Attacking Earmarks Is Fine, But …..
….. if the Senate can’t even nibble at entitlement monsters like Medicare, we’re in a heap of trouble. An IBD editorial (”Medicare Cowardice”) from last week took Republican Senators to task for failing to vote against a mere 1.5% reduction in projected spending over the next 5 years.
During last week’s Senate budget debate, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, offered an amendment to trim Medicare by $34 billion over five years. The Cornyn proposal was defeated on Thursday by an overwhelming 74 to 23.
….. Of the $2.2 trillion in spending proposed for Medicare over the next five years, $34 billion would be a savings of only about 1.5%. Yet most Republican senators are so unserious or cowardly when it comes to reining in spending that they can’t even bring themselves to support something that tiny.
The roll call vote “Statement of Purpose” for Cornyn’s amendment read as follows:
To provide reconciliation instructions of $33.8 billion to make provider payments more accurate, to improve Medicare Part B income relation provisions, expand those provisions to Medicare Part D and reduce the deficit.
It certainly doesn’t appear as if anyone was going to be harmed by what Cornyn was suggesting.
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana votes were as follows:
- Brown (D-OH) — No
- Voinovich (R-OH) — No
- Bunning (R-KY) — Yes
- McConnell (R-KY) — Yes
- Bayh (D-IN) — No
- Lugar (R-IN) — No
Other “notable” votes:
- Clinton (D-NY) — No
- Hutchinson (R-TX) — No
- Obama (D-IL) — No
- Warner (R-VA) — No
- Brownback (R-KS) — Yes
- Dole (R-NC) — Yes
- Coburn (R-OK) — Yes
- DeMint (R-SC) — Yes
- McCain (R-AZ) — Did not vote
