Congress has until April 15 to approve a budget, but House Republicans declined to say when they would unveil their own proposal. When they do, it will undoubtedly further expose the deep ideological divide behind the political gridlock that now routinely chokes Capitol Hill.
“In the coming weeks and months, the House of Representatives will work to put together an honest budget that will focus on putting Americans back to work, protecting American seniors, and closing the massive deficits that have become a hallmark of President Obama’s time in office,’’ Boehner said.
The Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, dismissed the president’s proposal as “a campaign document.’’
“The game plan is clear: Rather than reach out to Congress to craft a consensus budget, the president will take this budget on the road, as he did today, and talk about the parts he thinks audiences will like. What he won’t say is that it’s bad for job creation, bad for seniors, and that it will make the economy worse.’’
“Well, if anybody wants to know what a failure of leadership looks like, this is it,’’ said McConnell, echoing a refrain often heard in the stump speeches of the Republicans vying to oust Obama from the White House.
Senator Scott Brown, the sole Republican in the Bay State’s congressional delegation, responded to the president’s budget proposal by calling for passage of a balanced budget amendment to “finally bring fiscal discipline to Washington.’’
“We can do better than a budget that runs a trillion-dollar deficit and raises taxes in the midst of an economic downturn,’’ said Brown, who is expected to face a tough reelection campaign against his presumed Democratic opponent, Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren.
Brown, who has tried to portray himself as a moderate who can work with both sides of the aisle, declined to comment on whether he found any common ground in the president’s budget proposal.
Other Republicans were scathing in their criticism of Obama.
