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Congressional Infighting over Budget Continues

Republicans were swept into power on Capitol Hill in part by promising to bring the nation’s fiscal house into order. A part of their argument was that Democrats had given up on writing, let alone passing, budgets. Now the tables have turned.
Virginia Republican Congressman Dave Brat was sent to Washington after shocking Washington by ousting former Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a primary. He’s now a part of a group of lawmakers that is dead set on blocking the budget Republican leaders in the House support.

“In its current form, at the higher number without offsetting mandatory reforms, yeah. I think the American people are saying we want to see some big changes up there.”

Brat and Southwestern Virginia Congressman Morgan Griffith are both members of the Tea Party tinged House Freedom Caucus. That group is grappling with GOP leaders over their demand to cut next year’s budget by some thirty billion dollars. Brat says he could support it if leaders agreed to cut items like Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid.

“The leadership team is trying to get there, they’re trying, they’re moving on a package of mandatory spending reforms that will get things right, but it’s not quite in concrete yet. If they get it in concrete, I’ll shift. But as of last night it wasn’t there yet.” 

The internal GOP infighting threatens to embarrass Republican Party leaders: If they don’t pass a budget they become guilty of the same charge that many of them lobbed against Democrats just a few years ago. To Brat, party leaders aren’t being serious.

“Nineteen trillion in debt, 100 trillion in unfunded liability, when I see answers that begin with a ‘t,’ for trillion, right? The problems are in the 100 trillion range and our solutions are only in the 30 billion range. That’s the problem.” 

Republican leaders scored a win by passing their budget out of committee, but it appears to be doomed if it comes up for a vote before the full House. Virginia

“The budget being marked up in the Budget Committee might actually make things worse than no budget at all.”

For Scott and his coastal district, he says the further cuts the Tea Party is demanding are detrimental.

“Obviously studies have been done in Hampton Roads have concluded that 48 percent of the economy depends on the Department of Defense. Not federal spending, Department of Defense. And so anything more we can get on that line item would obviously help the Hampton Roads area.” 

What the Tea Party wing of the House - including those two Virginians - are demanding is basically to put those automatic budget cuts called sequestration back into effect next year.

“We found that the Budget Control Act and sequestration, and ultimately the shutdown had such a negative impact on our local economy. If you listen to Steve Fuller at George Mason, our local economy from DC to Northern Virginia took a big hit than any other major area in the country.”

Retiring Republican Congressman Scott Rigell isn’t on board with some of his fellow Virginians.

“My hope is that within our own Republican conference that we can find the votes to pass that, and right now we don’t have them. We’re at gridlock within our own conference.” 

For all the turmoil and infighting happing in the House, the upper chamber is at relative peace. Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine says he doubts the Senate will even take up a budget this year.

“I’m not sure at the end of the day that’s it’s going to mean anything on the Senate side. I don’t detect a lot of appetite on the Senate side for doing anything different.”

Kaine says the two year budget deal reached at the end of last year by President Obama and former House Speaker John Boehner is better for the commonwealth than anything House Republicans are offering this year. 

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