Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
    • Reason TV
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • Just Asking Questions
    • Free Media
    • The Reason Interview
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Print Subscription
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Policy

Republican Cut, Cap, Balance Plan Exempts Medicare, Social Security, War on Terror From Spending Limits

Peter Suderman | 7.18.2011 10:38 AM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

At the end of last week, House Republicans offered up yet another debt-limit deal in the form of a bill dubbed "Cut, Cap, and Balance." In theory, it allows the debt ceiling to be raised while preventing future deficit fiascoes by simultaneously requiring Congress to pass a constitutional amendment mandating a balanced budget and yearly spending caps set to predetermined percentages of total GDP: Under the proposal, spending would be limited to 21.7 percent of GDP in 2013 and ratcheted down to 19.9 percent of total economic output by 2019.

But Republicans have also exempted a number of their own priorities, including some of the biggest long-term debt drivers, from the proposed spending limits. As The Hill reports, "There is an exception for operations related to the global war on terrorism of $126 billion." So are two of the biggest entitlements: Page five of the legislation lists exemptions exemptions for Social Security and Medicare, as well as military retirement, veterans health care, and interest on the debt.

Lots of conservatives back the plan, and balanced budget requirements typically poll well across the political spectrum. But a spending cap that quietly exempts Medicare, Social Security, military health care (which has also been beset by exploding costs in recent years) seems awful convenient, and unlikely to be all that effective in the long run.

No matter what, its prospects for passage are minimal: House Speaker John Boehner seems interested in the bill only as a way to placate conservatives: At a Friday news conference, he didn't exactly offer a full-throated defense of the bill. "The cut, cap and balance plan that the House will vote on next week is a solid plan for moving forward. Let's get through that vote, and then we'll make decisions about what will come after," he said, according to The Huffington Post. 

Meanwhile, there are still political and procedural hurdles: Democrats don't like it, so there's little chance it would pass in the Senate. And even in the unlikely event that the legislation made it all the way through Washington, amending the constitution would still require ratification by two thirds of state legislatures.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Hooray! Congress Is Finally Scaling Back Ethanol Subsidies! Except for Not

Peter Suderman is features editor at Reason.

PolicyNanny StateObamacare
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (39)

Latest

What the Democrats Are Doing Right Now Won't Lower Health Care Costs—but Here's What Actually Would

Veronique de Rugy | 10.9.2025 3:12 PM

'Louisiana Lockup' Detention Center Is Punishing Immigrants for the Same Crime Twice, New Lawsuit Says

Autumn Billings | 10.9.2025 2:20 PM

What Changed Over the Past Seven Months of War in the Middle East?

Matthew Petti | 10.9.2025 2:00 PM

What's Really at Stake in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia Case?

Mike Fox | 10.9.2025 1:42 PM

Texas Court Blocks Execution of Robert Roberson in Landmark 'Shaken Baby' Case

C.J. Ciaramella | 10.9.2025 12:58 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2025 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300