Baucus Commission Is No Solution for Spending

Stuart Butler / January 26, 2010

The Senate this week is considering amendments to Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) legislation to raise the debt limit.  Reid’s bill is a substitute to the version that passed the House, which would add $925 billion to the federal debt ceiling, but his would hike the limit by $1.9 trillion so that the Senate does not have to take another troublesome vote on the debt limit before the 2010 election.

Raising the debt ceiling to some degree is, unfortunately, necessary to avoid a default with perhaps catastrophic financial consequences for America. But at least the legislation has focused attention on the need for Washington to control its spending behavior.  The issue is: What amendments can be added to the Reid bill to push Congress to face up to the spiraling fiscal problem? (more…)