Conservative
Type 40
Jack Lew’s misleading claim about the Senate’s failure to pass a budget resolution - The Washington Post
We wavered between three and four Pinocchios, in part because the budget resolution is only a blueprint, not a law, but ultimately decided a two-time budget director really should know better.
Four Pinocchios
--White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew, on CNNs State of the Union, Feb. 12. 2012But we also need to be honest. You cant pass a budget in the Senate of the United States without 60 votes and you cant get 60 votes without bipartisan support. So unless Republicans are willing to work with Democrats in the Senate, Harry Reid is not going to be able to get a budget passed. And I think he was reflecting the reality of that that could be a challenge.
Lew is completely wrong when he claims that 60 votes are needed to pass a budget in the Senate. As he well knows, a budget resolution is one of the few things that are not subject to a filibuster. In fact, that is one reason why a bill based on reconciliation instructions cannot be filibustered.
You dont even need 50 votes, just a simple majority. Here are a few of the recent close votes for the budget resolution, as listed by CRS: 48-45 (2009 budget); 51-49 (2006); 51-50 (2004); 50-48 (2001). Senate Democrats may have reasons for failing to pass a budget plansuch as wanting to avoid casting politically inconvenient votesbut a GOP filibuster is not one of them.
We wavered between three and four Pinocchios, in part because the budget resolution is only a blueprint, not a law, but ultimately decided a two-time budget director really should know better.
Four Pinocchios