Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Democrats promised after taking control of Congress in 2007 to be more fiscally responsible than Republicans. But an analysis of all legislation introduced since then shows the new boss is pretty much the same as the old boss, according to Demian Brady of the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.
Brady concluded that during the 110th Congress, “the typical lawmaker, regardless of party identification, continued to push for legislation that would expand government.” This meant legislation that called for spending money far outnumbered bills that tried to save money. In the House, there were 23 spending bills for every piece of legislation that cut expenditures; in the Senate the ratio of increases to cuts was 30:1. Only 41 members of Congress, 34 representatives and 7 senators, tried to cut spending from 2007-2008.
“Blue Dog” Democrats and members of the Republican Study Committee proposed, on average, less spending and more savings than their colleagues, according to Brady. But not all GOP members practiced fiscal discipline. The average member of the Republican Main Street Partnership called for more than twice as much new spending as the average Republican.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
The 110th Congress: Meet the New Boss ... Same as the Old Boss? (by Demian Brady, National Taxpayers Union Foundation)
Comments