When all four Kansas Republicans in the U.S. House voted for the Cut, Cap and Balance Act this week, they won applause from Americans for Prosperity Kansas. “I thank the Kansas representatives for safeguarding the future of America and demanding Washington tighten its belt,” said Derrick Sontag, AFP’s state director. But part of responsible leadership is supporting legislation that can actually become law, and President Obama’s spokesman dismisses the Cut, Cap and Balance Act as “duck, dodge and dismantle.” No one thinks it could pass the Senate, and even if it did, Obama would veto it. The House GOP legislation, which passed 234-190 Tuesday, makes raising the nation’s debt limit contingent on sweeping and immediate spending cuts, a future spending cap, and the passage of a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget — something that would take the support of two-thirds of each chamber of Congress and 38 states.
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., made Salon.com’s list of “the arid Southwest’s 10 great climate deniers.” The author noted that since Moran worked in the House to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions, “‘drought emergencies’ have been declared throughout half of Kansas, and some portions of the state are suffering through half-normal rainfall averages. As in Oklahoma, ranchers across the state have been forced to sell off cattle for an inability to feed them.”
No city-county agreement may matter more to the Wichita economy than the one keeping low-fare AirTran Airways serving Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. To its credit, the Wichita City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to approve another year of the agreement, under which the city and county each will contribute up to $875,000 while the state contributes $4.75 million. Sedgwick County commissioners are unlikely to present a similarly united front when they take up the agreement today. But especially with AirTran now owned by low-fare king Southwest Airlines, what matters is that the county and city remain committed to keeping Wichita air service as affordable and strong as possible. If not, Wichita could relive 1997, when Vanguard Airlines exited town and local fares shot up as much as 223 percent.
When all four Kansas Republicans in the U.S. House voted for the Cut, Cap and Balance Act this week, they won applause from Americans for Prosperity Kansas. “I thank the Kansas representatives for safeguarding the future of America and demanding Washington tighten its belt,” said Derrick Sontag, AFP’s state director. But part of responsible leadership is supporting legislation that can actually become law, and President Obama’s spokesman dismisses the Cut, Cap and Balance Act as “duck, dodge and dismantle.” No one thinks it could pass the Senate, and even if it did, Obama would veto it. The House GOP legislation, which passed 234-190 Tuesday, makes raising the nation’s debt limit contingent on sweeping and immediate spending cuts, a future spending cap, and the passage of a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget — something that would take the support of two-thirds of each chamber of Congress and 38 states.
