Yesterday, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) took to the Senate floor to fight against secrecy in budget talks and out of control spending. Transparency may be dead in debt limit talks, but if heroes like Senator Johnson pledge to use the two most important words in the Senate dictionary–“I Object”–to shut down the Senate, they can force transparency for the American people.
Senator Johnson threatened to object to all unanimous consent agreements until debt limit negotiations and the budget are done out in the open. He also cited the fact that the federal government needs to live within a reasonable budget.
So let me start the process by throwing out a number: $2.6 trillion. This is $800 billion more than we spent just 10 years ago. That is the amount that President Obama, in his budget, says the federal government will receive in revenue next year. If we only spent that amount of money, we would be living within our means. What a concept, huh?
Senator Johnson’s speech is an excellent description of the state of play on the budget and debt limit negotiations. It is also a great case against “business as usual” in the Capitol.