From the Washington Times: House Republicans will force a vote Wednesday on a plan to stave off a debt-ceiling crisis for three months, but it’s the rest of their plan — to hold lawmakers’ pay hostage to their ability to pass a budget — that is testing the limits of the Constitution.
After two years of fighting with President Obama over debt, congressional Republicans decided to punt. The bill they will power through the House will temporarily waive the $16.39 trillion debt ceiling, allowing more debt to accumulate through May 18 and delivering at least a short-term win to the White House.
In exchange, though, House Republicans want to try to force Senate Democrats to write a budget for the first time in four years, and want to withhold part of their $174,000 salaries if they don’t.
If the Senate doesn’t pass a budget before April 15, the bill would stick each member’s pay in escrow either until they do pass one, or until the end of Congress, when all the money would be paid out no matter what. The same rules would apply to the House and its own ability to pass a budget.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jan/22/tying-members-pay-to-debt-limit-legal-gop-says/#ixzz2Im8wjcOu
Besides being unconstitutional, it also very stupid to hold the Senate's pay. The vast majority of members in the Senate are millionaires and the withholding of pay won't hurt them 1 bit. And if a Senate member is hurt by the pay cut, there will be many people out there who will make sure the senator gets through the rough times financially.
While the GOP has the right goal- getting a budget- they are going about it the wrong way. The GOP needs to play hardball including to chop funding to liberal organizations and liberal areas of government like PBS and NPR.
Gimmicks aren't going to play on Main Street, only real solutions will be accepted.
At the Prairie Café...
5 hours ago
Cutting NPR and PBS would be gimmicks though. Their funding is miniscule, comparatively.
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