During an interview aired on Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said that it’s indefensible for Senate Republicans to block amendments by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) to remove earmarks from the omnibus bill and another by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on budget rules.
Host Larry Kudlow said, “Sen. Johnson tried to strip out earmarks. His amendment was defeated. And then Sen. Rand Paul tried to reimpose the spending caps, which would have triggered automatic spending cuts. What can you tell us about those two votes? Because that’s sound budget policy, both of them wanted sound budget policy, and a lot of Republicans deserted them.”
Lee responded, “No, that’s exactly right. And that’s why when you hear Republicans talk about fiscal responsibility, about fiscal conservatism, you need to look at how they actually vote because there is no defense you can make for opposing those amendments, especially if you’re a Republican. Because all they’re doing is trying to restore some fiscal sanity to a country that is — we’re bringing in, as a government, about $4 trillion a year and spending about $6 trillion a year. $2 trillion annual deficits are indefensible, they are unsustainable. And we can’t do this anymore. So, it’s beyond my ability to understand why Republicans in particular would help defeat these things and then still propel the bill forward toward passage once the amendments failed.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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