Spending Deal Gets Green Light From Conservative Leaders

By Alan K. Ota, CQ Staff

This may be good news for those who would like a longer break from the edge-of-the-seat drama of the 112th Congress.

Leaders of conservative Republican factions in both chambers have turned their attention to the expected post-election session, where they hope to see across-the-board tax cut extensions and an ambitious deficit reduction package. The conservatives also want to change the automatic spending cuts scheduled to begin in January under last summer’s debt limit deal in order to reduce the impact on the military.

But of immediate interest is the fact they do not plan to make trouble for the six-month stopgap spending bill House Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., have promised to move before the elections.

Instead of squabbling over the spending level in the continuing resolution — which is higher than conservatives would prefer — Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), and Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania, the new chairman of the Republican Senate Steering Committee, say they will be content to keep extraneous measures off the stopgap measure.

“In the next couple weeks, our goal is going to be to just watch carefully to make sure that we can do our best to try to avoid bad policy in the final weeks before we depart for the election,” Toomey said. “I doubt that a great deal is going to be accomplished.”

That is not good news for farm-state lawmakers who want to use the CR as a vehicle for an extension or reauthorization of agriculture and nutrition programs that expire Sept. 30, but it should ease Congress’ way out of town until after the elections.

Toomey this month succeeded Jim DeMint of South Carolina as the head of the steering committee. DeMint played a key role before the recess in urging Senate GOP conservatives to resist any temptation to take a stand against a CR at the fiscal 2013 spending level specified in the debt limit agreement (PL 112-25).

Jordan, Toomey and other conservatives say that after the elections they will insist on spending cuts and an extension of all the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts (PL 107-16; PL 108-27). “Ideally, it would be permanent. But we cannot under any circumstance allow the tax rates to go up,” said Mike Lee, R-Utah, a member of the Senate’s Tea Party Caucus.

RSC member Scott Garrett of New Jersey is among conservatives who contend that Republicans have made too many concessions in previous lame-duck sessions. For example, they regret agreeing to extend the current payroll tax reduction as part of a two-year extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts in 2010 (PL 111-312).

Jordan and Toomey promise more coordination between House and Senate GOP conservatives to maximize their legislative clout — beginning with efforts to block the farm bill and keep additional spending from being tacked onto the CR. “When we have worked together, it’s been very positive,” Jordan said.