The Evolving Fiscal Philosophies of House Republicans: A Resource Guide

Keeping track of the always-fluid fiscal policy of House Republicans has been a challenge, even for the most seasoned of Capitol observers. For your handy reference, we've compiled a timeline of House leaders' promises, backtracks, backflips, flip-flops, bad ideas and final actions. 

No matter how you come down on fiscal policy and what should be done to kick-start the economy with federal money, chances are, you agreed with House GOP at some point in the past couple of months.

  Step 1: Stand tall against everything you're about to do January 28 Peter Kinder says, "A budget based on a one time bailout is no long-term plan."
    January 30 No federal money for ongoing expenses. House Budget Chair Allen Icet insists that using one-time federal funds to pay for ongoing expenses would backfire in later years.
    February 3 Icet vows not to use any one-time money for ongoing expenses. "Really, it's a massive expansion of state spending," Icet tells the Missourinet.
  Step 1a: Feign a rejection February 7

Richard suggests Missouri reject any federal bailout money and "just send it on back" to Washington. "We could do that," Richard says.

The same day he suggests "sending it back," Richard promises a $400 tax rebate with the same stimulus money. "We're going to take half of it and send it back as a tax refund," Richard said. Bob Dixon: "It's not really a good idea to use one-time money that we're borrowing anyway."
  Back to Step 1: Make sure everyone knows where you stand... February 11 Nixon's budget called a "Mad Max" gambit; Richard calls it "a ticking time bomb; Icet calls it "irresponsible." Story from Steve Kraske, Jason Noble and David Keppler calls Nixon "a riverboat gambler betting the mortgage on a ridiculously risky play."
    February 13 Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder says federal stimulus money should not be used for ongoing expenses.
    February 20 Richard: "We have given countless hours of thought as to how to distribute the resources responsibly and it is clear that we need to designate the funds for one-time projects."
    March 6 Using federal money for ongoing expenses is still bad, say House Republicans.
    March 11 Icet claims that he's "eliminate[d] the appetite to spend one-time money on operating purposes." Up until the moment he's exposed by the media, Icet claims that his budgets do not use federal money for ongoing expenses.
    March 12 Icet admits that his budget bills include $329 in federal money on ongoing expenses, completely contradicting his previous statements and promises. An amazing turn of events.
    March 13 "Technically, yeah, I used it," says Icet. To the tune of $619 million. Technically.
         
  Step 2: Pivot, Abandon Step 1, Play Freely March 15 Truman State professor states that "level of deliberation" in the House on budget matters is "really freighting." Candy Young, a political science professor at Truman State University, has overseen the school's government internship program since 1991. She is appalled at the change in the way Missouri's budget is crafted.
    March 25 House reverses course on cuts to Amtrak, meals on wheels, other programs.
    March 27 Icet continues to massage definition of "one-time expenses." It's a "flexible" definition, we're told.
    March 28 Icet pushes TABOR idea to strangle state funding. Springfield Superintendent Norm Ridder says HJR 23 is "alarming."
    April 7 House continues to put together its spending wish list. "The House's approach seems to be based on asking lobbyists and special interests what they want built," says Nixon spokesman Jack Cardetti.
    April 15 Icet's committee appropriates hundreds of millions of dollars in stimulus funds for institutions of higher education.
    April 20

GOP-controlled Budget Committee approves more than $1 billion from the federal stimulus package on scores of projects ranging from parking garages to social service programs. They couldn't get enough of it, gobbling up more than $1 billion for pet projects in their districts and fulfilling the wish lists of bureaucrats and lobbyists.

Ron Richard later describes this period as a "spending frenzy."

          
  Step 3: Engage chaos (tax) strategy
April 14 House passes constitutional amendment to eliminate individual and corporate income taxes altogether, replacing them with a higher sales tax.
    April 16 House approves a sales tax holiday for entire month of July. Supporters called it an "Independence Day Sales Tax Holiday." Hours after voting to make sales taxes the primary source of revenue for the state, the House decides to cut a month's worth of said taxes.
    April 23

Responding to internal revolt, GOP does "about-face" on stimulus, proposes 2-year income tax cut. Allen Icet introduces the HB22 on a Thursday afternoon, two weeks before the constitutional budget deadline.

Richard says House GOP "is not willing to spend all of that money." "We ought to be returning this money to the people and not continue to perpetuate government," said Rep. Shane Schoeller, R-Willard.
    April 23

Senate budget leaders "have a cow" in response to new House plan.  Nodler said early Thursday he hadn't been apprised of the House’s new game plan, and suggested communication between the chambers had been inadequate in recent weeks.

Sen. Charlie Shields says a tax rebate would not likely stimulate Missouri's economy effectively because most of the state's population lives along the border and spend money in other states.
    April 24, approx. 3pm Richard embarrasses himself on national TV, fabricating a threat from the feds that the new tax cut plan might be illegal. "We've got a message from the OMB, the vice president, they don't like it," Richard said on FOX News. "They say it's illegal and we're going anyway."
    April 24, approx. 4pm Richard admits that he lied on national TV. In a conversation with a reporter later in the afternoon, he said no one from Washington had contacted his office, a statement that has since been affirmed by staffers at the Capitol.
    April 25 Unaware that Richard has embarrassed himself, GOP sycophants publicly praise the Speaker. Mark Parkinson: "Great job on Fox News Speaker Richard... I'm behind you 100%." Scott Dieckhaus: "He sounded great!" 
    April 27

Speaker Richard assigns HB22 directly to Rules Committee, violating House rules requiring all appropriations bills to be considered by the Budget Committee. Democrats leave sham Rules Committee meeting in protest.

Republican members of Rules Committee cut money for Ellis Fischel Cancer Center.

    April 29

House gives HB22 initial approval. It contained a myriad of projects throughout the state, such as $31 million for an expansion of the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center in Columbia. It outlined spending of nearly $400 million in federal money the first year and $158 million the second. It left enough money to provide a $1 billion tax cut, favored by House leadership.

Metro funding restored. House approves amendment from Rachel Storch to restore METRO funding cut by Richard and Icet.
    April 30 Ellis Fischel funding is restored on House floor. Republicans congratulate themselves on restoring money they just cut.
    April 30 House rejects HB22 as pork-barrel spending the state could not afford. Lawmakers vote it down in dramatic fashion, 68-82. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said the bill misused the federal money, which they said should be saved for potential budget troubles next year or spent on projects that truly stimulated the state economy.
    May 1 House leadership pushes through a permanent 1/2% income tax cut. Even some House Republicans voted against the permanent cut. "You've got to be reasonable, you've got to have some common sense," said Jay Wasson (R-Nixa)
         
  Step 4: Completely abandon game plan. Borrow and spend.
April 16

Constitutional amendment to issue $700 million in bonds for Missouri colleges and universities sails through House without opposition. The bill passes by a margin of about 100 votes.

A month earlier, Ron Richard promised to "keep Missouri's future out of debt."

    April 29 Senate Appropriations Committee approves bonding plan
    May 6 Bond package is filibustered in Senate
       
  Step 5: Finish strong, spend more than the Librul Governor
May 4 House reverses course and approves HB22, voted down the previous week.
    May 7 House and Senate approve state budget, using about $1.17 billion in federal stimulus money.
      Gov. Jay Nixon had proposed using $809 million of federal aid to balance the budget and expand programs for the 2010 fiscal year, beginning July 1.
       
  Step 6:Self-Congratulation May 8 Speaker Ron Richard: "When session began, I promised you that we would pass a conservative budget – on time. And that, friends, is exactly what we have done."
    May 14 House Floor Leader Steve Tilley: "We passed a balanced budget and addressed the major issues facing the state."
    May 15 Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt: "The good news is, we passed a balanced budget, without a tax increase."
    May 15 Richard declares the session a success and says people "weren't paying attention" if they thought significant bills weren't approved.

 

Topics:

Advertisers