Senate Republicans have unveiled their 10-year budget and it's a complete joke.
Rather than taking the opportunity to outline a bold vision for the country's future, they have chosen to continue business as usual.
First, the budget does not repeal Obamacare.
Its "reconciliation" instructions could allow the Senate to pass a bill that fully repeals Obamacare with only 51 votes, but Republican leaders refuse to commit to that.
Instead, the instructions say nothing about repeal and the budget claims that the "actual contours" of the reconciliation bill are "unknowable."
Does this sounds like they are committed to passing full repeal? No, it does not.
They want conservatives to think repeal is a possibility so they will vote for the budget, but then, after the vote, these leaders will say that the rules won't allow it.
It's another bait and switch. GOP leaders actually have no plans to use reconciliation to send the president a bill that fully repeals Obamacare.
In fact, their budget actually retains $700 billion in Obamacare taxes!!
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) pledged to pull out Obamacare "root and branch," but this budget only pulls off a twig and a few leaves.
The budget also gives up on entitlement reform.
In past years, Republican budgets reformed Medicare by giving seniors more choices and allowing them to access their own plans using premium support.
This budget does not include these Medicare reforms, and it does nothing to modernize Social Security by giving younger workers the freedom to save a portion of the payroll taxes in a personal account.
Without these reforms, the federal budget will never be balanced.
The budget also paves the way for higher taxes and more debt.
For example, it includes a "deficit neutral reserve fund" that could shield an increase in the federal gas tax from a budget point of order. This would allow Congress to pay for new highway spending using yet another gas tax increase.
Also, there is nothing in the budget that prevents Congress from using reconciliation instructions to raise the debt limit with only 51 votes in the Senate.
Finally, the budget also fails to include several important priorities:
It does not defund the president's executive amnesty;
It does not end the Export-Import Bank corporate welfare program;
It does not defund Common Core;
It does not stop the president's takeover of the Internet; and
It does not devolve the federal highway program back to the states
The Senate Republican budget is an embarrassment, and there's no excuse. The budget can't be filibustered so 51 Republicans can pass any budget they want.
Rather than using the budget to cast an exciting vision of future reforms that empower Americans, it continues business as usual.
Senator McConnell is pressuring Republican senators to vote for the budget, but there's really nothing to gain here.
McConnell will not use reconciliation to repeal Obamacare, and a vote for this budget puts senators on record supporting $700 billion in Obamacare taxes.
It makes it very hard for Republicans to call for much-needed reforms after they vote for a budget blueprint that doesn't include them.
And nobody believes this budget will lead to spending cuts. GOP leaders have already surrendered the power of the purse so the president, not Congress, controls spending for the next two years.
If you want to make a few targeted calls to stop this joke of a budget, contact Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Marco Rubio (R-FL).
Ted Cruz – (202) 224-5922
Rand Paul – (202) 224-4343
Marco Rubio – (202) 224-3041
They're all either official or likely presidential candidates, and they have no reason to allow Senator McConnell to pull them into this trap.
They know this budget isn't serious and there's no good reason to support it.
If it's defeated, nothing is lost. Senator McConnell will be embarrassed, but that's his own fault. If he wants to pass a budget blueprint with Republican votes, it should reflect Republican priorities.
I hope this update is useful to you. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Ken Cuccinelli II
President
Senate Conservatives Fund
@KenCuccinelli / @SCF