I will be guest hosting the Hugh Hewitt Show today from 3PM to 6PM pacific time. You can listen to one of 98 radio stations nation wide that broadcast the show or listen online here.

I am sure a knowledgeable source on the issues will be a welcome change for Hugh's listeners...

As CQ reported yesterday, just three months after taking the majority, Democrats are going to amend the very budget rules they created to promote fiscal responsibility.  The Democrats say they are amending these rules to keep Republicans from being able to amend bills, I think they are doing it to spend more money.  Either way, Americans are getting a raw deal.

Click here to read the story or read excerpts below:

Ho Ho Ho. Santa is roaming the halls of Congress. Last week, I told you about how Speaker Pelosi handed out billions of dollars in giveaways and pork projects in the emergency funding bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Now, it seems the Senate is taking things a step farther by planning a Christmas celebration.

Bloated spending bills often get called "Christmas Tree's" because of the spending added into them are like presents wrapped up under the tree for members to enjoy.  But, the Senate’s version of the war funding bill literally pays for the Christmas tree too.  Among the more than $20 billion for things other than war spending is a provision to provide millions for Christmas tree farm assistance. There is also a provision that deals with the proceeds of holiday ornament sales at the Senate day care center....I guess the only thing they left out was the fruit cake.

Below is a sampling of what Santa and his elves (I mean the Democratic leadership) will be handing out:

• $1.2 billion for dairy farmers
• $24 million for sugar beet growers
• $100 million for the Presidential Nominating Convention's that are over two years away. It is included in a section described as “Katrina recovery, veterans’ care and for other purposes.”
• $3.5 million for guided tours of the U.S. Capitol Building
• $1.5 billion for livestock production losses
• $2.1 billion for crop production losses
• $3 million for a sugar cane cooperative in Hawaii
• $20 million to combat cricket infestation
• $2 million to start the “Educational Excellence Program” at the University of Vermont
• $400 million for various Transportation Department projects
• $12 million for Forest Service money requested by the president in the non-emergency FY2008 budget
• $22.8 million for geothermal research and development
• $640 million for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
• $13 million for a Ewe Lamb Replacement and Retention Programs
• $32 million for Livestock Indemnity Program
• $115 million for the Conservation Security Program
• $40 million for the Tree Assistance Program
• $100 million for Small Agricultural Dependent Businesses

Yep, it's Christmas here in Congress. But the only gifts we should be receiving are stockings full of coal.

This morning Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) posted a table on their blog, Friends of ATR, which shows how much your taxes will increase if the Democrat’s proposed $400 billion tax increase goes into effect. In the years following the Democrat’s tax increase, Americans would pay an average of $3,035 more per year than they currently are. The table has the data for each state. Californians will see an increase of $3,331. Follow this link to see how much more you would have to pay:

http://friendsofatr.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-much-more-in-taxes-will-you-be.html

This week, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the ranking Republican on the Budget Committee and a member of the RSC, recorded the House Republican Radio Address.  You can listen to his critique of the Democrat’s budget by following this link. There are also excerpts below.

http://gop.gov/uploadedfiles/Rep.%20Ryan.mp3

Just in case you thought the conservatives on Capitol Hill were the only ones up in arms over the pork filled appropriations bill meant to fund the war, in an editorial this morning, the Washington Post criticized the bill because of the reckless withdraw provisions and the $20 billion in unrelated spending thrown in the bill.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/22/AR2007032201883.html

The legislation pays more heed to a handful of peanut farmers than to the 24 million Iraqis who are living through a maelstrom initiated by the United States, the outcome of which could shape the future of the Middle East for decades.

As it is, House Democrats are pressing a bill that has the endorsement of MoveOn.org but excludes the judgment of the U.S. commanders who would have to execute the retreat the bill mandates. It would heap money on unneedy dairy farmers while provoking a constitutional fight with the White House that could block the funding to equip troops in the field. Democrats who want to force a withdrawal should vote against war appropriations. They should not seek to use pork to buy a majority for an unconditional retreat that the majority does not support.

In addition, to the the article in the Washington Post, I was particularly struck by a report released by the RSC. Among other things, it found that if you took the $219 million allotted in the bill for spinach, peanut storage, and shrimp fishing, and directed it to the troops, it would be the equivalent of providing every soldier in Iraq with an additional $1,425.

• Their budget proposes the largest tax increase in American history - The Democrat's budget calls for a tax increase of every tax bracket, slashes the child tax credit, raises the death tax, and reinstates the marriage penalty. And this is just a sampling, there is more. In all, the Democrat's plan will cost taxpayers over $390 billion in the next 5 years. What is particularly frustrating about this ill-advised action is that the Democrats are blatantly ignoring the economic consequences and fiscal benefits that lower taxes have brought to the treasury the past few years. Revenue has increased in double digits the last two years alone because of the economic expansion encouraged by reduced taxation. This revenue growth has been crucial in reducing the deficit. The Democrats refuse to recognize this, though, and instead they just want to tax us to death. This is a recipe for disaster.
• Their budget proposes massive increases in spending, expansion of government - As highlighted above, revenue is not the problem, out of control spending is the problem. The Democrats, however, don't seem to care. Their singular goal is to spend more and make government bigger. In that spirit, their budget calls for a $42.5 billion increase in non-defense spending this year.  Yikes.
• Their budget proposes no offsets to pay for these increases - Despite these huge increases, the Democrats offer no way to pay for them except by raiding Social Security and raising taxes. This is completely irresponsible. Governing is about making tough decisions and ending governments programs that are ineffective and wasteful -- even if they sound good. Their budget, however, has expansion across the board regardless of effectiveness.  Hardly fiscal responsibility.
• Their budget proposes no fix to the AMT - In spite of their continued talk of fixing this increasingly oppressive tax, they have done nothing and are allowing it to continue to grow and adversely affect more taxpayers.
• Their budget proposes no entitlement reform plan - The Budget Committee has heard testimony from several witnesses warning of the unsustainable growth of entitlement programs likes Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.  Repeated experts have said that if entitlements are not reformed, in the very near future, the budget will either be completely consumed by them or Congress will have to double current tax levels.  Do we really want to saddle our children and grandchildren with our debt? The Democrats apparently do.
• Their budget proposes no accountability standards - With all of these increases in expenditures, the Democrats are conspicuously silent on all the current waste in the federal budget. Instead of making the government more efficient with what it is already operating under, they are just calling for more money. I do not know of one business that operates in such a backward fashion. We need to promote efficiency and accountability -- not just blindly sign away taxpayer dollars to useless government programs.

It is apparent from today that the Democrat's rhetoric during last fall's campaign that they would bring fiscal responsibility to Washington was exactly that -- rhetoric. We need serious reform proposals and decisive leadership, not the tax and spend days of old.

If the proposed spending/tax spree (I mean the Democrat’s budget) and the pork filled war supplemental were not enough to drive you crazy, the Democrats have now announced that they are extending the deadline for members to submit earmark's by two weeks. I guess they just can't get their fix and need more time to figure out how they can spend your money on frivolous pet projects.

What's more, they have also removed the "limitations on the number of requests allowed to be made per Member." This is mind-boggling to me. They have now flung the door wide open for members to cram as many pork projects into spending bills as they can. Despite the clear need for reform and calls for accountability in this process, the Democrats have reneged and the favor factory is once again open for business.

A lot is going on today on Capitol Hill. Along with debate over the budget and the supplemental to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there was a rally led by FreedomWorks chairman and former Majority Leader Dick Armey in support of the "American Taxpayer Bill of Rights." I had a chance to step out of the Budget Committee hearing to speak at this event. Dozens of grass roots supporters from across the country showed up as well as several members of the RSC. The event was a great sign that momentum is building in support of this bold reform agenda.

On the same front, RSC Chairman Jeb Hensarling authored this editorial in today's Wall Street Journal. He makes some great points about the need to support the major fiscal reforms laid out in the "American Taxpayer Bill of Rights." The out of control spending and growing cost of entitlements needs to be resolved. We need genuine reform, and right now all I am seeing proposed by the Democrats is more taxes and more spending. That's not a solution, that's the problem.

Here are some more thoughts from RSC members out in the Blog world talking budget issues…

RSC Chairman Jeb Hensarling of Texas:
"Members of the RSC are working to start a grassroots effort to ensure that leaders in Washington never forget that tax money belongs to the taxpayers, not the government." You can read more at this link.

Rep. Scott Garrett of New Jersey:
"November hurt, but we got the message loud and clear that fiscal conservatives are alive and well across the country. Wednesday will be the day that voters will see that the Democrats never repented of their tax-and-spend ways and that Republicans are ready to reclaim our rightful place as the party of fiscal responsibility." You can read more at this link.

This just in, but more to come throughout the day.  I’m at the House Budget Committee where we are debating next year’s budget.  The Democrats have just laid out their proposal. It is a complete sham.  They make a lot of expensive promises, but offer no ways to pay for them.  The only guarantee in this budget is that it will lead to the largest tax increase in the history of the United States.

Looking at the supplemental and the budget it is easy to see that the Democrats aren’t even trying to hide that they are still the same tax and spend party they have always been.