Jul 24, 2011

FACT CHECK: Boehner Repeats Calls for a Budget Deal “In the framework of Cut, Cap and Balance”

Today on Fox News Sunday, House Speaker John Boehner said he would seek a budget deal "in the framework of Cut, Cap and Balance" and Boehner recently called himself a "happy warrior" for the controversial plan.

In reality, this plan would cost more than 700,000 Americans their job and end Medicare for seniors. Representative Jim Jordan, the Chairman of the 175 Members Republican Study Committee, said this scheme “basically mirrors the budget proposal that the House passed this year” - ending Medicare in order to protect taxpayer giveaways for Big Oil companies and tax breaks for millionaires. From polls to town hall meetings, that plan was widely rejected by the American people. The non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities wrote that “Cut, Cap and end Medicare” is an “ideologically extreme” plan that “would inexorably subject Social Security and Medicare to deep reduction.”

FACT CHECK:

  • Cut, Cap and Balance Will Cost Americans 700,000 More Jobs. Cut, Cap and Balance only raises the debt limit after the House and Senate pass a Balance Budget Amendment, cuts $111 billion in FY 2012, and places firm caps on future spending. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “these cuts would equal 0.7 percent of the projected Gross Domestic Product in fiscal year 2012 and would thus cause the loss of roughly 700,000 jobs in the current weak economy, relative to what the number of jobs otherwise would be.” Similarly, Scripps Howard News Service described the proposal as “both simplistic and economically destructive.”  [House Republican Study Committee Website, accessed 7/15/11; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 7/16/11; Scripps Howard News Service Editorial, 7/5/11]
  • Cut, Cap and Balance Will Force Deep Cuts to Social Security and Medicare. “The measure does not cut Social Security or Medicare in 2012.  And it does not subject them to automatic cuts if its global spending caps are missed.  It is inconceivable, however, that policymakers would meet the bill’s severe annual spending caps through automatic across-the board cuts year after year; if they did, key government functions would be crippled. Policymakers would have little alternative but to institute deep cuts in specific programs. […] Reaching and maintaining a balanced budget in the decade ahead while barring any tax increases would necessitate deep cuts in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.”  [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 7/16/11]
  • Balanced Budget Amendment Would End the Medicare Guarantee and Slash Services While Giving a Tax Break for the Wealthy. “The balanced budget constitutional amendment (H. J. Res. 1) recently approved by the Judiciary Committee is a masquerade designed to foster the policy choices of the Republican budget: to end the Medicare guarantee for seniors and slash vital services while providing tax breaks for the wealthy.  This balanced budget amendment would have dire consequences on the economy, on Medicare and other government guarantees to our citizens, and on Congress’s ability to respond to changing needs.” [Democratic House Committee on the Budget, 6/27/11]
  • Balanced Budget Amendment Would Require More Extreme Cuts Than Ryan Budget Plan; Any Budget Passed Under Reagan Would Violate its Structures. “The constitutional balanced budget amendment that the House Judiciary Committee began considering June 2 and is expected to pass next week, is a highly ideological measure that would force Congress to enact the Republican Study Committee’s extreme budget plan or something similar to it. Even the House-passed budget plan of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan would not pass muster under the proposal; the more draconian Republican Study Committee (RSC) budget or a close equivalent would be required.” According to the Washington Post, “The 18 percent cap on spending is so severe that House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s economic plan would violate its strictures.  So would any budget passed under President Ronald Reagan.” [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 6/6/11]
  • Boehner a "Happy Warrior" for Cut, Cap and Balance Plan. This week, Speaker Boehner called himself a "happy warrior" for the Cut, Cap and Balance plan, congratulating the House for passing the measure and urging the Senate to take it up. [CBS News, 7/22/11]

Republican Budget Was Rejected by Voters:

  • CNN Poll: Majority gives thumbs down to Republican Medicare Plan. “A new national poll indicates that a majority of Americans don't like what they've heard so far about congressional Republicans' plans to change Medicare. […] The poll indicates that 58 percent of the public opposes the Republican plan on Medicare, with 35 percent saying they support the proposal. The survey's Wednesday release comes as the president met with House Republicans to discuss, among other things, Medicare reform.” [CNN, 6/1/11]
  • Paul Ryan Said Town Halls Concerning His Budget Were Larger than 2009 Health Care Town Halls. While hosting a series of town halls in the district, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said that the crowds were larger than those during the August 2009 health care town hall sessions. “The people in the crowd largely opposed the Ryan plan, holding signs such as ‘RyanCare = Dying Bare,’ ‘Leave Medicare Alone’ or simply, ‘Save Medicare!’” [Politico, 4/26/11]
  • Outrage and Anger at Town Hall meetings. In the last few weeks, voters spoke out at town hall meetings in opposition to this controversial Republican plan.
    • House G.O.P. Members Face Voter Anger Over Budget [New York Times, 4/26/11]
    • House Republicans face backlash at home over budget plan [LA Times, 4/23/11]
    • Republican Lawmakers Face Angry, Confused Constituents on Medicare, Budget Cuts [ABC News, 4/25/11]
    • Republicans in Swing Districts Take Heat for Supporting Ryan's Medicare Plan [National Journal, 4/25/11]

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