by J. Michael Sharman, Contributing WriterTwenty-two Democrats, twenty in the U.S. House of Representatives and two in the Senate, voted against President Obama’s $3.55 trillion budget.
Some kept their mouth shut about their vote, but others put out press releases and a few of them made their regional news, but try as you might, you won’t find the reasons for their dissent getting much coverage in the national media.
Dan Boren, (D-OK, 2nd) said he voted against the Obama budget because “it increased taxes in a time of economic uncertainty and added trillions of dollars in spending that will burden our children and grandchildren.”
Bobby Bright, (D-Ala., 2nd) said, “I could not vote for such a massive budget during a time in which government revenues are declining. …[And as] we address how to fix serious problems such as energy, health care, and our fiscal crisis, it is essential that any legislation passed is not done so through a simple party line vote.”
Joe Donnelly (D-IN., 2nd) told the Associated Press he voted against it because of “the growing national debt which our children are being asked to bear.”
The press release for Bill Foster (D-IL, 14th) said, “My main concern is that this bill must not only start reducing the deficit, but must lay the path towards paying down the debt. This requires our government to make hard choices – the same choices our constituents are making each and every day.”
Parker Griffith, (D-Ala., 5th) issued a press release, too: “The administration’s proposal fails to provide clear support for national missile defense, and I fear that it will not make the proper investments in missile defense that are necessary to protect ourselves and our international allies. The budget includes large increases in spending that would plunge an already struggling economy and overburdened treasury deeper into debt.”
Frank M. Kratovil, Jr., (D-Md. 1st) “[A] budget needs to be more than a wish list. If we’re investing more in these key priorities, we ought to have the discipline to tighten our belt in other areas. I simply cannot accept the sustained long term deficits included in this budget.”
Betsy Markey, (D-CO, 4th) told The Coloradan: “Congress must be more aggressive in cutting our federal deficit. At a time when families all across the country are tightening their belts, we can do a better job of rooting out inefficiencies and cutting out government waste.”
Jim Matheson, (D-UT, 2nd) bluntly stated: “We know what happens when we go hog-wild with spending and take on dangerous levels of debt. … We have to do some serious belt-tightening and there's no recognition of that fact in this proposal.”
The website of Harry E. Mitchell, (D-AZ, 5th) says: “…I have serious concerns about a budget blueprint that allows key tax cuts to expire. It ought to concern Democrats as well as Republicans when important tax cuts face expiration. Given the unique economic difficulties we face as a nation, we need to retain tax cuts that will encourage the kind of investment that stimulates growth.”
Tom Perriello, (D-VA, 5th) told a Charlottesville news station: “I think we have to look not just at some of the policies that currently exist, but also at what got us into this mess. Whether that's the need for more accountability on Wall Street with some of the speculators, or whether that's in the government policy.”
Gene Taylor (D-MS, 4th) came right out and told it like it is: “It’s insane. This is the fourth president since I’ve been in the House who’s said they were going to fix the deficit in later years. It only worked out for Bill Clinton.”
Thankfully, their votes and their voices show us that profiles in courage still grace the halls of Congress.
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