Fiscal cliff deal passes House; Ga. GOP’ers vote no
Crisis averted. Let the countdown to the next crisis begin.
After a day of remarkable swings, House Republican leaders folded and brought to the floor a bill they knew they needed Democrats to pass. The final tally was 257-167, with 172 Democrats joining 85 Republicans in favor. This broke House Speaker John Boehner’s practice (named for ex-Speaker Denny Hastert) that bills must pass with “the majority of the majority.” It will be interesting to see whether conservative members’ ire remains focused on the Senate or whether it will shift to Boehner with the Speaker’s re-election coming up on Thursday.
Georgia Republicans lined up unanimously against the American Taxpayer Relief Act: Reps. Tom Price of Roswell, Lynn Westmoreland of Coweta County, Phil Gingrey of Marietta, Rob Woodall of Lawrenceville, Jack Kingston of Savannah, Paul Broun of Athens, Austin Scott of Tifton and Tom Graves of Ranger all voted no.
That’s a major break from the state’s Republican senators — Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss supported the 89-8 Rockin’ New Year’s vote in the Senate. It was a sign they surely noticed.
On the Democratic side, Rep. John Barrow of Augusta voted no, while Reps. David Scott of Atlanta, Hank Johnson of DeKalb County and Sanford Bishop of Albany all voted yes. (Rep. John Lewis of Atlanta is home after the death of his wife.)
Here’s what some of our folks had to say:
Austin Scott: “It’s the spending aspect of the bill that’s the problem for me. … [But] there’s some concern that if you send it back to [the Senate] with an amendment, that the country’s in limbo for several days.”
Johnson: “This is not a grand bargain by any stretch of the imagination and I think most of us will want to do everything in a grand bargain, vote it up or down, so from that standpoint it’s a little disappointing. … [But] the vice president did a good job negotiating this deal. It may be the best that we can expect.”
Broun: “I [told leadership] I’m going to vote no either way. It’s not in the best interest of this nation to continue spending money like we’re doing. It’s not about taxes because we’re taxed enough already.”
Kingston, sarcastically, when asked if he would support the deal: “I don’t know. I love senators so much that it’s hard to vote no on anything they do.”
Barrow (paper statement): “When we began discussions on getting our nation’s finances in order, our mission was to go big – reform our tax code, cut spending, and put us on a long-term path to deficit reduction. The package we’re voting on today doesn’t achieve any of these goals. I can’t support a plan that does nothing to address our debt, doesn’t make the necessary cuts in federal spending we need right now, and sets us up for another fiscal cliff in just a couple of months. I’m glad negotiators answered our call to block a pay increase for members of Congress, but it’s not nearly enough to put this country on the right path. This proposal isn’t a long-term solution — it just kicks the can two months down the road.”
Chambliss: “I would hope that’s what passes so it can be done and we’ve got the tax issue behind us. There’s no other way to look at it other than this is what Obama wanted. And now we get serious about spending and entitlement reform because that’s what we want and it’s our turn.”
A spokeswoman for Gingrey: “Rep. Gingrey opposed the Senate amendment because it did not address spending, entitlement or tax reform in any meaningful way. Furthermore, it continues Washington’s habit of kicking the can down the road, fails to provide certainty for job creators or protection for small businesses.”
- By Daniel Malloy, Political Insider
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89 comments Add your comment
Rafe Hollister
January 2nd, 2013
8:41 am
Well, I hope you cheerleaders for this fiasco enjoy the $1600 tax increase on your wages. Maybe your contribution will buy a couple of gallons of fuel for Airfarce 1 as it makes its way to Hawaii ($7 M trip for the Spender in Chief). All that spending has just worn ole Barry out I guess, and he needs some more golf rounds to get his groove back.
arnold
January 2nd, 2013
8:49 am
In any compromise both sides have to give up something they don’t want to lose. No mside is perfectly happy. That’s why it’s called a compromise.
joe
January 2nd, 2013
9:07 am
As they should have…for every $41 raised in additional (new) taxes, this congress gave us a whopping total of $1 in spending cuts. Pathetic. Vote them all out…at least the ones who voted for this crap.
Willis
January 2nd, 2013
9:07 am
I keep thinking of the big cliff in the final scenes of the movie “The Last of the Mohicans” and realize that Congress just let us go over the cliff and then managed to strike a deal that still leaves plenty of people unhappy. Unhappy not so much with the deal as with the performance of Congress.
The really bad thing about these cliffs is that, like the cliff in the movie, there is no way to get all the way back to the top. Not without a helicopter at least. We have only a temporary reprieve from the antics of a broken Congress and we will continue to slip back to the bottom of the cliff. They created the mess and were not able to fix it.
We don’t have a spending problem; we don’t have a revenue problem. We have a Congress problem.
Don't Tread
January 2nd, 2013
9:11 am
At least the Reps had some gumption to stand up to Barack “You can’t cut your way to prosperity” 0bama. I’ll be voting for different Senators in the primary.
WAW
January 2nd, 2013
9:14 am
Stock Markets are up around the world after the vote. So much for austerity.
Madmax
January 2nd, 2013
9:21 am
So it’s now officially the Obama Tax bill and the Obama Deficit. And we can no longer kick the can down the road, we have to push it because it’s too big to kick. At least we won’t hear the Dem’s whining about the Bush tax cuts anymore.
really
January 2nd, 2013
9:25 am
honested – Do you have a pension or will you be eligible for a pension? Do you place your life on the line for your work? Did you serve your country in any way? Don’t be so fast on cutting defense funds on people who served. You want to complain about military spending, then complain to Obama to uphold his promise to bring all the troops home, not a few groups here and there.
innerjuju
January 2nd, 2013
9:33 am
The House had two years to come up with spending cuts. Instead, they were more concerned with making Obama a one-term president. Then, once reelected, they had lessthan a month and then were more concerned about not compromising on anything. So they wait until the last minute, punt to the Senate over a holiday weekend, all so they can vote ‘No’ when it comes back to them. I’ll remember to vote ‘No’ when my congressman is back up for relection. No way I will vote for Phil Gingrey any longer. He can SAY its because it didn’t have enough spending cuts but I’ll know its because he was more interested in following his Party’s obstructionist policies than to show fiscal leadership. Thank you Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson. You showed us what bipartisan compromise looked like once again and I appreciate the effort.
Just Saying..
January 2nd, 2013
9:35 am
Lord help: “…you to dumb…”
Lord help you…
Georgia, The "New Mississippi"
January 2nd, 2013
9:37 am
These Tea Party Johnny Rebs in Congress can not write and pass a bill supported by anyone but Tea Party Johnny Rebs. We will watch them take the same approach on the debt limit .
Diamond Jim
January 2nd, 2013
9:41 am
The Georgia representatives, in voting No on and not caving in to Obama, are doing exactly what we sent them to Washington to do–representing the majority wishes of the folks who elected them. Too bad the same cannot be said for Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss. Chambliss addressed a Cobb County Republican breakfast a month ago, where he said he had never voted for a tax rate increase and NEVER WOULD vote for a rate increase. That didn’t last long. We’d have been better off to go over the so-called cliff and then negotiate some real spending cuts, rather than the piddling amounts in the just-passed bill. Government does not have an income problem—government has a SPENDING problem!!
The House has constitutional authority over all spending legislation, and never should have been negotiating with Obama in the first place. They should pass a series of austere spending bills dealing with specific agencies and programs–no more big pork-laden “omnibus” bills–and send them over to the Senate. If Napoleon Reed refuses to let them be voted upon, then let those agencies and programs shut down for lack of funding, and let the blame fall where it should–squarely on the Democrats. It’s time for the Republicans to grow a pair and have the courage to stop this unsustainable spending spree that is mortgaging the future for the next
two generations.
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
January 2nd, 2013
9:43 am
Workers earning the national average salary of $41,000 will receive $32 less on every biweekly paycheck. The higher the salary (up to $113,700), the bigger the bite, but business owners say their lower wage employees will feel it most.
Looks like a lot more than just the “rich” get to share the pain.
Real Athens
January 2nd, 2013
9:47 am
DJ:
Spending on the wrong things are bad. But to demonize all spending as unnecessary is to ignore what put this country at the forefront of, damn near everything.
“Can government play a positive role in economic development?
To understand who built what in the construction of the American economy from its pre-industrial origins, a look at one of the drivers of U.S. innovation — venture capital — is instructive.”
http://onlineathens.com/opinion/2013-01-01/janeway-government-has-crucial-role-economic-development
liberalefty
January 2nd, 2013
9:53 am
arent the repubs happy that 98% of AMERICANS taxes won’t go up?
curious
January 2nd, 2013
9:58 am
“NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock futures surged on Wednesday, setting up Wall Street to rally in the first trading session of the new year, after U.S. lawmakers passed a bill preventing huge tax hikes and spending cuts that threatened to jeopardize economic growth.”
If Congress had been doing its job rather than voting NO, this probably would have happened sooner.
Just like negotiating with my wife; my way or the highway doesn’t work if you are working toward a common goal.
liberalefty
January 2nd, 2013
9:58 am
To the angry bile driven repubs who pretend to hate the government but draws a government check and voted no, did they want the country to go over the fiscal cliff eventhough it would hurt all AMERICANS especially the poor and middle class? IF they weren’t fueled by hate and bigotry for the president maybe they could get things done and move America forward instead of introducing birther bills in congress.
liberalefty
January 2nd, 2013
10:00 am
@curious
They are driven by their iuntense hatred of the president. When the leader of the gop is RUSH LIMBAUGH what do you expect?
citizen concur
January 2nd, 2013
10:03 am
I read all the comments. If people stop beening augury about the president, and think more about the country and the people. What best for them and do th e job they were elected to do. Stop taking payoffs from the rich and make the rich pay their fair share and cut out the Good OL Boy area. Then wee could survive.The rich as lived off of the default Middle case and now the have to pay.
td
January 2nd, 2013
10:07 am
iberalefty
January 2nd, 2013
9:53 am
arent the repubs happy that 98% of AMERICANS taxes won’t go up?
Not when the entire increase plus more is spent and the tax increase is nothing more then a spending bill. This bill will INCREASE our deficit by $4 trillion over the next 10 years.
liberalefty
January 2nd, 2013
10:08 am
@DIAMOND jim
So you wanted the BUSH tax cuts to expire and we go off the fiscal cliff? And that will make you feel better?
liberalefty
January 2nd, 2013
10:12 am
TD
to bad this congress listens to talk radio instead of working for the AMERICAN people. They could have put together a bill but in their hatred for OBAMA they’ve lost the ability to lead. THe gop is a is mess right now and the poublic sees it. While they were introducing birther bills and bills to protect us from SHARIA LAW they should have been working on this important piece of legislation.
td
January 2nd, 2013
10:20 am
liberalefty
January 2nd, 2013
10:12 am
You really need to stop listening too and watching the Lame stream media. The Republican house did passed an entire budget that the Dems in the Senate would not even take up plus they did a bill to stop the physical cliff that the Senate refused to take up. They did do their part it was the Dems that did not do anything until the last minute.
curious
January 2nd, 2013
10:23 am
TD,
I found out it doesn’t do much good to propose an idea to my wife when I already know she will reject it outright.
To maintain a good marriage there needs to be some give and take.
td
January 2nd, 2013
10:28 am
“Workers earning the national average salary of $41,000 will receive $32 less on every biweekly paycheck. The higher the salary (up to $113,700), the bigger the bite, but business owners say their lower wage employees will feel it most.”
The average worker will see a $60 per month increase in SS payroll tax and a $20 per month increase in Healthcare premium increase. Now tell us again libs how this is good for the economy?
td
January 2nd, 2013
10:31 am
curious
January 2nd, 2013
10:23 am
And the Republicans gave in and raised taxes on the rich (Obama’s feel good measure) and what are the results? Is the deficit going down due to this bill? Will the economy improve when we add an additional $4 trillion in debt?
liberalefty
January 2nd, 2013
10:33 am
This congress is by far the least productive. Other than trying to control a womans vagina, what good are they?
liberalefty
January 2nd, 2013
10:34 am
Maybe the reubs should have let all the BUSH tax cuts expire.
curious
January 2nd, 2013
10:35 am
TD,
Apparently some think so, but my point is that Congress could have worked together over the last 2 years so this situation could have been avoided.
“NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock futures surged on Wednesday, setting up Wall Street to rally in the first trading session of the new year, after U.S. lawmakers passed a bill preventing huge tax hikes and spending cuts that threatened to jeopardize economic growth.”
In case you didn’t see my earlier post.
td
January 2nd, 2013
10:36 am
liberalefty
January 2nd, 2013
10:34 am
Maybe the reubs should have let all the BUSH tax cuts expire.
I thought the Bush tax cuts were the entire problem for you libs?
curious
January 2nd, 2013
10:41 am
The Republicans painted themselves into a corner. Could have been avoided, to everyone’s betterment, if they and Democrats had set down and developed a solution.
Instead, we spent an inordinate amount ot time discussing Obama’s birth cerificate, fast and furious, and Benghazi; all to “get” Obama.
liberalefty
January 2nd, 2013
10:55 am
@curious
the republican house gets their marching orders from racist talk radio…
liberalefty
January 2nd, 2013
10:57 am
Maybe the inept repub congress was fighting the MIGHTY WAR ON CHRISTMAS to be bothered by this fiscal cliff stuff….lol
Real Athens
January 2nd, 2013
11:01 am
“The average worker will see a $60 per month increase in SS payroll tax and a $20 per month increase in Healthcare premium increase. Now tell us again libs how this is good for the economy?”
SS has to be funded. This is not an increase but a return to SS funding before the collapse of 2008 and you know it.
Who’s going to pay for you to sit at home and post all this crap? LOL.
I will repeat for you again, as you will not acknowledge that of the $4 Trillion added to the deficit $3.23 Trillion is a result of lost revenue due to tax cuts, subsidies and exemptions.
I thought “good conservatives” crow that tax cuts create revenue as a percent of GDP?
double
January 2nd, 2013
11:12 am
The Organizer out maneuvers the Whistleless teapots.Obama don’t kick the can down the roar,he kicks the broken Tea Pots that whistle no more.Sad………
double
January 2nd, 2013
11:16 am
Sax & John are statesmen.May their futures be bright in this new year.
James
January 2nd, 2013
3:35 pm
Your leadership is rather a weepy bunch of girls. I say recall the ENTIRE congress and start from scratch. The Georgia Legislature is next!!!
MackTheKnife
January 2nd, 2013
7:41 pm
Maybe one of the Georgia Congressman will have their eye on Chambliss’s or Isak’s Senate seat. Or better yet, maybe someone can get a RECALL going for both of those sorry Ga. Senators.
MackTheKnife
January 2nd, 2013
7:48 pm
The recognized problem with the Sandy Aid package that most people understand is the pork barrel spending included. Most Americans, including Repubs, have generous hearts is helping those who are affected by naturals disasters.
But what most good conservatives hate the most is pork barrel spending, not matter which party one belongs too.
This aid bill was voted on within one hour of being brought before the Senate, and Chambliss and Isak (being the yes men they are) stumbled over each other wanting to get that atta-boy from Obama.