From the outbox of Meyer’s inbox:
At long last the perfect solution to Congress’s out of control spending: throw an election. Seems as though the upcoming midterms are sending members of Congress running for the hills when it comes to voting on anything that’s going to cost money. Even standard operational procedure spending bills are being ignored. Nobody wants a price tag slapped on their campaign. The result: nothing much is getting done in congress. Can you really tell?
For more fun use this handy guide from US News and World Reports to help you “follow the money.” Type in your congressperson’s name and see who is funding their campaign. Surprises all around!
ELECTION SPOOKS LAWMAKERS, CURBS CONGRESS SPENDING from AP
WASHINGTON — The 2010 elections have changed the direction of government only half way through the primary season, with voter anger and economic jitters causing lawmakers to balk at their most basic duties as well as key elements of President Barack Obama’s agenda.
After betting their political future on a government-mandated expansion of health care to include millions more Americans, Democrats appear to have little appetite for more legislative showdowns given voter rebellion against government spending amid trillion dollar-plus annual deficits.
The solution in some cases is to simply not vote. Immigration reform is too politically toxic. Key bills with massive price tags are getting shelved.
Congress’ core duty, exercising its power of the purse by passing a budget? Negative. A vote for it could be seen as a vote for deficit spending. There’s no sign of the 12 annual spending bills that typically come up in June.
Five months out from the midterm elections, Democrats and Republicans say they have no choice but to draw lessons from the nominating contests and their own, increasingly vocal constituents.
“We are hearing from the public, ‘You’re adding to the deficit, you’re adding to the deficit,’” said Rep. Henry Cullar, D-Texas, a member of the conservative Blue Dogs who have held together against many proposals that require even more borrowing by the Treasury to pay for them.
Obama himself gave his party cover for dropping any real plans to pass comprehensive immigration reform, which he’d promised to address in his first presidential year. He acknowledged that lawmakers have little urge for polarizing legislation on the heels of the massive health care overhaul, an economic stimulus package and several industry bailouts.
“I don’t want us to do something just for the sake of politics that doesn’t solve the problem,” Obama told reporters Wednesday night aboard Air Force One.
In March, Congress sent Obama a modest $38 billion jobs bill exempting employers who hire laid off workers from the 6.2 percent Social Security tax through the rest of the year and providing about $20 billion for highway and transit programs. Employers also can get a $1,000 tax credit if new hires stay on their payroll a full year.
Read the rest of this story here.
