Senate Democrats Vote For Higher Spending, Block GOP Budget Reductions

Living up to their motto, Senate Democrats voted for “Spend Spend” today as the Senate Budget Committee voted down a Republican offer to reduce government spending. The GOP recommendation would freeze spending for the next five years while still supporting President Obama’s “blueprint.” Dems said, “no way”:

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said his proposal would save $200 billion by freezing spending on non-defense domestic programs for the next two years and allowing modest increases in the future.

But Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., chairman of the committee, said it went too far, adding the budget he prepared already provides for less spending than the president wants.

The vote was a party-line 13-10.

Thankfully not all Democrats on the Hill are blindly following the call of “Spend!”

Some Democrats are feeling anxiety over the deficit as well, forcing decisions in both houses to cut back big increases in some domestic programs and to drop Obama’s signature $400 tax credit for most workers when it expires at the end of 2010.

Both the House and Senate budget plans lack specifics for any of the administration’s signature proposals or even clues on how Democrats plan to accomplish goals like raising more than $1 trillion over the next decade to provide universal health coverage.

Curbing global warming is welcomed as a general goal, but both budget panels were careful to avoid endorsing Obama’s controversial cap-and-trade system for auctioning pollution permits, which will raise energy costs for consumers and businesses.

I’d like to hear how many of the Democrats up for 2010 reelection are the ones admitting concern as compared to those safe for a few more years with time to cover their tracks before facing the voters again.

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