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Posted on 08/10/2005 12:37:37 PM PDT by Crackingham
There was a time when Republicans raged against wasteful federal spending and fought tenaciously to cut the size of government. Not any longer. The $286.5bn (£160bn) highways bill President George W. Bush will sign into law today epitomises the transformation of the party in Washington from an anti-government "insurgency" into a ruling majority unable to kick its addiction to spending.
To give Mr Bush his credit, he fought a rearguard action against his spendthrift allies in Congress, with some effect. But he did not follow through his threat to veto any bill that breached a $283.9bn spending limit. This was itself a big increase on the spending limit of $256bn he put forward a year earlier. Budget analysts estimate the true cost of the new law, which conceals some likely spending, may be as much as $11bn over the relaxed spending limit.
The quality of spending is also poor. The highways bill contains more pork than the state of Iowa. Members of Congress have earmarked money for almost 6,500 local projects, costing $24bn. These include such gems as $220m for a bridge to connect an island with a population of 50 people to the Alaskan mainland, $8.5m for seven local transport museums and $4m for a parking facility in Oak Lawn, Illinois.
Mr Bush's failure to stand by his veto threat is partly explained by his need to win support for the crunch vote on the Central America Free Trade Agreement. But it is of a piece with his own poor record on spending. After spending during his first term at a rate second only to Lyndon Johnson, Mr Bush promised to be much tougher in the second. But he has still not vetoed a single spending bill.
The highways bill is not the only fiscally irresponsible measure to win the president's approval in recent days. The energy bill, signed into law on Monday, contained lavish tax breaks for an oil industry which, with crude at a record price of more than $64 a barrel, is hardly short of funds or incentives to invest. Taken together, the highways bill, energy bill and other measures signed into law this year will add nearly $33bn to the deficit - 10 per cent of the expected deficit for the current fiscal year.
Disappointing, but not suprising.
I'd prefer that road spending were entirely left to the states. There would be better decisions as funds were allocated based on popular need, and not pork.
Even so, as a small government type, I think roads are one of the few items I have little complaint about government spending.
Didn't like it when Clinton had that, wouldn't like if Clinton II did.
Bush's budget was lean this year.
Bush had 14 billion in cuts to medicare dems blocked it.
Bush is cutting bases to cut spending.
Bush reduced the highway bill by over 88 billion from where the dems wanted it.
There is no line item veto power to give the president a lot of power over spending.
If it wasn't for the dems you would have had massive cuts in social services spending this year but they blocked the cuts.
Bush has a tight budget, is cutting bases to cut spending and still gets blamed.
Republicans aren't the majority party they don't have 60 seats in the senate and can't do anything. And there are at least 8 major rino's in the republican party that always vote with dems on cutting social services.
Now that they have suceeded, they break almost every promise. But...oh...let's root for Jeb, he'll be different.
W is not now nor has he ever been a fiscal conservative
Darn but we need a Federal line item veto.
It would have cobwebs on it during the Bush presidency.
The guy loves to spend my money.
Republicans are committed to cutting spending.
Gop has no control over the senate.
Bush cut the highway bill 88 billion from where the dems wanted it.
48 republicans wanted cuts in medicare spending but were defeated by the dems and a handful of rino's.
The blame belongs with the rino's and the dems.
Bush's budget this year was lean. His tax cuts are working. The budget defecit is going to be over 100 billion less than last year.
Bush is cutting bases to cut spending and is taking a lot of heat for that.
Bush is going after nevada for not putting in money to the treasury from their land sales.
You would think in a year where bush submitted a tight budget which included major cuts in social service programs and is cutting excess military bases to cut spending and his tax cuts are cutting the defecit he would take credit for it. He has no line item veto power.
People that blame bush who had in his budget major cuts for social services that were blocked by the dems and rino's are putting their blame in the wrong direction. Do you think a dem president would have proposed 14 billion cuts in medicare this year.
His budget this year was fiscally conservative. He is cutting excess milatary bases that is fiscally conservative. He is going after Nevada for them to pay a portion of their land sales into the treasury.
Bush has no line item veto power. When the dems block spending cuts with the rino's he has no power. If the budget doesn't pass he can't sign it.
The defecit is shrinking quickly down a 100 billion from last year.
Bush is a fiscal conservative just look at his budget he gets blamed because the dems and rino's block his spending cuts.
Look at the budget the house passed this year compared to the senate. The house passed a lean budget. The dems and rino's in the senate block good work.
If you don't have 60 seats in the senate you might as well be the party in the minority because the dems and a handful of rino's block spending cuts and make the majority of republicans look bad when they are trying to cut spending and the dems and rino's are blocking them.
Bring on Nancy Pelosi that is the answer.
A clinton/pelosi govt of huge buerocracy national healthcare and more spending for social services is the answer.
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It's ridiculous that President Bush had to bribe a bunch of Republicans to vote for CAFTA. It is also distressing that by doing so, President Bush has effectively admitted that CAFTA is going to eliminate jobs, to be replaced by those created through pork-barrel goverment-funded projects. I'm not sure that is a good trade. Free trade should sink or swim on its own merits.
I'm sorry, but Bush is just not the poster boy for reduced government spending.
Bush couldn't veto this, he promised this pork so he could get the votes for CAFTA, which he couldn't pass on merit.
I second that remark.
What would you like Bush to do not sign a bill to improve our roads. He cut 88 billion from the bill from where the dems wanted it. Bush has no line item veto power to use as leverage.
Bush's budget was first rate this year in fiscal conservatism. Bush is taking major heat for cutting the bases to cut spending.
The budget defecit this year is down over 100 billion from last year because of the tax cuts and spending cuts in the budget.
Bush is against a national health care plan that would be big spending and bush took a lot of heat for that in the campaign.
Bush has pushed through tax cuts, submits a tight budget with cuts in social services. Cuts military bases to save 50 billion in spending. The spending is so overrated the defecit has do with the economy. As the economy grows stronger defecit will go down quickly.
Defecit will go down as the economy improves.
The pork for cafta was a media myth.
The bill price was settled long before the cafta vote.
Our roads and bridges need fixed bad out here in Middle America. For years the east coast has gotten a lot more return on their federal gas tax, then those of us in states like Oklahoma. This time Oklahomans are getting their fair share and more to make up for all the years we helped fund road repairs in the NE.
I love this Transportation bill by Senator Inhofe who is no tax and spend person but our infrastructure for roads and bridges in Middle America on interstate highways is horrible and now we have to catch up for all those years that Clinton was in office that money we paid in went to the NE. At times Oklahomans got back less $.50 on the dollar we paid in federal gas tax while some NE states received well over a $1.00 back.
Certain items we need money and when you have neglected bridges and highways as long as this Country, then it is going to cost bigtime to catch up. The whiners obviously have not been driving roads out here with potholes fixed so many times that they become potholes again on the first rain.
This project is called Gravina Access and is actually TWO bridges: from Revillla Island, to Pennock Island, to Gravina Island. Less than 14,000 people live in Ketchikan on Revilla Island. The population of Gravina is less than 50 and there are virtually no roads. There is an airport there that is served by a few-minute ferry ride.
The official "engineer's estimate" is actually $315 Million.
The population of the declining for several years.
Not quite. The project is called Gravina Access and is actually TWO BRIDGES from island to island to island. And the recently announced official estimated cost is $315 million having virtually doubled in a couple of years.
The entire area population is less than 14,000 and declining and in fact, the population of Gravia Island is less than 50. The local airport is on Gravina (not enough flat land on the Ketchikan side) but it has been served by a 5-minute ferry ride since it opened 30 years ago.
Did I mention the delining population?
oops
How about $223 million for a bridge linking Gravina Island to the town of Ketchikan, Alaska. Ketchikan has 8,000 residents and wants to avoid the current 7-minute ferry ride to the airport on the island.
"Darn but we need a Federal line item veto."
I'd be all for it, regardless of which party had the W.H. So few bills seek to lessen the size of government that it would be unlikely that a reduce-the-size-of-government bill would be vetoed. Almost every law passed by either party these days promotes bigger government. In the event we have a conservative president in the future, I'd sure like to see him have a chance to pick off some of the pork.
Just as important would be for Bill Frist and Denny Hastert to clean up their own houses by changing the rules to forbid omnibus bills. If they no longer were to lard up popular bills that legislators are reluctant to vote against by adding on big spending amendments (regularly unrelated to the original bill) and instead required an up or down vote on each piece of pork, this type of screw the taxpayer legislation would be drastically reduced.
Don't look for either reform. Both big parties like big spending.
Here's an idea: cut the federal gas tax, let states do their own, and fund their own highways. That way we avoid the feds trading our money around, in many cases giving most of it to other states.
When was that?
Hundreds of billions of dollars for a transportation bill? Doesn't our president know that there's a "war" on?
Bush signed a major increase to the Education budget and to the National Endowment for the Arts (at his wife's prompting). He also signed the massive farm bill widely believed to be the biggest pork barrel bill of all time.
Bush is a big spender. Period.
Clinton did not increase non-defense federal spending nearly as much as has Bush. It's pretty bad to long for the smaller federal budgets of Clinton.
I'm still waiting for a spending bill veto...and waiting...and waiting..
Why? You don't honestly think this 'conservative' President would ever use it do you? Bush has no idea what conservative fiscal policy looks like, much less agree with it.
But the blame can't be laid at the feet of Bush alone. I would like to thank each and every person that helped 'win back the Senate' by voting for these Republican 'spendthrifts'
This party loves to spend my money more than I do.
Well, yeah. When he signs porkbarrel bills like this transportation bill and the energy bills, when he signs bills like the Medicare Prescription Drug bill, when he signs off on over a hundred billion dollars in off budget spending for Iraq, then he damned sure deserves blame. Last time I read the Constitution the President had this power called a veto. President Bush obviously skimmed right over that part.
On the other hand the bridge will make it easier for the rest to leave.
Good infrastructure and a strong defense: a couple things taxes are meant for. Hard to think of many others, if any.
Republicans sure aren't what they used to be. But then, they never were.
I truly believe that the only reason why all those southern Democrats switched parties and became Republicans was that the found out that they could do so and still keep their big spending, big intrusive government ways. Unfortunately all too many of them wound up in positions of party leadership.
As a rule I agree with this statement.
Even so, as a small government type, I think roads are one of the few items I have little complaint about government spending.
This is why I say as a rule I agree with your first statement........but there are always exceptions to the rule...and in Delaware there are more than one.
I'd prefer that road spending were entirely left to the states. There would be better decisions as funds were allocated based on popular need, and not pork.
In Delaware I know of one $12mil project that is far more than just pork - it's the whole danged pig population. The citizens of Dover have repeatedly said no to tax dollars being used for these particular road/park/open space projects.......the Delaware DOT (and the rest of the DE gov)is so corrupt that $200mil is missing from the DOT alone, and no one is questioning it.
Yet the wife-beating junior Sinator of Delaware, with the assistance of the plagiarizing senior Sinator and the young-boy-liking lone Congresscritter are helping cover it up by stealing money from everyone in the country, to pay for something the people who live there DO NOT WANT by using YOUR money.
I no longer live in Delaware, but because of my husband's job, we still pay a heck of a lot of taxes to that godforsaken state.
Watching the GOP groupies on this thread try to rationalize away the bad behavior of their party would be entertaining if it wasn't so depressing.
Bush claims that the bill is fiscally responsible because it doesn't raise the federal gas tax. The boy just doesn't get it.
It was in 1993 and 1994 when the Republicans used government waste as a campaign tool to counter Clinton's liberalism.
Now that the Republicans control Congress and the White House, they are outdoing Clinton's liberal spending.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. US Constitution 10th Amendment X
...ooops....I don't know why I posted this. Nothing to see here, move along.
It bears repeating. Too many elected officials ignore there oath of office to uphold these reserved powers.
How quaint, sadly.
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