During a news conference on Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says both Republicans and Democrats are guilty of creating such an enormous federal deficit. “We work together way too well, in terms of indebting the future generations of the country,” says Graham. (:21)
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Congress Works Together “Way Too Well” When It Comes To Spending, Says Graham
Jobs Bill Is “Out Of Control,” Says McCain
During a news conference on Thursday, Sen. John McCain blasts a proposal by President Barack Obama that calls on Congress to pass a jobs bill. (:14)
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Congress Needs Amendment To Balance Budget, Says Florida Republican
During a news conference on Thursday, Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.) urges fellow Senators to support a one-year moratorium on earmarks as well as a Constitutional Amendment to balance the budget. “It’s gonna be painful, but I guarantee you that we can cut the agencies of government,” says LeMieux. (:24)
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Freezing Earmarks Is The Right Thing To Do, Says Republican Graham
During a news conference on Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says he supports halting all earmark spending for one-year. Calling it
“painful,” Graham says he would welcome the return of earmarks in the future, as long as the process becomes more transparent and responsible. (:11)
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GOP’ers Challenging Senate To Get Serious About Debt, Says DeMint
During a news conference on Thursday, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) says he along with other Republicans are issuing a challenge their colleagues in the Senate by urging them to support a one-year moratorium on earmarks as well as a Constitutional Amendment to balance the budget. (:17)
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U.S. On Edge Of “Financial Cliff,” Says DeMint
During a news conference on Thursday, Sen. Jim DeMint calls on his colleagues in the Senate to support a one-year moratorium on all earmarks, as well as a Constitutional Amendment to balance the budget. DeMint warns that the nation is nearing a “financial cliff.” (:30)
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Bonuses From Companies Bailed Out By TARP Could Be Taxed
By Laurel Brishel Prichard University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) introduced a bill that would tax bonuses distributed by financial institutions bailed out by the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) during a press conference Thursday afternoon.
The bill would place a 50 percent tax on bonuses over $400,000. Some of the companies that would be hit include Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo.
The bill would require a tax on the bonuses even if the companies have already paid back the money initially received through TARP.
“If your going to get that kind of bonus, you can share it 50-50 with the people who helped bail you out. We believe that’s fair, reasonable and its not any example of what people will call class warfare,” said Webb.
Both Senators hope for bipartisan support on the bill.
GOP Doesn’t Mind Being ‘Party Of No’ On Spending
With Democrats in the Senate getting set to put forth a jobs bill, perhaps as early as Monday, their counterparts across the aisle are saying ‘no’ to more spending.
“We have a situation now that’s just too serious to continue to handle that way,” said Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) on Thursday. “It’s not an exaggeration to say our country is on the edge of a financial cliff.”
DeMint and fellow GOP Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and George LeMieux (R-Fla.) unveiled their party’s latest attempt to restore fiscal responsibility to Washington, calling on Congress to support a one-year moratorium on earmarks along with a Constitutional Amendment to balance the federal budget.
“What we’re doing here today, is to try and challenge everyone in the Senate — Republican and Democrat — to join us in those steps that we can take…to address our growing deficit,” said DeMint.
“Everything is gonna get cut…it’s gonna be painful, but I guarantee you that we can cut the agencies of government…by 20 percent even, maybe 30 percent,” added LeMieux.
McCain, a noted opponent of federal earmark spending, blasted President Barack Obama for supporting using unspent Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) funds to fuel a jobs bill which could total over $100 billion.
“The President says he’s gonna have a spending freeze next year, and in the very next breath proposes a hundred billion dollars in new spending called a ‘jobs bill.’ It’s out of control.”
The hard part now for the 11 cosponsors of the measures will be to actually practice what they preach. Graham, for example, has a known record of not being averse to requesting earmarks. As recently as 2009, he helped secure nearly 10 million dollars to fund construction of a fitness center inside Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina.
Graham, however, said he’s willing to bite the proverbial bullet in the short-run.
“It would be tough for us all, but it’s the right thing for the future. So I don’t mind an earmark system in the future that’s transparent, that’s logical and fits within a balanced budget.”
Reid: Small Businesses Should ‘Do Their Thing’ To Create Jobs
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says small businesses should be allowed to “do their thing” in order to create more jobs. (0:19)
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OMB Director Says More Must Be Done For Long-Term Deficit Reduction
By Benny Martinez – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Peter Orszag said Thursday that the steps currently being taken to reduce the national deficit, although effective, are not enough.
The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts to those who have an income of $250,000 or more will expire as scheduled, Orszag said. In the coming decade, this will reduce the deficit by nearly $700 billion.
Transitioning to a clean energy future by eliminating fossil fuel subsidies delivered through the tax code will reduce the deficit by about $40 billion in the next ten years.
And the three-year freeze of non-security discretionary spending will further reduce the deficit an additional $250 billion, solidifying a $1.2 trillion reduction in national deficits.
“Even with that $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, the deficit remains higher than we’d like it to be,” Orszag said. “[This] is why we are calling for the creation of a bipartisan fiscal commission to put forward recommendations to get us the rest of the way to a stable debt trajectory.”
Orszag added that this would involve overall deficits of roughly 3 percent of the economy by 2015.
According to Orszag, deficit reduction is evident in the coming decade but he remains skeptical about the long-term fiscal challenge, saying that the root cause of the country’s deficit is the rate at which health care costs are growing.
“We are eager to continue to work with Congress to finally enact comprehensive health reform legislation, Orszag said. “[This] helps to reduce the deficit, not only over this decade, but equally important, puts in place the infrastructure that will allow us to decrease deficit by increasing amounts thereafter.”