The Democrats’ “Deemer” Scheme – Only in Washington is a $31 Billion Increase a Spending “Freeze”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Instead of acting responsibly to pass a budget, Democrats today will resort to a feeble legislative maneuver to “deem” spending levels for the next fiscal year. This procedure eliminates all transparency, accountability, and recourse a normal budget resolution would provide, and allows a handful of senior Democrat leaders to simply choose whatever spending limits they desire.

 

House Appropriations Ranking Republican Jerry Lewis today blasted the Democrat’s plan:

 

“Let’s take stock: over the last three years, Democrats have passed a 90 percent increase in non-defense, discretionary spending. They have passed a trillion dollar stimulus and a health care bill that will cost at least a trillion more. Out of the five annual funding bills considered by the Appropriations committee so far this year, Democrats have approved over $6 billion in spending increases.  They have outsourced all responsibility for spending cuts to a lame-duck commission, and have at every turn pushed for more and more big-government legislation that will burden the American people with excruciating debt for generations to come.

 

“Now they are trying to cover their tracks by saying this deeming scheme is a ‘budget,’ and that it will ‘freeze’ spending. Well, the bottom line is that only in Washington is a $31 billion increase in spending a ‘freeze.’

 

“Apparently the Democrats believe that they can simply wave a magic wand and create dollars out of thin air. But let’s be clear, the money they are spending is borrowed, and it and will eventually come out of taxpayer pockets. The American can’t afford this ‘fudge-it budget’ scheme, and they will not stand for yet another $31 billion increase when we should be reining in spending. They need us to do our work, pass a budget, and make the tough spending decisions that will put Uncle Sam on a diet and pull us out of this job-killing recession.”