Womack, Gop Freshmen Front And Center In Budget Battle

Third District Congressman Steve Womack (R-Rogers) scored a political victory with the tight passage of a resolution he sponsored that would delay pay for Congress if a budget impasse shuts down the federal government.

Freshmen GOP Reps. Rick Crawford (R-Jonesboro) and Tim Griffin (R-Little Rock) supported the cause. Cong. Mike Ross (D-Prescott) voted against the resolution, which passed 221-202 on Friday.

Womack’s resolution was viewed by Democrats as a publicity stunt. In short, HR 1255 stops paychecks for Congress and the President in the event of a federal government shutdown, but it does allow for backpay once government operations are restarted. The measure would only go into effect if the Senate passed it and the President signed it into law, both unlikely scenarios.

“A government shutdown has never been an option for House Republicans and our actions on the floor back that up. Republicans have come to the negotiating table time and time again with the same, yet with the outcome each time; Senate Democrats weren’t interested," said Womack in a floor speech.

"Today (Friday), with the passage of HR 1255, we send a serious message that we’re here for the people. If we don’t do our jobs, we shouldn’t get paid. Now we turn to the Senate and ask once again that Mr. Reid and his colleagues to come to the table and, this time, put the American people above themselves,” he added.

House Republicans, particularly freshmen members, have pushed for deeper cuts in federal spending – as much as $61 billion more – but stalled talks between the House and U.S. Senate are continuing through the weekend although many Washington observers don’t expect a breakthrough. Senators have agreed to about $30 billion in spending cuts, but House members want to go further.

Ross complained earlier in the week that the political posturing over discretionary spending was not a long-term fix to the nation’s fiscal woes.

“We are spending all of our time in the House in a debate over 15 percent of the federal budget when the truth is we could eliminate every single non-defense federal program and still run huge annual deficits,” Ross said on Wednesday.

“Targeted cuts in spending are an important part of the solution, but we are kidding ourselves – and the American people – if we think cutting a few hundred billion dollars is going to eliminate our deficit and solve our long-term debt crisis. We have to take a comprehensive approach to our nation’s finances, and no one party can do it alone," he said.