Redstate

By Leon H Wolf Posted in Republicans — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Surprisingly, one of the most welcome and unexpected side effects of the lamentable destruction wrought by Katrina has been a resurgence of fiscal conservatism within the Republican party. When the President went on television to announce hundreds of billions of dollars in relief for New Orleans, the fiscal conservatives in Congress who had been politely biting their tongues for years finally seemed to reach the breaking point.

We'll pay for New Orleans, they said. However, we're going to cut this money from somewhere else to pay for it. And thus Operation Offset was born. The leaders of the RSC faced some initial pushback from party leadership, it is clear that with the aid of the activists, and spurred on by the blogosphere, the fiscal conservatives in the party have turned the tide in this battle.

Today, the Washington Times explains how the FisCons are also asserting control over how the Katrina money will be spent:

Congress, which approved $62.3 billion in emergency Hurricane Katrina relief with little discussion, is asserting more control over the third package of spending for the Gulf Coast being compiled by the administration.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis, California Republican, says the next spending request will go through "regular order," which means it will be subject to committee hearings and votes and amendments will be "very likely."

"I know our appropriators want to spend a lot more time looking at the request," said acting House Majority Leader Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is crafting a spending request with input from areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and various federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation.

But Capitol Hill lawmakers plan to make their mark when the White House delivers its plan, most likely in October.

"Ultimately, we're writing it," said Sen. David Vitter, Louisiana Republican, who is one of several lawmakers passing along information to OMB.

This is the kind of thing that Congress ought to have been doing for a long time, but is refreshing to see at this juncture nevertheless. If the FisCons are going to start taking a closer look at where all the money is going, that provides yet another opportunity to cross out needless pork and government waste. The article also makes favorable mention of RedState contributor Marsha Blackburn's efforts to cut spending overall:

Congressional leaders and the OMB also are under pressure from both parties to offset relief spending.

One House Republican member said House leaders and senior OMB officials are considering limiting spending in the next package to whatever Congress is able to cut from other areas of government.

"We want to make sure that the long-term [hurricane] recovery doesn't cripple our efforts to return to a balanced budget," the member said.

The House Republican Conference dedicated its Wednesday meeting to the spending issue. The most popular idea was an across-the-board cut of 1 percent or 2 percent for all non-defense, discretionary spending, and squeezing out savings in the final phase of the budget process.

Republican Reps. Eric Cantor of Virginia, Jeb Hensarling of Texas and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee this week introduced bills that would make 1 percent, 2 percent or 5 percent cuts in discretionary spending outside of defense and homeland security.

At home in Tennessee, however, Rep. Blackburn's efforts are not being so kindly received by some, provoking this scathing editorial in The Tennessean, which attacked Rep. Blackburn's efforts to cut back spending in the wake of Katrina as as a mean-spirited and calloused publicity grab:

It's nice to see Republicans in Congress get serious about budget responsibility, but why did it take the expense of a hurricane to make them worry about the deficit?

Why wasn't there an outcry for cuts to offset expenses when President Bush repeatedly sought and received billions of dollars to fight a war his administration began? Why wasn't there a chorus calling for fiscal responsibility when Congress passed a pork-laden $286 billion highway bill? Why hasn't there been a cry for budgetary sense as Congress went on a sustained drive for tax cuts in the face of massive deficits?

No, it's only now, when Congress is being asked to help Americans in need, that Republican members grab hold of the wallet.

However, Blackburn who is no stranger to fighting pork, is firing back - pointing out that just because The Tennessean does not notice someone fighting pork, does not mean that they are not fighting pork:

In 1999 when I proposed across-the-board spending cuts for Ten-nessee, it was implied that my policies were mean-spirited and therefore invalid. My opposition to the state income tax was roundly criticized by seemingly everyone — everyone except Tennessee taxpayers and voters.

Whether serving on Capitol Hill in Nashville or Washington, I've consistently supported less government spending. But, as in the past, some in the news media believe no action has been taken and no news has been made unless they report it. Some would call that an ignorant perspective. Some would call it arrogance.

Last Congress, I introduced three bills to require across the board spending reductions in non-defense, non-homeland security discretionary spending. The bills included a 1%, 2% and 5% cut and would have saved us anywhere from $4 billion to $21 billion a year. Most in the news media failed to report on those bills.

This week, I re-introduced my 1%, 2% and 5% across-the-board spending reduction legislation. Like my state Senate proposal, this method of spending reduction would let each agency determine what it could most afford to cut.

The assertion that I have only recently begun speaking to this issue is simply not true. It's only now that some — on both sides of the aisle — have chosen to listen.

We're here to make sure they keep listening.