–House Speaker, Minority Leader Say Wednesday Vote Reveals Little

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – House Speaker John Boehner and House Minority
Leader Nancy Pelosi do not agree on much these days, but Thursday both
downplayed the decisive rejection of an amendment that was a version of
the Simpson-Bowles deficit-reduction plan.

In back-to-back briefings, Boehner and Pelosi said the House vote
needed to viewed in the context of the current budget debate.

During its debate on a fiscal year 2013 budget resolution
Wednesday, the House rejected a version of the Simpson-Bowles plan on a
decisive 382 to 38 vote. The amendment was offered by Rep. Jim Cooper, a
Democrat, and Rep. Steve LaTourette, a Republican.

Pelosi said the actual amendment that was under consideration by
the bipartisan group of lawmakers was represented as a close version of
Simpson-Bowles, but this description was deemed inaccurate by Democratic
leaders are closely reviewing the amendment.

“It was a caricature of Simpson-Bowles,” Pelosi said.

She said the amendment “shifted around” tens of billions of dollars
from the template first presented by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson in
late 2010. That plan calls for more than $4 trillion in deficit
reduction over a decade through a blend of spending cuts and tax
increases.

Pelosi said she would support the Simpson-Bowles report if it was
written up in precise legislative form.

Boehner said the House budget amendment came up at the wrong time
to be considered dispassionately. It was considered during “the middle
of a pretty heated philosophical debate” on fiscal policy, Boehner said.

Asked if he would support Simpson-Bowles in a different context,
Boehner said “I support the Ryan budget.”

The House will vote on House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s
2013 fiscal year budget resolution Thursday afternoon.

Ryan has said his budget would cut spending by $5 trillion more
than President Barack Obama’s budget over a decade and would reduce
deficits by $3.3 trillion more than would the president’s budget.

It makes deep cuts in the projected growth of federal spending and
calls for the fundamental overhaul of Medicare, Medicaid and welfare
programs. It also calls for repealing the 2010 health care law.

** MNI Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **

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