Transparency? Bipartisanship?? Senate votes 100-0 to highlight spending

[babylonsister]

Senate votes 100-0 to highlight spending
By Walter Alarkon - 03/09/10 12:24 PM ET


The Senate voted unanimously Tuesday to tell the public when it isn’t paying for new spending or tax cuts.

In a rare 100-0 roll call vote, the Senate adopted an amendment offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) that would create a running tally on the secretary of the Senate's website of any new mandatory spending that isn’t paid for through offsetting spending cuts or tax increases.

Under the pay-as-you-go, or pay-go, law passed last month with only Democratic votes, Congress is supposed to offset new spending or tax cuts so that it isn’t adding to the country's record $12.4 trillion debt.

“It's about transparency in the Senate, being honest with the American people,” Coburn said.

The Democratic support for Coburn's measure appeared to surprise Republicans.

“I think this is a step toward transparency,” said Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who urged his colleagues to back the GOP amendment.

more...

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/85687-senate-votes-to-highlight-its-spending-on-the-web-

[Jennicut]

1. Coburn is a total tool. As if Rethugs actually care about this issue.

[FrenchieCat]

2. Republicans need to be able to say they voted for "something"......

cause currently, they have nothing to run on, except for what they have voted against.

[Inuca]

5. Be fair

they DID vote for lots and lots of R-offered amendments, just not for many that the Ds offered.

[Inuca]

4. Actually I think Coburn

does care. Maybe I misunderstand what "being a tool" means, but I do not think he is one. He is very full of himself, self-righteous, not very smart, and very ideological. His only checkmark on the plus side, in my book at least, is that I think he actually means most if the things he says (no politician means everything s/he says :-)).

Also and if I remember correctly Coburn worked with Obama while O was in teh Senate on a bill about a transparency-related database (do not remember the details...).

[Jennicut]

6. LOL. Tool is something my husband and I use for "idiot, jerk, person we think

sucks". It is just a habit I picked up from him. I know, silly. But habits die hard. We have kept "tool" going for more then ten years between the two of us.
Coburn maybe does actually want transparency but the rest of the Rethugs will just go along with to have something to campaign on as Frenchie said.

[Bluenorthwest]

12. Coburn is also a raving homophobe who got into office on

a platform of screaming that there were lesbians in the school bathrooms. He's a bigot. And a bigot who has power because of those who promote him. Which will never be me.

[DrDan]

3. I hate to say it - but I have so little confidence in the Senate that I would take

any tally they offer with the smallest grain of salt . . .

There is ALWAYS a way to twist the data to look good.

[4_TN_TITANS]

7. Not advocating fiscal irresponsibility, but

it's aggravating that this subject only comes up when there is a Dem congress that needs to spend to fix Repub catastrophes.

[Cosmocat]

8. Yep ...

and be darn for friggen sure, if they get control of government again and go on a spending spree, the WILL undo this, as they did paygo ...

[karynnj]

10. Exactly - and I doubt Coburn was with Biden and Kerry in 2003

when they wanted to pay for the $87 billion supplemental Iraq and Afghanistan bill by rolling back the tax cuts for the wealthy (the version that Bush said he would veto) - rather than adding it to the deficit (the version Kerry cast a protest vote against). Maybe Democrats should have created such a tally back then.

[City Lights]

11. Exactly. Where was their outrage when they ran up the debt during Junior's reign?

Their double-standards are infuriating.

[karynnj]

9. Given that the difficult vote on this was "pay go" , that the Republicans

were surprised that this bill had Democratic support is disingenuous. All this does is create a public list - for things already public. Unless I am missing something, couldn't you just look at the list of bill and see where the vote to waive the budget rule is accepted?

I would hope that Coburn wants the list of item, rather than just a tally of the dollars.