Senate Rejects Obama Plan to Create Commission on Federal Deficit

[tekisui]

Source: Washington Post

The Senate on Tuesday rejected a plan to create a bipartisan commission to tackle the nation's budget problems this year, leaving it up to President Obama to create such a panel by executive order.

The commission would have had broad powers to recommend changes to the tax code and cut spending on entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. Its recommendations, due after the November elections, would have been guaranteed an up-or-down vote in both chambers of Congress before the year is out.

But the measure won just 53 votes in the Senate, not enough to overcome a threatened filibuster. In rejecting the idea, Republicans opposed to tax increases joined Democrats fearful of being forced to cut social programs.

The vote came as the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released its latest deficit projections, forecasting that continued spending to combat last year's recession and a muted recovery would drive this year's deficit to $1.35 trillion, a slight improvement over previous projections but still one of the deepest budget holes since the end of World War II.

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/26/AR2010012601270.html?hpid=topnews

[mzmolly]

1. Finally Democrats and Republicans working together!!

:eyes:

[damntexdem]

5. All those GOPers against balancing the budget -- they should be ashamed!

Of course, the Dems who opposed were trying to save social programs, so should be lauded.

;-)

[mzmolly]

6. LOL

yep. :D

[Last Stand]

2. Why bipartisan?

Bush shut the door on the Dems and got things done.

[Cant trust em]

3. Congress punts yet again. nt

[Hello_Kitty]

4. Oh crap. So he's going to do it by executive order then.

:banghead:

[Demeter]

7. He Can't

That was prevented back when Nixon tried it, lo these many years ago.

[Better Believe It]

9. Yes he can and President Obama will. I don't think he's lying.

[Chulanowa]

8. What? You mean the president doesn't have absolute authority?

You're joking, right? I thought everything was his fault, and the legislature was only there for decoration!

'Least that's what i learned on DU!

[Nordmadr]

10. "not enough to overcome a threatened filibuster"

Not an actual one, just a threatened one. So was this an actual vote, because ya know 53 is enough...

Nordmadr