As of late, American voters seem more concerned with having revenue to invest in national priorities than in giving it away in the form of costly and regressive tax cuts. In recent elections, voters in California, Colorado, and Washington state rejected ballot measures that would have rolled back tax increases or limited state spending. Many believe that after September 11 and the Gulf Coast hurricanes, more Americans are starting to see the value of a strong government infrastructure which can adequately respond to public needs by providing safety and various other services.

The House leadership has pulled the budget reconciliation bill from the floor, and postponed the vote until sometime next week. They pulled the bill, which included $54 billion in highly contentious cuts to entitlement spending, because they did not have the votes to pass it. Republican moderates, to whom we owe this victory, held their own against the leadership and the conservative Republican Study Committee on their opposition to ANWR. Many realized stripping it was somewhat pointless becaust it could easily make its way back into the bill in conference with the Senate.

OMB Watch has published an op-ed, "The Ultimate Special Interest," in today's issue of tompaine.com. The op-ed delves into the details behind today's House vote on the budget reconciliation measure. The bill not only includes "draconian cuts" to human needs services, but when taken with the reconciliation tax bill it actually raises the deficit, completely defeating the GOP's argument that the bill is needed in order to combat massive spending.

Rep. Boehlert is one member of the House who has the right idea about the budget reconciliation bill -- he opposes the bill because of the ANWR language and because it shows a "disconnect" by trimming spending on low-income programs, only to set the stage for tax cuts for the wealthy.