Letter to Democratic Colleague

Letter

Dear Democratic Colleague:

The Judiciary Committee recently approved a so-called balanced budget constitutional amendment (H.J. Res.1) that is really a Trojan Horse for the Republican budget, designed to make it easier to reduce the deficit by slashing Medicare benefits than by closing tax loopholes for corporate special interests. With this measure, the Majority is demonstrating that it will commandeer even one of the most important Congressional actions to push the Republican agenda of ending the Medicare guarantee and cutting taxes, regardless of the consequences.

H.J.Res. 1 would limit government spending to even less than the low levels in the House Republican budget resolution that dismantles Medicare and slashes vital services. The amendment would require a supermajority in both houses of Congress to approve spending greater than revenues, and also to raise revenues. However, a simple majority vote would still be sufficient to approve special interest tax cuts. We have seen what happens when we follow this path: in fact, much of our current fiscal imbalance is a result of the Bush Administration's large tax cuts.

The attached report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities details how just two Bush policies -- tax cuts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- added $500 billion to the 2009 deficit and will add $7 trillion to the cumulative deficit over ten years (2009 through 2019). The costs of these policies dwarf any effects from the Recovery Act and other responses to the economic downturn. Unlike those temporary costs, the Bush Administration tax policies have lasting impacts on the budget. The Center's paper shows that without the economic downturn and Bush Administration policies, the budget would be roughly in balance over the next decade.

As the economic recovery strengthens, we need to shift to implementing a balanced fiscal approach that realigns spending and revenue policies to achieve a sustainable fiscal future; this so-called Balanced Budget Amendment takes a totally unbalanced, one-sided approach to balancing the budget. The Republicans are using the guise of a constitutional amendment to push their existing agenda of ending the Medicare guarantee while cutting taxes for special interests and millionaires. These actions would have far-reaching and dire consequences on the economy, and on Congress's ability to respond to changing needs.

Sincerely,

/s

Chris Van Hollen

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