Democrats seek plus image fiscally
By Richard Powelson
Knoxville News Sentinel
February 20, 2005

The good news is that balancing the federal budget is now the top priority of a number of U.S. House members.

The bad news is that this is the view of a minority of the minority party in the House - a mini-group of Democrats. A group of 35 moderate and conservative Democrats, part of what they term the Blue Dog Coalition, is trying to get more members of both major parties to admit there is a huge federal budget problem and to dramatically change direction.

Four of Tennessee's House Democrats are backing the balanced-budget requirement: Lincoln Davis of Pall Mall, Jim Cooper of Nashville, John Tanner of Union City and Harold Ford Jr. of Memphis.

But House Democrats - 202 members this year - are at their lowest number since 1949. Getting enough of them together with enough Republicans to require a balanced budget within five years seems impossible in the near term.

Cooper, a member of the House Budget Committee, said drawing more attention to the public cost of the financial chaos should increase support for responsible federal budgeting.

Last fiscal year, for example, Congress and the White House agreed to spending and tax cuts that left a $413 billion deficit, which is an all-time record high, and required that much borrowing. For what in effect is federal credit card debt, the taxpayers have to pay about $160 billion a year in financing costs.

Cooper said, if any family in Tennessee handled their finances like the federal government, "The sheriff would be after them."

Davis, who talks often of his rural roots, recalled how his father planned his finances carefully so his farm loans were paid off before he died. Davis also plans for his farm to be debt free before he dies, he said.

"Americans deserve an economy and a country that we can trust again," Davis said.

So why aren't most Americans complaining to Congress about the huge annual deficits and rising annual financing costs?

Tanner said most of them probably are just unaware of how badly their tax dollars are being mismanaged. Eventually the debt will be so burdensome that taxpayers then will get stuck with a massive bill, he said.

Another reason many taxpayers likely are not complaining is they notice their federal taxes were lowered in recent years, interest rates remain fairly low, and the economy seems to be improving in parts of the country. Like passengers on the Titanic, they are focused on the good life inside the ship - and trusting their crew to steer clear of huge icebergs ahead.

Putting authorship aside a moment, these other ideas for a sound federal budget should be able to find majority, bipartisan support in Congress:

Pass rules so that Congress cannot increase spending in one area without cutting the same amount in other areas or adding new revenues.

Allow total nonmandatory spending - apart from mandatory spending like Social Security and veterans' benefits - to increase no more than 2.1 percent a year.

Require a reliable cost estimate for every bill and require recorded votes by every member on every bill proposing more than $50 million in higher spending.

All these ideas and more currently are proposed as a package only by the Democratic Blue Dog Coalition. But many will recall in 1994 that Republican congressional leaders and candidates made a balanced-budget requirement a top priority in what they termed a contract with voters electing them.

In 1994, then-GOP House candidate Van Hilleary won his first election on a platform that said in part: "Tame the debt before it cripples the economy. Every Tennessee family must balance household income and expenses. We should not settle for less from our Congress."