Well, Maybe Just This Once...

On his website, Rep. Chris Carney states: "It is vital that we restore fiscal responsibility and accountability to Washington."

With passage of the farm bill, Chris Carney must have forgotten these two issues were on his platform. It probably won't be reported, but the Democrats used tricks and gimmicks to hide the costs of the farm bill. Luckily, Representative Paul Ryan and Senator Judd Gregg have been championing the ways in which the Democrats failed to provide either accountability or fiscal responsibility.

First, the Democrats used timing shifts to make the fiscal outlook rosier for the farm bill.

Second, the Democrats waived paygo rules so they could use the previous baseline of spending. This may not sound important, but under the House rules, the latest projections must be used. However, the Democrats felt compelled to use the March 2007 estimates and were forced to waive paygo in order to accomplish this. The Congressional Budget Office demonstrates:

• Estimated spending under the March 2007 Baseline Assumptions ('08-'12): $283.988 billion
• Estimated spending under the March 2008 Baseline Assumptions ('08-'12): $288.997 billion

Therefore, just by using the '07 baseline, the Democrats were able to mask the actual $5 billion in additional outlays. This is pure gimmick.

The fact that Rep. Carney didn't hold his fellow Democrats accountable is ashame. This is why Americans have no trust in their representatives. Not only did Chris Carney allow a bad farm bill to be passed, but he allowed it to happen with deceptive, legislative tactics.

Maybe it wasn't "vital" to restore fiscal responsibility and accountability on this occasion.