projected debt-to-GDP ratio from 104% to 92% – a ratio far higher than its current 62 percent, which Moody’s has already said must come down to maintain our nation’s stable outlook.

Harry Reid’s proposal to raise the debt ceiling is equally unacceptable. It appears to be the latest in a line of proposals that began with the McConnell Proposal, morphed into the McConnell-Reid Proposal, further deteriorated into the Gang of Six Proposal, and has now resurfaced as the Reid Proposal. Each of these insufficiently bold ideas would lead to an increase in the debt limit in exchange for few, if any, actual cuts off existing spending levels. In normal times we might take these as one step toward a path of fiscal sanity.  But we do not have the luxury of taking that kind of small first step at this juncture.  The rating agencies are poised to downgrade us within months if we don’t pass something like the House of Representatives’ first two attempts . . .  The last thing our country needs is a clean debt limit increase with some fancy window dressing to try to fool the American people.

All in all, Heritage Action remains where we were at the start of the summer: absolutely convinced our nation is in fiscal crisis and certain that bold political leadership is necessary to save the American dream. Congress should drive down federal spending on the way to a balanced budget, while protecting America, and without raising taxes. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be what we will get from Washington, which has irresponsibly turned its back on the only real plans out there: The House Budget and the Cut, Cap and Balance Act. As such, Washington should be forced to live under the current debt limit until it’s ready to make tough choices – choices that it should make, and has time to make, this week.

Sincerely,

Michael A. Needham
Chief Executive Officer

___________________________________

Thank you for your time. I know that you are very busy.

From Everette Hatcher

Alexander, AR 72002

Related posts:

Brummett is fooled by Pryor’s assurance that gang of 6 offers real cuts now (Part 2)

  John Brummett in his article, “By Pryor prediction, gang of 6 emerges,” Arkansas News Bureau, July 21, 2011 asserts: So what’s in this great new plan from the Gang of Six? Only about $4 trillion in real deficit reduction achieved by deep defense cuts, commission-delegated reductions in spending for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, […]

 

Brummett is fooled by Pryor’s assurance that gang of 6 offers real cuts now

John Brummett in his article, “By Pryor prediction, gang of 6 emerges,” Arkansas News Bureau, July 21, 2011 asserts: So what’s in this great new plan from the Gang of Six? Only about $4 trillion in real deficit reduction achieved by deep defense cuts, commission-delegated reductions in spending for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, plugging […]

 

Mark Pryor and the liberal gang of six plan

Today I read in the article, “Pryor backing bipartisan debt reduction plan,” Arkansas News Bureau, July 20,2011 the following words: Sen. Mark Pryor said today he supports a $3.7 trillion deficit-reduction plan unveiled Tuesday by six Republican and Democrats as a “carefully crafted balanced” way to avert a looming financial crisis. The Arkansas Democrat was […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in spending out of control, Taxes | Also tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Sen. Marco Rubio on the debt ceiling

July 21, 2011 – 1:36 pm

Published on Jul 17, 2011 by

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) spoke with Bob Schieffer on what he truly feels caused the country’s current debt crisis and the provisions he feels necessary to be included in a compromise for him to vote on raising the debt ceiling.

Senator Rubio is one of the upcoming stars of the Tea Party and he has some great insights on the issue of the debt ceiling.

  • MARCH 30, 2011

Why I Won’t Vote to Raise the Debt Limit

Everyone in Washington knows how to cut spending. The time to start is now.

By MARCO RUBIO

Americans have built the single greatest nation in all of human history. But America’s exceptionalism was not preordained. Every generation has had to confront and solve serious challenges and, because they did, each has left the next better off. Until now.

Our generation’s greatest challenge is an economy that isn’t growing, alongside a national debt that is. If we fail to confront this, our children will be the first Americans ever to inherit a country worse off than the one their parents were given.

Current federal policies make it harder for job creators to start and grow businesses. Taxes on individuals are complicated and set to rise in less than two years. Corporate taxes will soon be the highest in the industrialized world. Federal agencies torment job creators with an endless string of rules and regulations.

On top of all this, we have an unsustainable national debt. Leaders of both parties have grown our government for decades by spending money we didn’t have. To pay for it, they borrowed $4 billion a day, leaving us with today’s $14 trillion debt. Half of that debt is held by foreign investors, mostly China. And there is no plan to stop. In fact, President Obama’s latest budget request spends more than $46 trillion over the next decade. Under this plan, public debt will equal 87% of our economy in less than 10 years. This will scare away job creators and lead to higher taxes, higher interest rates and greater inflation.

Betting on America used to be a sure thing, but job creators see the warning signs that our leaders ignore. Even the world’s largest bond fund, PIMCO, recently dumped its holdings of U.S. debt.

We’re therefore at a defining moment in American history. In a few weeks, we will once again reach our legal limit for borrowing, the so-called debt ceiling. The president and others want to raise this limit. They say it is the mature, responsible thing to do.

In fact, it’s nothing more than putting off the tough decisions until after the next election. We cannot afford to continue waiting. This may be our last chance to force Washington to tackle the central economic issue of our time.

“Raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure.” So said then-Sen. Obama in 2006, when he voted against raising the debt ceiling by less than $800 billion to a new limit of $8.965 trillion. As America’s debt now approaches its current $14.29 trillion limit, we are witnessing leadership failure of epic proportions.

I will vote to defeat an increase in the debt limit unless it is the last one we ever authorize and is accompanied by a plan for fundamental tax reform, an overhaul of our regulatory structure, a cut to discretionary spending, a balanced-budget amendment, and reforms to save Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.View Full Image

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Chad Crowe

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There is still time to accomplish all this. Rep. Dave Camp has already introduced proposals to lower and simplify our tax rates, close loopholes, and make permanent low rates on capital gains and dividends. Even Mr. Obama has endorsed the idea of lowering our corporate tax rate. Sen. Rand Paul, meanwhile, has a bill that would require an up-or-down vote on “major” regulations, those that cost the economy $100 million or more. And the House has already passed a spending plan this year that lowered discretionary spending by $862 billion over 10 years.

Such reductions are important, but nondefense discretionary spending is a mere 19% of the budget. Focusing on this alone would lead to draconian cuts to essential and legitimate programs. To get our debt under control, we must reform and save our entitlement programs.

No changes should be made to Medicare and Social Security for people who are currently in the system, like my mother. But people decades away from retirement, like me, must accept that reforms are necessary if we want Social Security and Medicare to exist at all by the time we are eligible for them.

Finally, instead of simply raising the debt limit, we should reassure job creators by setting a firm statutory cap on our public debt-to-GDP ratio. A comprehensive plan would wind down our debt to sustainable levels of approximately 60% within a decade and no more than half of the economy shortly thereafter. If Congress fails to meet these debt targets, automatic across-the-board spending reductions should be triggered to close the gap. These public debt caps could go in tandem with a Constitutional balanced budget amendment.

Some say we will go into default if we don’t increase the debt limit. But if we simply raise it once again, without a real plan to bring spending under control and get our economy growing, America faces the very real danger of a catastrophic economic crisis.

I know that by writing this, I am inviting political attack. When I proposed reforms to Social Security during my campaign, my opponent spent millions on attack ads designed to frighten seniors. But demagoguery is the last refuge of the spineless politician willing to do anything to win the next election.

Whether they admit it or not, everyone in Washington knows how to solve these problems. What is missing is the political will to do it. I ran for the U.S. Senate because I want my children to inherit what I inherited: the greatest nation in human history. It’s not too late. The 21st century can also be the American Century. Our people are ready. Now it’s time for their leaders to join them.

Mr. Rubio, a Republican, is a U.S. senator from Florida.

Sen. Marco Rubio on the debt limit

The president is “more interested in delivering a tax increase to please the base of the party than he is about solving the problem.” Senator Marco Rubio appeared on Sean Hannity’s radio show this afternoon to talk about the debt limit debate and the out-of-control spending in Washington.

Here is one of my favorite videos on this subject below:

What Is The Debt Ceiling?

Published on May 19, 2013

What is the debt ceiling and why does it matter? Find out:http://BankruptingAmerica.org/DebtCei…

Congress’s dance with the debt limit can be confusing and, frankly, the details can be a real snooze fest for many Americans. Sometimes a little humor clarifies the absurdities of Washington antics better than flow charts and talk of trillions.

The 31-second video and accompanying infographic “The Debt Ceiling Explained” by Bankrupting America offers the facts, leavened with a dose of levity. The conclusion is serious, however: The country’s debt threatens economic growth, and spending cuts are the answer.

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It is obvious to me that if President Obama gets his hands on more money then he will continue to spend away our children’s future. He has already taken the national debt from 11 trillion to 16 trillion in just 4 years. Over, and over, and over, and over, and over and over I have written Speaker Boehner and written every Republican that represents Arkansans in Arkansas before (Griffin, Womack, Crawford, and only Senator Boozman got a chance to respond) concerning this. I am hoping they will stand up against this reckless spending that our federal government has done and will continue to do if given the chance.

Why don’t the Republicans  just vote no on the next increase to the debt ceiling limit. I have praised over and over and over the 66 House Republicans that voted no on that before. If they did not raise the debt ceiling then we would have a balanced budget instantly.  I agree that the Tea Party has made a difference and I have personally posted 49 posts on my blog on different Tea Party heroes of mine.

What would happen if the debt ceiling was not increased? Yes President Obama would probably cancel White House tours and he would try to stop mail service or something else to get on our nerves but that is what the Republicans need to do.

I have written and emailed Senator Pryor over, and over again with spending cut suggestions but he has ignored all of these good ideas in favor of keeping the printing presses going as we plunge our future generations further in debt. I am convinced if he does not change his liberal voting record that he will no longer be our senator in 2014.

I have written hundreds of letters and emails to President Obama and I must say that I have been impressed that he has had the White House staff answer so many of my letters. The White House answered concerning Social Security (two times), Green Technologies, welfare, small businesses, Obamacare (twice),  federal overspending, expanding unemployment benefits to 99 weeks,  gun control, national debt, abortion, jumpstarting the economy, and various other  issues.   However, his policies have not changed, and by the way the White House after answering over 50 of my letters before November of 2012 has not answered one since.   President Obama is committed to cutting nothing from the budget that I can tell.

 I have praised over and over and over the 66 House Republicans that voted no on that before. If they did not raise the debt ceiling then we would have a balanced budget instantly.  I agree that the Tea Party has made a difference and I have personally posted 49 posts on my blog on different Tea Party heroes of mine.

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By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in President Obama, spending out of control | Also tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Brummett: Congress abdicates political responsibility to make wise cuts, but we don’t need balanced budget amendment (Part 1)

July 19, 2011 – 7:28 am

Published on Jul 15, 2011 by

During his third news conference on the debt crisis, President Obama says Congress does not need a constitutional amendment to do its job, the constitution “tells us to do our job.”

_______________________

The problem with President Obama’s comments above is that he really does not see the tremendous increase in federal spending as the problem. He blames everything else!!!! He says we do not need the balanced budget amendment but uncontrolled federal spending is the reason we need it!!!

John Brummett in his article “It may get personal in debt-limit end game,” Arkansas News Bureau, July 19, 2011 noted:

The White House is quietly encouraging the Reid-McConnell talks.

Meantime, there is talk of pandering to the tea party radicals in the unwieldy House by letting them pursue referral of a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution.

Ratification would take years. If enacted, such an amendment would amount to the same abdication of political responsibility to make wise and responsible cuts in spending as has been evident in the debt-ceiling debate.

It is obvious to me that the Balanced Budget Amendment is needed because of the “abdication of political responsibility to make wise and responsible cuts in spending” that Brummett is talking about and we have all seen for decades.

The real debate in my view should be which variety of amendment should we pass. This is a series of posts I am doing on that subject. They come from Brian Darling’s excellent article, ” The House and Senate Balanced Budget Amendments: Not All Balanced Budget Amendments Are Created Equal,” Heritage Foundation, July 14, 2011. 

Abstract: Republicans in the House and Senate have announced that they will force votes on balanced budget constitutional amendments. While the Senate and House versions of the current BBA are similar, there are some important differences that Members of Congress and the American people need to understand. For example, the Senate version makes it more difficult to enact revenue-neutral tax reform, while the House version would waive its tax limitation in times of military conflict. How Congress resolves these differences could determine whether future Congresses and Presidents balance the budget without increasing taxes.

Congress is preparing for a historic debate over what role—if any—a balanced budget amendment (BBA) to the U.S. Constitution should play in relation to the United States’ statutory debt ceiling. Some conservatives in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have demanded a vote on a balanced budget amendment. Other conservatives have gone as far as to demand passage of a BBA in the House and Senate as a precondition to passing a debt limit increase.

If the Senate and House were to pass identical versions of a BBA, the constitutional amendment would then be sent to the states for ratification.[1]

Republican leaders in the House and Senate have declared that a vote will be scheduled in both chambers on their respective versions of a BBA. The differences between the two versions are significant: Clearly, not all BBAs are created equal.

The provisions that vary between the House and Senate versions of the BBA may have dramatic policy implications for federal spending. For instance, the two versions of the BBA diverge significantly on such threshold questions as how each amendment’s provisions apply during times of “military conflict” and the number of votes required to waive the constitutional mandate that the budget be balanced during a fiscal year.

According to Roll Call, Republicans in the House and Senate have announced that they will force votes on balanced budget constitutional amendments.[2] The Senate is expected to vote the week of July 18, 2011, while the House is expected to vote on another version of the BBA during the same week.

While the Senate and House versions of the current BBA are similar, there are some important differences that Members of Congress and the American people need to understand. How Congress resolves these differences could determine whether future Congresses and Presidents balance the budget without increasing taxes.

The Senate BBA

Senator Mike Lee (R–UT) and Senator Jon Kyl (R–AZ) introduced a BBA that would cap spending as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), require supermajority votes to increase the debt limit or raise taxes, and prohibit the judiciary from using a BBA as authority to unilaterally order tax increases to balance the budget.[3]

Senator Lee’s version of the BBA included the following three pillars:

  • Requiring a balanced budget for each fiscal year;
  • Limiting federal spending to no more than 18 percent of GDP; and
  • Requiring a supermajority vote in both Houses of Congress in order to increase taxes, raise the debt ceiling, or run a specific deficit in a particular year.[4]

This version of the BBA, Senate Joint Resolution 5 (S.J. Res. 5), departed from the Contract with America version in that prior incarnations of the BBA did not include a spending cap.

Senator Orrin Hatch (R–UT) drafted a BBA that garnered unanimous support from all 47 Republican Senators. Senator Hatch introduced this BBA, referred to as Senate Joint Resolution 10 (S.J. Res. 10), on March 31, 2011.[5]

On June 29, 2011, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R–KY) introduced an identical measure, Senate Joint Resolution 23 (S.J. Res. 23),[6] which was then read onto the Senate Calendar on June 30. The McConnell BBA contains the following provisions:

  • Section 1.Total outlays for any fiscal year shall not exceed total receipts for that fiscal year, unless two-thirds of the duly chosen and sworn Members of each House of Congress shall provide by law for a specific excess of outlays over receipts by a roll call vote.
  • Section 2.Total outlays for any fiscal year shall not exceed 18 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States for the calendar year ending before the beginning of such fiscal year, unless two-thirds of the duly chosen and sworn Members of each House of Congress shall provide by law for a specific amount in excess of such 18 percent by a roll call vote.
  • Section 3.Prior to each fiscal year, the President shall transmit to the Congress a proposed budget for the United States Government for that fiscal year in which—
    1. total outlays do not exceed total receipts; and
    2. total outlays do not exceed 18 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States for the calendar year ending before the beginning of such fiscal year.
  • Section 4.Any bill that imposes a new tax or increases the statutory rate of any tax or the aggregate amount of revenue may pass only by a two-thirds majority of the duly chosen and sworn Members of each House of Congress by a roll call vote. For the purpose of determining any increase in revenue under this section, there shall be excluded any increase resulting from the lowering of the statutory rate of any tax.
  • Section 5.The limit on the debt of the United States shall not be increased, unless three-fifths of the duly chosen and sworn Members of each House of Congress shall provide for such an increase by a roll call vote.
  • Section 6.The Congress may waive the provisions of sections 1, 2, 3, and 5 of this article for any fiscal year in which a declaration of war against a nation-state is in effect and in which a majority of the duly chosen and sworn Members of each House of Congress shall provide for a specific excess by a roll call vote.
  • Section 7.The Congress may waive the provisions of sections 1, 2, 3, and 5 of this article in any fiscal year in which the United States is engaged in a military conflict that causes an imminent and serious military threat to national security and is so declared by three-fifths of the duly chosen and sworn Members of each House of Congress by a roll call vote. Such suspension must identify and be limited to the specific excess of outlays for that fiscal year made necessary by the identified military conflict.
  • Section 8.No court of the United States or of any State shall order any increase in revenue to enforce this article.
  • Section 9.Total receipts shall include all receipts of the United States Government except those derived from borrowing. Total outlays shall include all outlays of the United States Government except those for repayment of debt principal.
  • Section 10.The Congress shall have power to enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation, which may rely on estimates of outlays, receipts, and gross domestic product.
  • Section 11. This article shall take effect beginning with the fifth fiscal year beginning after its ratification.

The Senate is expected to commence debate on S.J. Res. 23 during the week of July 18, 2011.

—Brian Darling is Senior Fellow for Government Studies in the Department of Government Studies at The Heritage Foundation.

Related posts:

Balanced Budget Amendment the answer? Boozman says yes, Pryor no, Part 34 (Input from Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute Part 6)

Classic Ron Paul: “I expect deficits to explode, not come down” 4/9/1997, C-SPAN Steve Brawner in his article “Safer roads and balanced budgets,” Arkansas News Bureau, April 13, 2011, noted: The disagreement is over the solutions — on what spending to cut; what taxes to raise (basically none ever, according to Boozman); whether or not […]

Ernest Istook: “it’s time to put away childish things” and tackle deficit, will Senator Mark Pryor do it?

U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor at the 2009 DPA J-J Dinner U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor at the 2009 Democratic Party Jefferson Jackson Dinner, Arkansas’s largest annual political event. (Did you notice that besides Mike Ross, EVERY OTHER DEMOCRAT THAT PRYOR MENTIONS DOING SUCH A GREAT JOB IN WASHINGTON IS NO LONGER IN OFFICE, SNYDER, LINCOLN, and BERRY)

Balanced Budget Amendment the answer? Boozman says yes, Pryor no, Part 29 (Input from Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute Part 1)(Milton Friedman past posts)

Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment Steve Brawner in his article “Safer roads and balanced budgets,” Arkansas News Bureau, April 13, 2011, noted: The disagreement is over the solutions — on what spending to cut; what taxes to raise (basically none ever, according to Boozman); whether or not to enact a balanced budget amendment (Boozman says yes; […]

Balanced Budget Amendment the answer? Boozman says yes, Pryor no, Part 28 (Input from Norm Coleman, former Republican Senator from MN)

  It’s Simple to Balance The Budget Without Higher Taxes Steve Brawner in his article “Safer roads and balanced budgets,” Arkansas News Bureau, April 13, 2011, noted: The disagreement is over the solutions — on what spending to cut; what taxes to raise (basically none ever, according to Boozman); whether or not to enact a […]

Balanced Budget Amendment the answer? Boozman says yes, Pryor no, Part 27 (Input from Newt Gingrich, Mike Coffman)

Debunking White House Pro-Tax Increase Propaganda This Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation mini-documentary debunks White House pro-tax propaganda with a point-by-point rebuttal of a video narrated by Austan Goolsbee of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers. http://www.freedomandprosperity.org Steve Brawner in his article “Safer roads and balanced budgets,” Arkansas News Bureau, April 13, 2011, noted: The […]

Balanced Budget Amendment the answer? Boozman says yes, Pryor no, Part 26 (Milton Friedman tells us how to stay free Part 5)

Steve Brawner in his article “Safer roads and balanced budgets,” Arkansas News Bureau, April 13, 2011, noted: The disagreement is over the solutions — on what spending to cut; what taxes to raise (basically none ever, according to Boozman); whether or not to enact a balanced budget amendment (Boozman says yes; Pryor no); and on […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in President Obama, spending out of control | Also tagged , , , | Comments (2)