Wallace asks if Dems are “getting religion” on deficits, but GOP created them
Published
Chris Wallace asked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell whether “some Democrats are getting religion when it comes to the deficit.” Wallace made no mention of Republicans “getting religion” on the deficit, even though “virtually the entire deficit over the next ten years” is due to policies implemented under President Bush or to the recession, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Wallace asks whether Dems are “getting religion when it comes to the deficit”
From the June 20 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday:
WALLACE: It's been a remarkable week in the U.S. Senate, where some Democrats have joined Republicans to block a new spending bill that would extend unemployment benefits for people who are about to lose them and also provide state aid that would allow workers not to be laid off. Are some Democrats getting religion when it comes to the deficit?
McCONNELL: It sure seems so. I mean, we've passed the $13 trillion cumulative national debt threshold a few weeks ago, and the issue here with regard to this bill to which you referred is paying for it. Now we did manage to take out a piece of that bill last Friday and pay for it. That was a doctor reimbursement issue, we paid for it for six months. What Republicans have been arguing is that much of this is worthwhile and should be done, but it ought not to add to the deficit. And now, as you indicate, a growing number of Democrats are showing that kind of concern, and that's why this big Democratic majority in the Senate has not been able to pass this bill.
CBPP: "[V]irtually the entire deficit over the next ten years" due to Bush policies, economic downturn
CBPP: "[T]he tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the economic downturn together explain virtually the entire deficit over the next ten years." In a December 16, 2009, analysis of federal deficits -- which was revised on February 17 -- the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) stated:
“Some critics charge that the new policies pursued by President Obama and the 111th Congress caused the huge federal budget deficits that the nation now faces. In fact, the tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the economic downturn together explain virtually the entire deficit over the next ten years.” [emphasis in original]
CBPP included the following chart illustrating various factors' relative effects on current and projected deficits:
