It seems the most "fiscal conservatives" in the House, the extremely right-wing Republican Study Committee, has gained the upper hand in their push for increased budget cuts in reconciliation. This week House GOP lawmakers will begin taking steps to cut as much as $50 billion from the FY 2006 budget. These cuts will effect areas such as health care programs for the poor, food stamps, and farm supports, and may also include across-the-board cuts in other programs. A month ago, when the RSC first called for stepped-up budget cuts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, House leaders tried to terminate their efforts behind closed doors. However, now House leaders are embracing this call for extensive budget cuts. With the leadership in turmoil because of Majority Leader Tom Delay's (R-TX) indictment, leaders, according to the Washington Post, "had no choice but to firm up support with their conservative base... according to lawmakers and leadership aides." Part of what is driving the Republican Study Commitee, which is headed by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), is a concern regarding spending in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which is projected to possibly exceed $200 billion. This group has, on occasion, criticized the administration and their Congressional colleagues for participating in what they call run-away spending. Since Bush came to office, federal spending has increased by approximately one-third, from $1.86 trillion to $2.47 trillion, and deficits have risen. What does not add up is that this same group supports the tax cut measure slated for passage in reconciliation, which amounts to $70 billion in un-offset federal spending. They also support the extension of Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cut provisions, which would cost over $1 trillion in lost revenue over a decade. It seems that the $200 billion cost of Katrina - a one-time expenditure that will not add to the deficit for more than one year, is nothing but an excuse for these members to gain some traction for their real goal: shrinking the size of government significantly by defunding public programs which serve to help millions of people every year. It is a push for cold-hearted disinvestment in our country during a time when so many people -- both Katrina victims and others -- are in need. And it is masked in the cloak of "fiscal responsiblity." In reality, it would be difficult for the RSC's definition of fiscal responsibility to be any less responsible, both in regards in to the well-being of citizens and in regards to future deficit projections.

Bill Chaloupka, Chair and Professor in Political Science at Colorado State University, has an excellent overview of the fight to overturn TABOR in Colorado this year in the American Prospect online. The state will vote in two weeks on a temporary, five-year suspension of the restrictive spending limits that have crippled Colorado over the past 12 years.

Yesterday the Congressional Budget Office revised their deficit estimate for FY 2005, stating that the deficit will be $317 billion. As Sen. Conrad (D-ND) said in a statement on the deficit figure, when the Social Security and other trust fund surpluses also being spent are added in, the debt in 2005 will actually increase by $575 billion. Also, while the cost of the hurricanes will not add a lot to the deficit in 2005, we can expect the 2006 deficit to increase significantly because of disaster-related spending. As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities points out, while this figure is down from last year, it is largely due to an increase in tax collections from last year. And without the 2003 tax cuts revenues would be higher, and deficits smaller. To read more on the CBO's calculations, see their Monthly Budget Review.

In a boost to Budget Chairman Jim Nussle's plans to enact substantial budget cuts to offset the cost for recovery from Hurricane Katrina, House Speaker Hastert announced yesterday the approval of a package of cuts modeled after Nussle's plan. "In order to maintain our commitment to deficit reduction, we are proposing to move a mid-session Budget Amendment for the first time in almost 30 years (1977)," Hastert said in a written release. The release also detailed the following proposals for offsetting Katrina costs:

• An "additional across the board cut of '06 discretionary spending." Permanently eliminate and "deauthorize" programs that House appropriators have zeroed out.
• Increase total minimum reconciled mandatory savings from $34.7 billion to $50 billion. "In addition to the $50 billion, we will offset dollar-for-dollar the new mandatory spending included in reconciliation/entitlement reform that is required to address the disasters."
• "We will bring forward packages of additional rescissions to further help offset reconstruction costs. Congress must develop, with the President, a budget for reconstruction and a plan to pay for it."

What is truly befuddling about this statement is Haster's claim of a committment to deficit reduction. It has been under his leadership that the Congress has enacted reckless and short sighted tax and budget policies that have driven the federal government back iinto the red in the first place. And Hastert does not have a committment to deficit reduction - he has a committment to cutting programs and services and reducing the size of government. If the Speaker was serious about deficit reduction, he would be talking about either tax rollbacks or increases in addition to budget cuts.