{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20131216082705/http://mcclintock.house.gov:80/2013/12/sequester-we-hardly-knew-ye.shtml", "Sequester We Hardly Knew Ye", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "CA", "Tom McClintock", "M001177", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Sequester We Hardly Knew Ye  By Congressman Tom McClintock  \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The great irony of the Republican decision to bust the budget sequester is that barely two months ago, congressional roles were reversed. \u00a0The Democrats insisted on funding the government according to existing law. \u00a0The Republicans sought one simple change: that the individual insurance mandate under Obamacare be delayed for one year. \u00a0They were trying to spare the American people the Obamacare disaster that is now unfolding, but to no avail. \u00a0The American people sided overwhelmingly with the Democrats on the principle that the government should be funded according to current law without any side issues. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Why wasn\u2019t that principle applied just two months later? Republicans were in the ideal position to hold the budget line simply by insisting on enforcing current law. \u00a0Instead, the House Republican leadership pushed through a two-year budget that will allow the federal government to spend an additional $63 billion more than current law allows \u2013 money that our country does not have. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Some of the discussion has focused on how much of the spending spree will be paid with higher taxes. \u00a0The answer is, \u201call of it.\u201d \u00a0Once government spends a dollar, it has already decided to tax that dollar \u2013 the only questions that remain are who gets the bill and when. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Sixty-three billion dollars of new spending \u2013 and therefore new taxes in some form \u2013 is not a small amount of money. \u00a0It averages about $570 of added burdens for every family in America. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Not so, say supporters. \u00a0Over the next ten years, fee increases and spending reforms will pay for all of this, with $22 billion to spare for debt reduction. \u00a0The claim is a practical application of the economic principles of J. Wellington Wimpy: \u00a0\u201cI will gladly pay you $22 billion in deficit reduction ten years from now for $63 billion in new spending today.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The lie is given to this promise within the measure itself. \u00a0A major part of the alleged long-term deficit reduction is the assurance that after a two year spending binge, Congress will not only enforce the sequester but will even extend it for an extra two years in 2022 and 2023. \u00a0Pardon my skepticism. \u00a0We are required to believe that in the future, Congress will magically summon the fiscal discipline that has eluded it in the present. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 A side deal called the \u201cDoc Fix\u201d offers more reason for doubt. \u00a0The \u201cDoc Fix\u201d has become an annual ritual arising from a previous budget deal that promised long term savings, except that Congress votes every year to ignore it (oops there goes another $8.7 billion). \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 True, discretionary spending will be less than the House budgets of 2011 and 2012, but this is a sleight-of-hand. \u00a0Those budgets were unified packages of reforms that saved most on the mandatory side of the ledger and must be viewed in their totality \u2013 not picking and choosing which parts to compare and which to ignore. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Finally, we are told that there are not enough votes in the House to support current-law spending. \u00a0There\u2019s one way to find out: put a clean measure on the floor and see where the votes are. \u00a0That\u2019s essentially how the impasse was resolved two months ago. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The sequester provided less than a third of the deficit reduction that Standard and Poors warned would have been necessary to maintain our triple-A credit rating, which is why many conservatives opposed it. \u00a0But it was at least a step in the right direction. \u00a0It was an agreement that Congress made with itself, and given the political realities of a divided government, it became the only viable instrument to keep spending under some modicum of control. \u00a0The busting of that limit now calls into question any promises of future fiscal restraint. \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Perhaps the most stinging indictment of the budget deal comes from former Reagan budget director David Stockman. \u00a0Under Stockman\u2019s guidance, the Reagan administration reduced both spending and the deficit as a percentage of GDP, produced a period of prolonged economic expansion and won the cold war. \u00a0 His verdict is chilling: \"It's a joke and betrayal. It's the final surrender of the House Republican leadership to Beltway politics and kicking the can and ignoring the budget monster that's hurtling down the road.\"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The new Congressional budget is a mistake at a time when we can\u2019t afford many more mistakes. \u00a0The path of least resistance, even if paved with good intentions, is not a path America can afford to travel any longer.  \u00a0 ### Congressman McClintock voted NO on the Congressional Budget Resolution, H.J. Res 59, on the House floor on December 12, 2013.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20131216082705/http://mcclintock.house.gov:80/2013/12/sequester-we-hardly-knew-ye.shtml"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0004339274019003, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}