House passes balanced budget bill

The House on Tuesday passed a bill that would make raising the debt limit contingent upon congressional passage of a balanced budget amendment, a largely symbolic vote that the Senate is expected to reject.

House lawmakers voted 234-190 along party lines to approve the 2011 Cut, Cap and Balance Act (H.R. 2560). In addition to requiring an amendment to the Constitution to balance the federal budget in exchange for raising the debt limit, the legislation carves out $111 billion in spending cuts in 2012. The cuts would come from reducing nonsecurity discretionary spending below 2008 levels, for a savings of $76 billion, according to GOP.gov. It also would make $35 billion in cuts to nonveterans, non-Medicare and non-Social Security mandatory spending. In addition, the bill would put federal spending on a capped "glide path" from fiscal 2012 through fiscal 2021. The legislation calls for a federal spending cap of 22.5 percent of gross domestic product in fiscal 2012.

Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday engaged in a tense, daylong floor debate arguing the pros and cons, respectively, of the legislation. "The president talks about entitlement reform, but offers no plan, no legislation," said Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga. Kingston said the Republican plan is to "cut, cap and balance," while Obama so far has offered only "speeches and admonishments."

Massachusetts Democrat Edward Markey -- known for his theatrics on the House floor -- brought along some visuals to illustrate his argument that passing the bill would hurt the most vulnerable members of society. Standing before a poster of a cruise ship with the tag line "Who will the GOP toss overboard?" Markey pasted photos representing veterans, seniors and children adrift at sea, while photos of "billionaires and big oil" remained on board the ship.

A statement of administration policy released on Monday said the president would veto the bill if it reached his desk.

The statement called the spending caps "unrealistic," arguing that they could "result in significant cuts to education, research and development, and other programs critical to growing our economy and winning the future." The administration also said the measure could lead to severe cuts in Medicare and Social Security.

The debate over raising the debt ceiling has put virtually every spending program on the table, as Republicans and Democrats search for ways to reduce the deficit. But Democrats' reluctance to tinker with entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Social Security, and the aversion of most Republicans to raising taxes as part of any debt ceiling deal, have hampered negotiations. Nevertheless, many lawmakers and administration officials continue to express confidence that Congress will figure out a way to raise the debt limit by the deadline of Aug. 2.