Straight Party-Line Vote Kills “Cut, Cap & Balance” In Senate
Not surprisingly, the Cut, Cap, and Balance plan that passed the House Tuesday died this morning in the Senate on a party line vote:
The Senate voted 51-46, along strict party-lines, on Friday to kill the House Republicans’ “cut, cap and balance” legislation.
The measure would have cut spending by $111 billion in 2012, capped spending over the next decade and prohibited more borrowing until Congress had passed a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution.
President Obama had threatened to veto the bill, which was dead on arrival in the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called the legislation “very, very bad” and said it was a waste of the upper chamber’s time.
Moving the measure through the House and holding a vote in the Senate, however, was seen as a way of making progress toward an overall deal to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling and approve a deficit-reduction package.
Three Senators didn’t vote, Kristin Gillebrand, John Kerry, and John McCain.
Anything to read into why those three Senators didn’t vote?
@ reid…
because it was a waste of time???
Since it passed the House on pretty much a party line vote, I guess it’s only fair for it to fail that way in the Senate.
Works for me, norm.
So much for the Democrats demonstrating the value of compromise.
Not only did they vote it down they blocked debate and refused the opportunity to amend the bill and send it back to the House and this blog makes it appear that only the Republicans are playing games; BS.