Double Whammy: Congressional Democrats to Pile on More Debt, Pave Way for Tax Hikes

02/05/2010

Source: National Republican Campaign Committee

WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats voted Thursday to hit American families with a double whammy when they voted to raise the country’s debt ceiling by nearly $2 trillion and approved a provision that could force Democrats to hike taxes to pay for their runaway spending agenda. Their vote for the a PAYGO bill triggered a backdoor clause to allow her party to continue to pile up the debt from their government spending bonanza:

• “Under a plan devised by Democratic leaders and approved Wednesday by the Rules Committee, if the ‘self-executing’ procedural rule for floor consideration of the debt limit bill (H J Res 45) is adopted, the debt limit increase would be considered passed without a separate vote on the measure... The rule does, however, provide for a separate vote on the bill’s pay-as-you-go section. The bill would be cleared and sent to the president if the pay-as-you-go section is approved.” (David Clarke, Edward Epstein, and Greg Valdala,” ‘Blue Dogs Laud Plan for Vote on Pay-As-You-Go,” CQ, 2/3/10)

Unfortunately, there’s no end in sight for the taxpayers who are stuck with the bill for Congress's spending binge, as Congressional Democrats continue to rack up the debt:

• “A 1.9 trillion-mile trip is about the same as 8 million trips to the moon.
• “Unfortunately, the $1.9 trillion in new borrowing authority Congress is giving President Barack Obama won't take people quite that far. The additional $1.9 trillion raises the debt ceiling to $14.3 trillion, but that limit may have to be increased again after the November election.” (“How Big Is $1.9 Trillion? Very,” Associated Press, 2/4/10)

And since Congressional Democrats have shown little appetite for cutting government spending, their PAYGO ploy will likely amount to a massive tax hike to fund their next spending spree:

• “The paygo ruse gives Blue Dog Democrats cover to say they voted for "fiscal discipline," even as they vote to pass the greatest entitlement expansion in modern history. The Blue Dogs always play this double game.
• “The other goal of this new paygo campaign is to make it easier to raise taxes in 2011, and impossible to cut taxes for years after that.” (“The ‘Paygo’ Coverup,” Wall Street Journal, 6/12/10)

“With Democrats sinking the country deep into the red, Congressional Democrats' vote to bring on more debt is simply reckless,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “They have embraced a job-killing agenda that spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much. Instead of backing away from her party’s runaway spending spree, Congress just handed itself a credit card with a $1.9 trillion line of credit.”

After giving Congress the green light to pile another $1.9 trillion on the backs of American families, will Congressional Democrats ever get the message that enough is enough?