Seven Reps. Back RSC Budget, Not House GOP Plan

A handful of Republican House members supported the Republican Study Committee (RSC) budget alternative instead of the slightly less conservative House GOP budget.

Reps. Joe Barton (Texas), Gus Bilirakis (Fla.), Michael Burgess (Texas), Connie Mack (Fla.), Ron Paul (Texas) and Bill Young (Fla.) all supported the RSC proposal, which would have balanced the budget, and voted against the Republican proposal, which was pushed by House Budget Committee ranking member Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Republican leaders.

Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) supported the RSC plan and didn’t cast a vote on the GOP budget.

Aides to Burgess and Barton said that the deficits in the GOP plan, which would have produced deficits smaller than those of the approved Democratic budget but ones larger than $500 billion, were too big.

“[Burgess] supported the Republican Study Committee because he wanted to support the idea of a balanced budget,” said a Burgess aide. “With the Ryan budget, he certainly appreciated the Republican budget, but was a little bit worried about the spending and healthcare policies, a bit worried they hadn’t been properly vetted.”

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (Texas), who was the RSC chairman during the last Congress, told The Hill that he couldn’t see how any RSC member wouldn’t vote for the GOP plan once the RSC budget didn’t pass. The main Republican budget “was a very, very serious budget that contains a lot of serious reforms,” he said.

“Every RSC member I hope would be for passing it,” he said.