FILE - In this Jan. 23, 2013, file photo, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, flanked by House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., left, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Boehner has shored up his political clout after a shaky month by persuading fellow Republicans to pick their fights with Democrats more strategically. His rebound helped the government avoid a potential default on financial obligations. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
-
FILE - In this Jan. 23, 2013, file photo, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, flanked by House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., left, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Boehner has shored up his political clout after a shaky month by persuading fellow Republicans to pick their fights with Democrats more strategically. His rebound helped the government avoid a potential default on financial obligations. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
-
Clouds roil over the White House in Washington on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, as Washington has less than 48 hours to avert the “fiscal cliff,” a series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take hold on Jan. 1. Republican and Democratic negotiators in the Senate were hoping to reach a deal to avoid going over the cliff on Sunday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
-
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, speaks to reporters following a closed-door briefing on the investigation of the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. An Accountability Review Board's report indicates serious bureaucratic mismanagement was responsible for the inadequate security at the mission in Benghazi where the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
-
FILE - In this April 11, 2011, file photo, then U.S. envoy Chris Stevens attends meetings at the Tibesty Hotel where an African Union delegation was meeting with opposition leaders in Benghazi, Libya. An independent review board is set to reveal its findings on the Sept. 11 attack in Libya that killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, a report the administration hopes will bolster its assertion that diplomats took all reasonable measures to anticipate and respond to the violence, and end months of finger-pointing and recriminations over whether the deaths could have been avoided. Diplomats and intelligence officers alike have testified to the rising risk in Benghazi and growing debate over how to improve security prior to the attack, set against Ambassadors Chris Stevens' decision to keep the Benghazi diplomatic post open and even visit there on Sept. 11. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)
-
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, pauses as he speaks to reporters following a closed-door briefing on the investigation of the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. An Accountability Review Board's report indicates serious bureaucratic mismanagement was responsible for the inadequate security at the mission in Benghazi where the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
-
FILE - This Nov. 9, 2012 file photo shows House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaking during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Congress returns Tuesday to a crowded agenda of unfinished business after an election that left the balance of power unchanged but emboldened President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats. Trade with Russia, aid to farmers and a defense policy bill pack a list overshadowed by the urgent need to find a way to avoid tax increases and automatic spending cuts. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
-
FILE - This Nov. 21, 2011 file photo shows Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., speaks outside her office on Capitol Hil in Washington. Congress returns Tuesday to a crowded agenda of unfinished business after an election that left the balance of power unchanged but emboldened President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats. Trade with Russia, aid to farmers and a defense policy bill pack a list overshadowed by the urgent need to find a way to avoid tax increases and automatic spending cuts. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
-
FILE - In this Sept. 21, 2012 file photo, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio meets with reporter on Capitol Hill in Washington. A barrage of negative ads, more than $2 billion in spending and months of campaign stops come down to this reality: Americans will wake up Wednesday with likely the same divided Congress it had that past two years. Republicans are poised to keep their hold on the House, Democrats are most likely to narrowly hold the Senate. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
-
FILE - In this Sept. 19, 2012 file photo, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. A barrage of negative ads, more than $2 billion in spending and months of campaign stops come down to this reality: Americans will wake up Wednesday with likely the same divided Congress it had that past two years. Republicans are poised to keep their hold on the House, Democrats are most likely to narrowly hold the Senate. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
House GOP bill calls attention to Obama on budget
WASHINGTON (
AP) — In a legislative dig at President
Barack Obama, the GOP-controlled House on passed a bill designed to highlight the fact that he's never offered a balanced budget during his White House tenure.
Democrats called the legislation a political gimmick, and it's sure to be ignored by Democrats controlling the Senate.
The "Require Presidential Leadership and No Deficit Act" is meant to require that president submit a budget that balances the government's books. It passed by a 253-167 vote, with 26 Democrats joining with majority Republicans behind the bill.
The legislation is aimed at drawing a contrast between Obama and House Republicans, who recently announced that their upcoming budget blueprint would come to balance within a decade. That's a shift from the past two years, when Republican budgets contained sharp cuts but failed to project a balanced ledger.
The bill's author, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said it "simply says to the president, 'Mr. President, when you submit your budget, just let us know when it balances.'"
During the debate, Republicans pointed out the four consecutive years of trillion dollar-plus deficits occurred on Obama's watch and that he has once again failed to meet the legal deadline for submitting his budget to Congress. Obama's budget was supposed to have been delivered on Monday but isn't expected until next month.
"Every year the president has been in office, there have been deficits of $1 trillion — adding $6 trillion to the debt," said GOP Whip Kevin McCarthy of California. "Out of the last five budgets, four of them have been late."
Countered Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.: "This bill before us isn't a meaningful attempt to address the budget. It's a gimmick wrapped in talking points inside a press release."
Tags:
republican party, mr. president, ap, democrats, george w. bush, republicans, senate, bill clinton, obama, democratic party, mccarthy, united states senate, house republicans, books, culture_politics, points, decade, president of the united states, office, illinois, budget, legislation, fact, president barack obama, president, contrast, barack obama, washington, government, attention, balanced budget, shift, press release, gop-controlled house, d-mass., majority republicans, upcoming budget blueprint, white house tenure, require presidential leadership, gop whip kevin, rep. jim mcgovern, rep. tom price, house gop, political gimmick, republican budgets, legislative dig, dollar-plus deficits, deficit act, 253-167 vote, sharp cuts, meaningful attempt, legal deadline, ledger, r-ga.
Print Page
