balanced budget news stories on Newser

House Rejects Balanced Budget Amendment

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:16:32 CST

The House has rejected a proposal to amend the Constitution to require a balanced budget, seen by many as the only way to force lawmakers to hold the fiscal line and reverse the flow of federal red ink. The 261-165 vote was 23 short of the two-thirds majority needed to...

Romney Wrangles With Town-Hall Questioner

Matt Cantor — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:46:05 CDT

In a town-hall kerfuffle caught on tape, Mitt Romney trades heated words with a questioner in discussing a balanced-budget amendment he supports, notes Mediaite . When the questioner suggests that Romney is telling his audience “what (it) wants to hear,” adding that it’s “shameful” to pretend we don’t “benefit” from government...

GOP's New Crusade: Balanced Budget Amendment

Matt Cantor — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 07:56:03 CDT

Emboldened after the debt limit fight, Republicans are shifting energies to their quest for a balanced budget amendment—but such a measure faces major hurdles, the New York Times reports. John Boehner has called on congressional Republicans to spend their August recess convincing the public of the importance of such...

House Passes Boehner Plan; Senate Rejects It

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:43:51 CDT

John Boehner finally got his debt ceiling plan through the House, and it survived all of two hours. The bill passed 218-210 today after the House speaker reworked it to appease Tea Party conservatives. As expected, the Senate promptly tabled it, meaning it is effectively dead. Just after the Senate...

No Debt Compromise in Sight

Kevin Spak — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 07:58:21 CDT

Exasperation is high on Capitol Hill, as the House and Senate barrel ahead with unrelated debt ceiling plans, neither of which resemble the “grand bargain” President Obama wanted. Today, John Boehner will hold a vote on his so-called “Cut, Cap, and Balance” bill, which calls for $5.8 trillion in...

GOP Wants to Make Unbalanced Budget Illegal

Matt Cantor — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 06:57:05 CDT

The GOP is hoping to tack a 28th amendment on to the Constitution: one that would mandate a balanced budget. All 47 GOP senators are behind the proposal, which was announced yesterday, but "the whole thing is a long shot," an analyst tells Reuters . Earlier attempts have fallen through, and...

Dems to Offer GOP Another $20B in Spending Cuts

Matt Cantor — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 08:52:05 CDT

With the threat of a government shutdown less than two weeks away, all eyes are on the budget. The White House and congressional Democrats are working on a proposal to cut another $20 billion in spending, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . It’s the biggest cut the administration and Democratic...

Newt: Selling Out Is Worse Than Shutting Down

Mark Russell — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 06:05:27 CST

The Republican leadership should stick to its guns regarding the budget, even if that means shutting down the government—which wouldn't be the worst thing, argues Newt Gingrich. Writing for the Washington Post , he points to the government shutdown of 1995 as an event worth imitating. While many regard that...

Paul: I'll Cut Fed Workers, Wages 10%

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 06:24:00 CST

Newly minted US Senator-elect Rand Paul scrambled yesterday when pressed to come up with federal cost cuts—but finally said he'll aim to slice the number of federal workers and their wages by 10%. Pit bull reporter Christine Amanpour repeatedly needled Paul on ABC's This Week to move beyond "slogans...