WASHINGTON, DC – “It makes that we are actually accomplishing something. If we sat back and voted ‘No’ on everything, we certainly wouldn’t get any further towards spending cuts and getting our fiscal house in order,” said South Dakota Congresswoman Kristi Noem (R).
Echoing Republican Deputy Whip Kevin Brady (R-TX), Noem told radio host Scott Hennen this afternoon that the House needs to take whatever cuts they can, and that they will be coming back in September “to work on more cuts” as they still need to put together another continuing budget resolution, since the current continuing resolution only funds government through the end of fiscal year 2011.
“If Nancy Pelosi was still in charge of the House, we would be debating another stimulus package and how high we could raise taxes so that the government could continue to flush taxpayer money down the toilet,” commented Noem. “That is how much we have changed the conversation out here.”
Noem said that conservatives need to recognize that it is impossible to get everything accomplished at one time, but vowed that she and others would continue to come back over and over and to keep pushing for more and more spending cuts.
“We could vote no all day, but governing is pretty tough, and we have got to accomplish something for everyone out there that is trying to keep their business open and feed their family,” she continued.
Noem stated that she is very concerned about the 12 member committee (6 Senators and 6 Representatives, evenly split between Republicans and Democrats). The committee is tasked with identifying the next round of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts.
The deal, which was finally agreed upon by leaders from both parties with President Obama on Sunday night, increases the debt ceiling, matches increases in the debt ceiling with cuts in spending, does not raise taxes and includes a vote on a balanced budget amendment.
Noem told listeners that the bill achieved “two-thirds” of the cuts GOP leaders had been looking for in the Ryan budget plan. The cuts are not as deep as Republican legislators would have liked, and some conservatives say that they rely too heavily on military spending cuts while not doing enough to cut back on waste in domestic programs.
Congressman Rep. Emanuel Clever (D-MO) did not like the deal at all, making his opinion public in a colorful tweet: “This deal is a sugar-coated satan sandwich. If you lift the bun, you will not like what you see.”
