2010 Budget Update

Today President Obama released his proposed 2010 Budget. Here are some of the notable spending areas:
• The budget has $4 trillion in spending for the 2010 fiscal year.
• There is a possible $750 billion dollars available in additional bank bailout funds this year.
• There is a proposal for a $634 billion fund to reform healthcare, which is part of a 10 year spending plan to cover the cost of universal health care coverage – the total is projected at $1 trillion.
• There is a line item for $75 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through September.
• The Office of Management and Budget projects the government's deficit for this year will soar to $1.75 trillion.

It appears much of the funding for this spending plan will come from new tax increases:
• He plans to increase the taxes for people making over $250,000. It is estimated the increase will generate $318 billion.
o It will limit the tax rate for itemized deductions to 28% percent for tax filers over $250, 000.
• The plan also calls for letting the Bush tax cuts expire.

Although he is marketing his plan as tax increases for the rich, unfortunately many small businesses may be adversely affected. Many experts are skeptical that the tax increases will actually produce the kind of funds the proposal has projected. Obama is also pledging to cut the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term.

We are working through the entire budget and will keep you updated on any news.

RMC Executive Director Blogs on The Hill

RMC Executive Director Kellie Ferguson posted a blog on the Hill's Congress Blog today talking about the reaction throughout the Party of the recent partnership announced between The WISH List and RMC (Republican Majority for Choice), and spoke about a recent study in the state of Pennsylvania that showed moderate Republicans fleeing an increasingly hostile Party. The blog can be read here, and we encourage you to leave your thoughts and comments.

New Allegations Surround Sen. Burris

While many people thought the drama surrounding ex-Il Gov. Rod Blagojevich was over, it appears otherwise. New allegations about Blagojevich’s appointment of Senator Roland Burris to the open Illinois seat have arisen as Burris recently admitted that he was solicited to raise money for Blagojevich’s campaign. While Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid has not called on Senator Burris to resign, the citizens of Illinois are and the Chicago Tribune ran an editorial yesterday asking him to step down. Most Illinois residents want a special election for the seat after all of the controversy and scandal around it. This means that a moderate Republican that truly represents the views of Illinois citizens could win the seat in a special election. We will keep you updated with any news or changes on the situation.

Congress Sorts Out Stimulus

You can't open a paper, read a blog or turn on the television without hearing about the proposed stimulus package being debated on Capitol Hill. Opinions on the proposal vary widely in both GOP and Democratic circles. Three moderate GOP Senators, Olympia Snowe (ME), Susan Collins (ME) and Arlen Specter (PA) undertook the difficult effort to work in a bipartisan manner to make improvements on what most agree was a flawed bill that contained wasteful government spending. Their initial efforts were able to cut some wasteful spending and further reduce taxes. The US House and Senate are debating the bill today and are expected to have a final vote at some point today.

Tell us what you think:

Do you believe the stimulus package is necessary to help our hurting economy?

There seemed to be only three clear options for our GOP elected officials:

· continue the partisan gridlock,

· support what was an unacceptable initial bill,

· Or work for a better bill that cut some of the pork projects and cut bloated taxes.

Do you support the GOP Senators who are working for improvements to the stimulus package -- even if they do not get every change included that was supported by other GOP leaders?