GOP

-By Frank Salvato

What is being termed a “historic debt ceiling compromise deal,” complete with backslapping and self-congratulations at the highest levels, is being considered by the Senate and the House rank-and-file. And consider they will. With many provisions going against the principles of both the TEA Party contingent and the far-leftist Progressive faction, there is a lot to consider. Significantly, lost in this “grand compromise” are these facts: a) Almost all of the spending cuts trumpeted as victory for the TEA Party Movement come after the 2012 General Election and with the election of a new Congress, b) The agreement does not eliminate deficit spending, rather, it simply lowers the amount of deficit spending, and c) Because the agreement doesn’t reach the $4 trillion mark mandated by the ratings agencies there is still a chance for our nations credit rating to be downgraded.

Perhaps the most significant issue in all of this is that for all the talk of not wanting to “kick the can down the road,” this agreement “kicks the can down the road.” Why do I say that? I say that because one Congress cannot mandate a future Congress to do anything. Short of a constitutional amendment that includes triggers that would apply devastating consequences outside the manipulative reach of any future Congress – or the Executive Branch – future Congresses don’t have to honor anything passed by previous Congresses. A perfect example comes in the form a the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, which mandates that Congress must complete its annual budget resolution by April 15th. Even though there is an enforcement mechanism – a punishment for not achieving this goal – in that if Congress fails to pass a budget resolution, legislation that affects budgetary matters cannot be considered, today, the 111th Congress has essentially ignored the law, having been delinquent in passing a budget for over two years running.

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Mandating the Future to Kow-Tow to Now”