Republicans bash Brown for saying budget is not meaningful
The Columbus Dispatch - February 14, 2012 14:02 PM
National Republicans are criticizing Sen. Sherrod Brown for a recent radio appearance in which Brown said Senate passage of a budget is not “all that meaningful.” Speaking on Majic 105.7 in Cleveland, Brown called the fact that Congress has not passed a budget for 1,000 days “a good talking point for Republicans.”
“But the fact is that we've had a Budget Act where we have that plan set out,” he said, referring to the Budget Control Act passed by Congress last August. “The budget's only for a year or two. The Budget Act is for 5 and 10 years down the road. So I think that's a good sound bite to use but I don't think it's all that meaningful.”
Republicans leaped on the statement, saying that passing a budget is the most basic form of government and that Brown, in the past, has endorsed President Obama’s budgets.
Brown is running for re-election this year.
“It’s remarkable that Sherrod Brown would tell Ohioans that passing a budget is not that meaningful, because not only did he tout Obama’s 2012 budget, but he even campaigned on a balanced budget,”said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Jahan Wilcox.
But Meghan Dubyak, a spokeswoman for Brown, said the recent Budget Control Act sets spending caps – similar to a budget resolution – that would bar Congress from spending too much.
“The Budget Control Act is even stronger than a traditional budget because it was enacted into law, unlike budget resolutions,” she said, adding that that measure cuts spending and reduces the deficit by more than $2 trillion, sets 10 years of spending caps and protects entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare.
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