Just How Bad?

We've talked about the federal budget process before - it starts with the president sending a proposed budget to Congress for consideration.  The president was late submitting it this year and Congress voted on it yesterday.  It went down in flames.  414 to 0.  Zero votes for President Obama's proposed budget.  The gravy on top was that the Bowles-Simpson budget reduction plan also was voted down 382-38.  A measure that President Obama championed from the beginning.

I'll be the first to pin the budget problems on Congress.  They have the Constitutional mandate and authority over the federal budget.  I snicker when I see those various posts flying about in the blogosphere or on Facebook showing how fiscally sound (at least relatively) Obama is when comparing to previous presidents.  I am usually quick to adjust those views and show the party in control of Congress during those years and you'd be surprised - well, maybe not - as to which party that turns out to be.  Yes, the GOP has been less focused on fiscal matters as I would have hoped so they share the blame in this.

"This [Bowles-Simpson] doesn’t go big. This doesn’t tackle the problem. This doesn’t do the big things," said Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the House Budget Committee and primary author of a Republican version of the 2013 federal budget, introduced last week.  "You can never get the debt under control if you don’t deal with our health care entitlement programs," he said.

Now let's see what Congress can do.  I have confidence in the House but I'm sure the Senate, particularly the Senate democrats, will stall on this.  Heck, it's only been about 1,065 days since they did they're CONSTITUTIONALLY MANDATED JOB and passed a budget.