Passing cuts possible

The new 112th Congress has barely gotten going, but there is plenty of drama
and combat in the House of Representatives. Congressional Democrats fear the
GOP efforts to defund healthcare reform will lead to a government shutdown, and
conservatives are already challenging Republican leaders to cut more spending
than currently proposed.

Yesterday, members of the Republican Study Committee introduced their own
budget cuts that would bring spending down to 2008 levels but then freeze it at
2006 levels during the next 10 years. They are insisting that GOP leaders back
a cut of at least $100 billion of non-defense spending this year alone, as was
promised in the Republicans’ Pledge to America.

That plan called for more rescissions of spending Republicans anticipated
but never came to pass when Democrats agreed to a continuing resolution through
March 4 to continue government spending at current levels rather than passing a
larger omnibus spending bill. When Republicans adjusted those numbers, they
came up with a number around $60 billion, but now many new conservative members
say that isn’t enough. When presented with the RSC proposal — which would not
touch entitlement or defense but would cut Amtrak, the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Agency
for International Development and 15 percent of the federal workforce in order
to produce $2.5 trillion in savings over the next 10 years — House Speaker
John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) didn’t give their
blessing but affirmed their commitment to cutting spending.
 
“Our immediate goal is to cut spending to pre-bailout, pre-stimulus levels.
That’s what we pledged, and that’s what we’ll fight for,” Boehner
spokesman Michael Steel told
The Washington Post. “But that will be the beginning, not the
end, of our efforts to cut spending and create jobs — and we appreciate every
member’s input.”
 
House GOP leaders are involved in a vigorous, behind-the-scenes fight on
raising the debt ceiling, trying to convince Tea Party-backed freshmen pledging
to vote against any increase in the debt ceiling that they should hold their
fire for now until they see what kind of cuts accompany any proposed
increase. Leaders, according to aides, are making the case that together,
House Republicans can actually pass significant cuts, but only if they are
unified. The coming fight on the spending bills, the threat of defunding healthcare
reform and the debt-ceiling debate all provide Republicans with leverage to
pass deep spending cuts that Democrats will vote for and President Obama will
sign into law. But only if they play their cards right and hang together. A
budget resolution setting the limits for spending is set to be voted on Tuesday
by the House, hours before the State of the Union address. Will the freshmen
get behind it?
 
Also, the spending fight is closer than people realize — leadership sources say
a bill will have to be introduced two weeks from now, the week of Feb. 7, in
order to be considered by the House before a recess and then by the
Senate, before spending expires on March 4.
 
Nobody knows the details yet, but the fireworks have arrived.

SHOULD REPUBLICANS CUT ENTITLEMENTS AND/OR DEFENSE SPENDING? Ask A.B. returns Thursday, Jan. 27, following the SOTU
address. Please join my weekly video Q&A by sending your questions and
comments to askab@digital-release.digital-release.thehill.com.
Thank you.