After repeatedly stating that the federal government needs to cut spending, Rep. Robert Hurt, R-5th District, voted in favor of the Cut, Cap and Balance Act on Tuesday.
The bill passed the House by a vote of 234–190 but faces a steep challenge in the Senate.
The Cut, Cap and Balance Act cuts total spending by $111 billion next year and around $5.8 trillion over 10 years and puts enforceable caps in place to reduce spending as a percentage of the GDP. It also requires passage of a balanced budget amendment before there is a debt ceiling increase. The debt ceiling must be raised by Aug 2 for the U.S. to avoid defaulting on its debt payments.
“We need to continue to make significant and immediate cuts to reduce our debt and deficit now,” said Hurt in a statement on the House floor July 14. “We need to put in place spending caps that limit spending as a percentage of GDP. And we need to pass a balanced budget amendment to force the government to live within its means.”
While the Cut, Cap and Balance Act easily passed the Republican-controlled House, it is expected to fail in the Senate that holds a Democratic majority. President Barack Obama has also said he would veto it.
Also on Tuesday, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and the “Gang of Six” — a group of three Democrats (including Warner) and three Republicans in the Senate — proposed a bipartisan bill that cuts $3.7 trillion from the budget in the next 10 years. The plan has some praise and criticisms, but many details are still being worked on in the Senate, and it is highly unlikely for the proposal to be drafted as it is written into legislation by Aug. 2.
On Wednesday, Hurt was not wholly supportive of the “Gang of Six” proposal and hoped the Senate will support the bill he just voted on to reduce spending.
“I appreciate that the Senate is finally engaging on this issue and recognizing that we must cut government spending to reduce our debt, but the inclusion of job-destroying tax hikes in the Gang of Six plan is a non-starter,” said Hurt in a statement via email. “The House has already passed common sense legislation that would put in place immediate and long-term spending reforms that will cut, cap, and balance federal spending and force Washington to live within its means, and I hope that the Senate and Administration will join with us in our efforts to change the spending culture in Washington.”
Holland reports for the Danville Register & Bee.
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