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ClineWatch: The hypocritical letter from House Republicans to President Biden

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By Gene Zitver

In his new role as chair of the Republican Study Committee’s Budget and Spending Task Force, Congressman Ben Cline signed a letter to President Biden with other House Republicans faulting the president for missing budget deadlines and failing to submit a balanced budget.

They wrote:

The American people have spoken and made it abundantly clear that the United States must no longer be governed in a state of crisis or brinkmanship. They expect their duly elected leaders to take the initiative to ensure that the vital functions of government are managed responsibly and in a timely manner.

The urgency of our Nation’s fiscal crisis is unprecedented. It is imperative that we move quickly to address skyrocketing inflation, a crippling $31.5 trillion in national debt, and the impending insolvency of our Nation’s major trust funds.

With the induction of a new Congress, Democrats and Republicans must seize this opportunity to fix our Nation’s unsustainable financial trajectory. That process must begin with your submission of a balanced Presidential Budget to Congress.

What makes this letter laughable is the following:

  • As president, Donald Trump missed deadlines for submitting a budget in two of his four years as president. Cline and his fellow Republicans were silent.
  • Trump never once submitted a budget that was even close to balanced. Trump’s administration incurred nearly 25 percent of the current national debt. Cline and his fellow Republicans were silent.
  • Instead of considering ways to protect the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, Cline and his RSC cohorts propose cutting benefits to seniors who depend on them.

Gene Zitver is the editor of ClineWatch.

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