Congress ignores ‘Pay-as-You-Go’ rule in favor of jobs bill

The Congress-critters have done it once again. Last summer when pay-as-you-go legislation was passed in the House, it was political theater providing the illusion Congress was concerned about the deficit. But there were loopholes, always loopholes.

The legislation was actually signed into law on Feb. 13, less than three weeks ago, and about 10 days later, the Senate passed a “stripped down” jobs bill brought to the floor and passed, spending $15 billion more, without even considering paygo, a requirement Congress offset additional spending with cuts elsewhere in the budget.

From this morning’s Washington Times, with my emphasis in bold.

It took less than two weeks for lawmakers on Capitol Hill to vote to break rules requiring that new spending be offset elsewhere in the budget, waiving the requirement just minutes before a strong bipartisan majority pushed through a $15 billion job-creation bill in the Senate on Wednesday.

The bill provides money to continue funding highway construction and offers a tax break for businesses that hire unemployed workers. Given the state of the economy, supporters said, the bill was too important to hold up. …

“I’m just not sure how you vote for this bill when it violates that rule, which you just voted for two weeks ago,” said Sen. Judd Gregg, New Hampshire Republican. “It just seems to be a bit of inconsistency that’s hard even for a political institution to justify.”

A bit of an inconsistency? Senator, Congress is the definition of inconsistency.

Onward with more theater! The health care summit starts mere hours from now…