Unhappy anniversary
On this questionably memorable day, Day 1000 since the senate Democrats last passed a budget, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) issued a joint statement "Senate Democrats' 1000 Days of Debt and Disappointment" commemorating the occasion, coincidentally on the eve of the president's annual State of the Union message.
Noting the failure of the Senate Democrats, Sessions and Ryan contrast it with the Republican action in the House.
Last spring, the new House Majority publicly produced a budget plan before the nation, brought it forward in committee, and passed it on the floor. The budget's principled solutions honestly confront our nation's most difficult challenges, putting the budget on a path to balance and the country on a path to prosperity.
As a result, they predict
The president and his party's leaders have yet to detail a credible budget plan to prevent the fiscal crisis that awaits us should we continue down the current path to debt, doubt, and decline. Such a crisis would threaten the economic security, health security, and retirement security of every American. If the president wishes to begin a genuine dialogue with the American people in tomorrow's State of the Union address, then he must hold his own party accountable for its dogged refusal to produce a plan to prevent this crisis and lift this cloud of uncertainty from the economy. The president must also deliver what he has so far refused: serious reforms to change our debt course and prevent fiscal disaster.
Will President Barack Obama (D) "begin a genuine dialogue" with Republicans in his State of the Union message to begin to find a true non partisan solution to this country's economic problems or will it be more of the same blame game: I inherited a horrible economic situation, the $1.3 trillion debt is necessary to put Americans to work and we need more debt to finish the job and the Republicans are just so-o-o partisan they won't work with us by agreeing to more debt.
I hope for the former but I'm afraid it will be the latter.