Since sequestration went into effect and the world did not end, it is time for the next step to be taken in restoring some sort of rational behavior to America's federal spending. For any effective action to occur, however, certain things will need to be recognized by the Republicans in the House. Thise include the following:
1) It is impossible for the Republicans to outshout president Obama and the Obamacrats. No matter what gets said, the media will cover Obama in a positive light and will repeat whatever he says. Coverage of the Republicans will be heavily negative and it will be minimized. This means that big picture debates will be ineffective.
2) Specifics will triumph over generalities. In other words, if a specific reorganization of spending on a subject like farm subsidies is proposed with a short explanation of how costs will go down but results will either stay the same or improve, it will not be enough to answer by saying that any change will hurt.
3) Being positive is much better in the long run than being negative. The Republicans have to be in the position of proposing changes to improve both the operation of the government and the problem with the deficit. Let the Obamacrats have the position of saying no to every proposal.
4) Tax issues have to be dealt with in a rational way. It is not enough to say that the tax debate is over. Republicans need to come forth with their own plan for tax reform. That plan ought to include corporate tax reform and the closing of all of the loopholes that funnel money to Obama's allies as well.
Put all this together, and the Republicans can follow a simple plan of action with the following component parts:
a) Republicans should do their jobs in Congress. In other words, it does not matter whether or not the Obamacrats will vote for a measure in the Senate; Republicans in the House should pass both appropriations bills and reform measures and move those forward to the Senate. Let Harry Reid and the Obamacrats become the party of NO.
b) Republicans ought not to threaten any government shut downs. These are shouting matches which the GOP is unlikely to win, even if it has the better of the argument.
c) The GOP should pass a three month continuing resolution as soon as possible. This should cover the costs of the government until the end of June with funding set at the levels required by the sequestration restriction. The GOP should not wait to the last second to act. Let the ball be put completely in the court of the Senate and Harry Reid. Leave it up to them whether or not to shut the government in an attempt to undo sequestration.
d) Right after passing the continuing resolution, the Speaker should announce that moving forward the Republicans will be working on specific bills for spending that will cover individual portions of the government. This is the standard way of paying for government which was in effect from the beginning of America until Obama took office in 2009. Each committee ought to hold hearings on the spending that it oversees and come up with a final bill for approval. The goal for each committee ought to be to find specific savings in each department that will amount to another 1% reduction in spending at a minimum. These savings ought to be program specific if at all possible. In other words, savings ought to come from combining duplicate programs or ending failing measures or preventing useless construction rather than having some across the board 1% reduction. Obviously, if a larger reduction than 1% makes sense, it should be proposed.
e) These spending bills ought to be brought forward for a vote as soon as the committees are finished with them. Then they should be debated and sent to the Senate.
f) When June comes and it is time for the next continuing resolution to fund the government, the House should pass one that allocates funds in line with the spending bills that it has passed. Obviously, if the House has passed a spending bill and the Senate has also approved it, there will be no need to fund those activities through a continuing resolution. On the other hand, if the spending bills get passed and then languish in the do nothing Senate, the House should limit its approval for further spending in the area to just those funds which were in the spending measure.
g) Starting in May, the House each week should consider a stand alone bill that will change federal spending by at least $1 billion. These measures ought to make permanent the ideas that are being incorporated into the spending measures pending in the House.
This is a fair outline of where I think the Republicans should go next. Just think of the benefits.
First, there will be no crisis. For all the Obama and media hoopla, all America will see is just things moving forward in a normal fashion.
Second, at some point, the various Obamacrats will have to answer questions about specific redcutions in spending. Think of Harry Reid explaining why 96 different job training programs cannot be consolidated into five with a major cost savings but no reduction in training. Think of Dick Durbin telling MSNBC why it is critical that the General Services Administration has to continue to hold staff meetings in Las Vegas rather than in its regional centers, thereby savings tens of millions of dollars in travel costs each year. Think of Chuck Schumer telling Face the Nation that requiring certain airports to restrict travel to certain gates during light travel hours (which will allow for a reduction in TSA employees on duty during those times) is a bad idea. As these explanations are given, more and more of the media will realize just how empty headed the responses are. More important, those Americans who pay attention will also get to see this. While it is true that most folks will be completely oblivious to this ongoing discussion, it will eventually make its way into the consciousness of the nation. The Republicans will be proposing solutions and the Obamacrats will be saying no.
Third, this process will put extreme pressure on the Senate to act on appropriations. After all, failure to act will leave them forced to deal with the alternative of continuing resolutions where all of the House cuts go into effect or else watching the government shut down because the Senate will not accept tiny cuts. There will surely be enough senators who will see the wisdom of actually doing their jobs through appropriations that the logjam will be broken and individual bills will be passed.
Fourth, coming out with a tax reform plan will blunt the phony issue of taxes on the rich. This measure needs to be pursued as part of a pro-growth agenda. Whenever fairness is raised as an issue, the only response must be to ask whether or not it is fair to leave America saddled with a tax system that prevents economic growth. Is it fair for the federal government to get caught up in class warfare as part of a tax structure rather than to take actions that will bring millions of new jobs to Americans of all income levels?
This is just a bare bones outline of where I think the next steps are.
1) It is impossible for the Republicans to outshout president Obama and the Obamacrats. No matter what gets said, the media will cover Obama in a positive light and will repeat whatever he says. Coverage of the Republicans will be heavily negative and it will be minimized. This means that big picture debates will be ineffective.
2) Specifics will triumph over generalities. In other words, if a specific reorganization of spending on a subject like farm subsidies is proposed with a short explanation of how costs will go down but results will either stay the same or improve, it will not be enough to answer by saying that any change will hurt.
3) Being positive is much better in the long run than being negative. The Republicans have to be in the position of proposing changes to improve both the operation of the government and the problem with the deficit. Let the Obamacrats have the position of saying no to every proposal.
4) Tax issues have to be dealt with in a rational way. It is not enough to say that the tax debate is over. Republicans need to come forth with their own plan for tax reform. That plan ought to include corporate tax reform and the closing of all of the loopholes that funnel money to Obama's allies as well.
Put all this together, and the Republicans can follow a simple plan of action with the following component parts:
a) Republicans should do their jobs in Congress. In other words, it does not matter whether or not the Obamacrats will vote for a measure in the Senate; Republicans in the House should pass both appropriations bills and reform measures and move those forward to the Senate. Let Harry Reid and the Obamacrats become the party of NO.
b) Republicans ought not to threaten any government shut downs. These are shouting matches which the GOP is unlikely to win, even if it has the better of the argument.
c) The GOP should pass a three month continuing resolution as soon as possible. This should cover the costs of the government until the end of June with funding set at the levels required by the sequestration restriction. The GOP should not wait to the last second to act. Let the ball be put completely in the court of the Senate and Harry Reid. Leave it up to them whether or not to shut the government in an attempt to undo sequestration.
d) Right after passing the continuing resolution, the Speaker should announce that moving forward the Republicans will be working on specific bills for spending that will cover individual portions of the government. This is the standard way of paying for government which was in effect from the beginning of America until Obama took office in 2009. Each committee ought to hold hearings on the spending that it oversees and come up with a final bill for approval. The goal for each committee ought to be to find specific savings in each department that will amount to another 1% reduction in spending at a minimum. These savings ought to be program specific if at all possible. In other words, savings ought to come from combining duplicate programs or ending failing measures or preventing useless construction rather than having some across the board 1% reduction. Obviously, if a larger reduction than 1% makes sense, it should be proposed.
e) These spending bills ought to be brought forward for a vote as soon as the committees are finished with them. Then they should be debated and sent to the Senate.
f) When June comes and it is time for the next continuing resolution to fund the government, the House should pass one that allocates funds in line with the spending bills that it has passed. Obviously, if the House has passed a spending bill and the Senate has also approved it, there will be no need to fund those activities through a continuing resolution. On the other hand, if the spending bills get passed and then languish in the do nothing Senate, the House should limit its approval for further spending in the area to just those funds which were in the spending measure.
g) Starting in May, the House each week should consider a stand alone bill that will change federal spending by at least $1 billion. These measures ought to make permanent the ideas that are being incorporated into the spending measures pending in the House.
This is a fair outline of where I think the Republicans should go next. Just think of the benefits.
First, there will be no crisis. For all the Obama and media hoopla, all America will see is just things moving forward in a normal fashion.
Second, at some point, the various Obamacrats will have to answer questions about specific redcutions in spending. Think of Harry Reid explaining why 96 different job training programs cannot be consolidated into five with a major cost savings but no reduction in training. Think of Dick Durbin telling MSNBC why it is critical that the General Services Administration has to continue to hold staff meetings in Las Vegas rather than in its regional centers, thereby savings tens of millions of dollars in travel costs each year. Think of Chuck Schumer telling Face the Nation that requiring certain airports to restrict travel to certain gates during light travel hours (which will allow for a reduction in TSA employees on duty during those times) is a bad idea. As these explanations are given, more and more of the media will realize just how empty headed the responses are. More important, those Americans who pay attention will also get to see this. While it is true that most folks will be completely oblivious to this ongoing discussion, it will eventually make its way into the consciousness of the nation. The Republicans will be proposing solutions and the Obamacrats will be saying no.
Third, this process will put extreme pressure on the Senate to act on appropriations. After all, failure to act will leave them forced to deal with the alternative of continuing resolutions where all of the House cuts go into effect or else watching the government shut down because the Senate will not accept tiny cuts. There will surely be enough senators who will see the wisdom of actually doing their jobs through appropriations that the logjam will be broken and individual bills will be passed.
Fourth, coming out with a tax reform plan will blunt the phony issue of taxes on the rich. This measure needs to be pursued as part of a pro-growth agenda. Whenever fairness is raised as an issue, the only response must be to ask whether or not it is fair to leave America saddled with a tax system that prevents economic growth. Is it fair for the federal government to get caught up in class warfare as part of a tax structure rather than to take actions that will bring millions of new jobs to Americans of all income levels?
This is just a bare bones outline of where I think the next steps are.
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