Citizens Club for Growth

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March 10, 2006

Three More Sign onto 'Contract II'

Andrew Roth

Marsha Blackburn (TN-07), Bob Inglis (SC-04), and Jim Ryun (KS-02) have all signed on to sponsor "Contract II". That makes 29 total sponsors. In a statement released after Wednesday's press conference, Blackburn said: bq. "This is a step in the right direction at exactly the right time," Blackburn said. "We need to kick off this budget season by talking about spending reductions. That's what this effort is about." And you'll love this -- Amy Ridenour of the National Policy Blog calls the RSC budget the "Methadone for Spending Junkies".

Posted at 9:23 AM, March 10, 2006 | Trackback | Print | #

March 9, 2006

Tom Cole Signs onto 'Contract II'

Andrew Roth

Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) becomes the 26th House member to sign the "Contract with America Renewed" budget. From a statement that was released yesterday: bq. "This budget proposes big savings and implements pro-growth policies that will help our economy and put more money in the pockets of hard working Americans. Although I do not agree with every proposal in this bill, I believe it sets the right spending and saving targets," Congressman Tom Cole said. "Government spending is growing out of control. It is time we got serious about the deficit and runaway entitlement programs -- this budget does just that."

Posted at 1:48 PM, March 9, 2006 | Trackback | Print | #

Lynn Westmoreland Signs onto 'Contract II'

Andrew Roth

Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (GA-08) has become the 24th sponsor of "Contract with America Renewed". Here's what he had to say this morning in the Washington Times: bq. "The time for serious change was 10 years ago and Congress has failed to act," said Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, Georgia Republican. "Congress has failed to change, Congress has failed to make tough choices, Congress has failed to lead. In short, Congress has failed the America people." bq. "We can raise the price of the buffet or we can curb our appetites," he said. "With our waistlines bulging, the choice is clear: We must go on a spending diet until our pants fit again." Those are strong words. I like it. Also, Westmoreland was elected with Club member support in 2004. Have you noticed how a lot of these pro-growth lawmakers who are signing up for "Contract II" were supported by Club members when they were first elected? I'm just...you know...pointing it out.

Posted at 11:26 AM, March 9, 2006 | Trackback | Print | #

Chris Chocola Signs onto 'Contract II'

Andrew Roth

Chris Chocola (IN-02) has signed onto the "Contract with America Renewed" Budget. Chocola, who was elected with Club member support in 2002, had this to say: bq. "This legislation is a good step towards reining in spending," commented Congressman Chocola. "With this legislation, there would be an additional check in the process to ensure that wasteful projects are not inserted into legislation at the last minute with no oversight." He joins 22 other congressmen who have sponsored this bill.

Posted at 10:46 AM, March 9, 2006 | Trackback | Print | #

The RSC Budget Primer

Andrew Roth

From the same pro-growth lawmakers who launched "Operation Offset" comes the "Contract with America Renewed" proposal. This is a lean, mean budget bill offered by the Republican Study Committee (the fiscally conservative wing of the House GOP). In the days and weeks ahead, I'm hopefully going to be talking a lot about this proposal, which is exactly the kind of budget we should expect from a Republican majority in Congress. I know, I know...budgets are boring. Especially congressional budgets which have all the intricacies of Bob Graham's diary. But the RSC budget is unique because it aims to make government more simple. It does this by making government smaller. This budget cuts a lot of fat off of the bloated federal bureaucracy. It's the kind of budget that was offered in 1995 when the Contract with America Republicans came into power (remember the good ol' days?). It's also similar to the budget offered by House Republicans when Reagan was first elected. With this budget, the Republican Study Committee is attempting to resurrect the limited government ideals that the Republican Party should still be fighting for. And that's far from boring. That being said, I want to help make this budget more topic-friendly to Club blog readers. Townhall.com's Tim Chapman offers bullet points on what the budget does. Human Events' Right Angle Blog also offers a good breakdown of the budget including a photo gallery from the RSC's press conference. And one thing I definitely want to do is salute the brave Republicans who have signed on as sponsors of "Contract II". So far, there are 22 congressmen, all listed below. I'm also including the nifty counter you see below as well. Each time a sponsor joins the team, I'll post an updated sign. House Lawmakers Mike Pence (IN-06) Jeb Hensarling (TX-05) Virginia Foxx (NC-05) Trent Franks (AZ-02) Gresham Barrett (SC-03) Louie Gohmert (TX-01) John Shadegg (AZ-03) Tom Price (GA-06) Patrick McHenry (NC-10) Paul Ryan (WI-01) Eric Cantor (VA-07) Phil Gingrey (GA-11) Gil Gutknecht (MN-01) Todd Akin (MO-02) Scott Garrett (NJ-05) Sue Myrick (NC-09) Joe Wilson (SC-02) Jeff Flake (AZ-06) Tom Feeney (FL-24) Steve King (IA-05) Roscoe Bartlett (MD-06) John Campbell (CA-48) Congressmen listed in BOLD were originally elected with Club member support.