The Independent

Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth (R-Murrieta) and Senator Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) issued the following statements concerning state budget deliberations. Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth - Senate Republican Leader: "The budget proposals Democrats have put forward so far are financially irresponsible or illegal. Only Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed a legal budget proposal that closes the $19 billion deficit without raising taxes. We share the same goals: fix the budget by reducing spending and without raising taxes, reform some of the biggest looming problems, and get the economy moving again by bringing jobs back to California." Sen. Bob Dutton - Vice Chairman, Senate Budget Committee: "I've become increasingly frustrated during this budget process because it has become clear that the only solutions Democrats have offered to close the $19 billion deficit are a mix of accounting maneuvers and tax increases. In fact, the Assembly Democrats' pr...

By Adam B. Summers and Jon Coupal  California’s $19 billion budget deficit seems to worsen by the day, but an even larger financial crisis is brewing in the state’s pension system. Over the last two decades, state lawmakers have bestowed massive pension and benefit increases upon government workers. Unfortunately, taxpayers are now getting the bills for these handouts. Recent studies estimate California has $500 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, not to mention over $50 billion in unfunded retiree health care liabilities. It’s important for the state to recognize how it got into this fiscal disaster—and how to get out of it.   California’s public pension and retiree health and dental care expenditures have quintupled since fiscal year 1998-99, going from about $1 billion to $5 billion this year. And retirement spending is expected to triple again—to $15 billion—within the next decade.  Part of the problem is the growth of state governmen...

... The Senate defeated a measure that would have established a commission mandated to highlight duplicative or wasteful spending by federal government departments and agencies. On Tuesday, lawmakers voted down the creation of a commission to recommend the spending cuts and tax increases necessary to move the federal budget deficit back toward manageable levels. Mr. Obama pledged to create such a commission using his executive authority. Lawmakers of both parties have said this approach wouldn't be effective as the president can't oblige Congress to hold a vote on such a commission's recommendation. Taking the task of resolving the long-term fiscal imbalances from Congress' hands is an idea that has been around for years. As the nation's fiscal position has worsened, the concept has gained steam. Write to Corey Boles at corey.boles@dowjones.com

* The Wall Street Journal * JANUARY 28, 2010, 1:53 P.M. ET Senate Approves Amendment to Raise Debt Ceiling by $1.9 Trillion By COREY BOLES WASHINGTON—The Senate approved legislation Thursday increasing the federal government's borrowing limit by $1.9 trillion, enough to enable the Treasury to pay its bills through 2010. The 60-39 vote was strictly along party lines with no Republicans joining the Democratic majority to approve the legislation. Once the increase is signed into law, the federal government will be able to borrow up to $14.3 trillion, by far the highest amount of debt it has ever held on its books. The current limit of around $12.4 trillion would have been breached by the end of February. House lawmakers must still take up the legislation and are expected to do so next week, according to a senior House Democratic aide. The increase comes just over a month after Congress upped the borrowing cap by $290 billion from its previous limit of $12.1 trillion. A vote to...

The Loft > Will Tea Party Activists Bring an End to RINOs? Will Tea Party Activists Bring an End to RINOs? Posted By Bobby Eberle On January 25, 2010 at 9:01 am Last week, Scott Brown showed that running a campaign built on conservative principles could not only win, but it could win in the bluest of blue states. His platform keyed in on the frustration felt by Tea Party activists that the federal government is out of control. He made Barack Obama and left-wing policies his targets, and he won. But what does it mean for the future? The answer is simple; it means that the so-called Republicans in Name Only (RINOs) should beware. Actually, any Washington incumbent should probably be sleeping with one eye open as we move into the primary election season, but those Republicans who put politics over principle and helped pave the way to massive spending should be particularly troubled. In order to truly change Washington, there needs to be a fresh approach. You can't do that with stal...

Democratic districts have received nearly twice as much stimulus money as Republican districts and the cash has been awarded without regard to how badly an area was suffering from job losses, according to a new study. FOXNews.com - Democratic Districts Won Twice as Much Stimulus as GOP Districts, Study Shows