(Host) Senator Patrick Leahy says he’s disappointed that a Congressional supercommittee failed to develop a plan for reducing the federal budget deficit.
Leahy says Congress can still take advantage of the panel’s work. He says each of the best ideas that were developed over the past few months should be voted on by the House and Senate.
VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports.
(Kinzel) Leahy is following the budget deliberations very closely as one of the ranking members of the Senate Appropriations committee.
He says he initially had hopes that setting up a supercommittee to tackle some tough budget issues would be the right way to deal with these concerns.
But several weeks ago, Leahy says he lost all confidence in the panel’s ability to take any meaningful action.
(Leahy) "When it first started I thought they would at least come out with some very specific things and then have us vote either for or against them. We actually had a chance. But in the last few weeks when I heard that it was going to be a totally take it or leave it thing, I started feeling very very uncomfortable."
(Kinzel) Leahy says he’s disappointed that members of the supercommittee seemed to be influenced by special interest groups on both sides of the political spectrum:
(Leahy) "It was bound to fail. I think this idea that single interest groups on either the left or the right, I think that’s the worst thing we could have. People are elected to represent all of America. Vote for something or vote against it. Don’t hide behind, well this group or that group doesn’t want this. Vote it. Vote yes or vote no. Don’t vote maybe."
(Kinzel) Leahy says he would like to see the supercommittee bring its ideas to cut the budget and raise new revenue to the full Senate and House. Then he’d like see each member of Congress take a stand on these controversial issues:
(Leahy) "I still feel that we need both cuts and we also need revenues and at the very least let’s bring them up and vote either for or against them. Make people be responsible so that they’re not in a case of just pointing their fingers at other people. "
(Kinzel) A failure by the supercommittee to reach agreement on a compromise plan means that automatic budget cuts will go into place in 2013 and military spending will take the biggest hit. However it is possible that Congress will try to rescind these cuts in the coming year.
For VPR News, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier