Article 1 Sect 7 of the U.S. Constitution begins, “All bills for
raising revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives.” The framers put the House in charge of taxes,
because House members — elected every two years from small
districts — would be the first to know if a tax were unfair or
burdensome. House Republicans who voted for the fiscal cliff bill
despite its being stuffed with tax favors for Hollywood,
alternative energy companies, and the President’s other favorite
constituents, disgraced this mandate. Whatever Americans think
about raising taxes, they agree that paying higher taxes to fund
costly giveaways for political insiders is morally repugnant.
President Obama poses as the morally superior politician,
compelling millionaires to pay their fair share. On January 1, when
the fiscal cliff bill reached the House, Speaker John Boehner
should have held up all 48 pages of favors requested by the
president on live television and called on the President to strip
them from the bill. It would have shaken Obama from atop his moral
pedestal. Whether the demand was met or not, it should have been
made.
Democrats and Republicans will have three more fiscal fights in
the coming days, over the debt ceiling, the automatic spending cuts
known as sequestration scheduled for March 1, and a federal budget
bill due on March 27. A Pew poll released January 7 suggests that
only 19% of Americans approve of the way GOP leaders handled the
crisis. Obama painted them as obstructionists. Reviewing the battle
provides lessons for the coming fights.
As White House and GOP leaders met behind closed doors, outlines
of a deal included raising income and capital gains taxes on high
earners, allowing payroll taxes to rise on all workers, postponing
previously agreed to automatic spending cuts, and extending
unemployment benefits. But only 30 of the bill’s 157 pages dealt
with these issues. Dealmakers packed them into a typical omnibus
bill crammed full of unrelated items as well as the favors the
president demanded.
Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) wrote the President urging him to drop
the demand “before any American is asked to pay a penny more in
taxes.” But Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell, the two who hammered out an agreement as the ball
was dropping on 2012, were tone deaf to the outrage of larding up
emergency fiscal legislation with special gifts to corporate
interests and campaign contributors. The favors, estimated to cost
$40 billion in revenue, will consume two thirds of the additional
tax revenue produced by the deal in the first year.
Boehner failed to attack this outrage and seize the moral high
ground from Obama on January 1. Had Boehner publicly assailed the
president’s demands, it would not have changed the terms of the
deal, but Obama would have gained far less political capital from
the outcome.
Ironically, later the same day, the Speaker took a principled
stand against the Superstorm Sandy relief bill because it was
crammed with spending unrelated to helping East Coast storm
victims. Not surprising. Boehner made his congressional career
opposing earmarks to benefit one congressional district. For
decades layering a bill with earmarks was the way to get it passed,
whether it was good for the country or not. The House agreed to end
earmarks in 2010, when Boehner became Speaker. But omnibus bills
are still routinely voted on without being read.
Instead of bringing the $60.4 billion Sandy-relief bill to a
vote, Boehner offered a $9.7 billion flood insurance bill, a first
installment for storm victims. Republican bigs such as Governor
Chris Christie of New Jersey lashed out at Boehner, accusing him of
anti-Northeast bias. Wrong. A politician who stands up against
wasteful government spending should be hailed as a hero.
It’s not too late for House Republicans to seize the mantle of
moral leadership. When the President demands more revenue by
closing loopholes and capping deductions, Republicans should demand
repeal of favors just pocketed by the President. When Obama and
Senate Democrats bring another larded-up omnibus bill to the House,
Boehner should rip it up and say the public wants a short bill in
plain English that members of Congress will read before
voting.
