What’s Happening with Conservatives and the Tea Party

by Art Kelly

1.  On Friday, November 18, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on HJR 2, a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit deficit spending by the federal government, by Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and 242 cosponsors.

Five hours have been set aside for debate on this crucial proposal, which will need 290 votes to pass.

The Hill reports that the 25-member Blue Dog Coalition has endorsed the measure, which gets it within striking distance of passage.  Congressman Jim Matheson (D-UT), a leader of these moderate to conservative Democrats, said there was support for the constitutional amendment from some Democrats who were not Blue Dogs, but he would not provide a vote count.

However, liberals like Nancy Pelosi have long opposed such constitutional restraints on deficit spending and President Obama has denounced the amendment.  House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) is trying to round up Democratic legislators to vote against it.

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the deficit for Fiscal Year 2011 was a shocking $1.315 Trillion. The total national debt has just exceeded $15 Trillion.  As of November 15, the U.S. Department of the Treasury calculated it at exactly $15,033,607,255,920.32.

This enormous national debt poses dangerous economic problems for the future of America.  It also constitutes a national security threat, since the largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt is China, which has $1.17 Trillion of it, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.

If HJR 2 obtains the necessary two-thirds majority vote in the House, it must still obtain 67 votes in the Senate in order to be sent to the states for ratification. The President, who has no role in the constitutional amendment process, cannot veto it.  For it to be adopted, three-fourths of the states--38--must ratify it.

If it becomes part of the U.S. Constitution, HJR 2 would prohibit outlays for a fiscal year from exceeding total receipts unless authorized by three-fifths vote of both the House and Senate.  The amendment would also require a three-fifths vote to increase the public debt limit.  Any bill to increase taxes would require a majority vote of the membership of each house of Congress.

In addition, the President would be required to submit a balanced budget to Congress each year.

The provisions of the constitutional amendment can be waived when a declaration of war is in effect or when the nation is involved in military conflict authorized by a joint resolution by both houses.

If HJR 2 does not pass, it could become the most salient issue in the 2012 congressional elections.

2.  The November 23 deadline for the Super Committee to produce an agreement to reduce the deficit is fast approaching, but there is an apparent stalemate between the six Republicans and six Democrats.

According to two sources, the Democrats on the committee have demanded increases in spending--not cuts--and proposed enormous tax increases.  Republicans have responded in astonishment and refused to even discuss such absurdities.

The Hill reported that Democrats are now blaming Republicans for "walking away from talks."

And the Washington Post states "lawmakers appeared to spend more time trading blame for the impasse than in talks aimed at developing a blueprint to reduce borrowing."

Democrats may have baited Republicans into appearing uncooperative so they can be blamed for the failure of the Super Committee.  Some observers believe Democrats want to run against "do-nothing Republicans," in the 2012 elections.

While the failure to reach an agreement on deficit reduction is supposed to result in an authomatic $1.2 Trillion across-the-board cut in spending, a previous issue of this newsletter explained this sequestration can be de-activated before it takes effect in October 2012.

This would allow Democrats to avoid any spending cuts, while blaming Republicans for the result.

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