Obama Budget Outspends Liberal Democrats

Last year, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) submitted an alternative budget.1 The CPC budget espoused the fundamental differences between Chairman Spratt’s budget and the more liberal members of the Democratic Party. The San Francisco Chronicle characterized this caucus in 2005 as “the closest thing [San Francisco] Bay Area liberal Democrats have to a government in waiting.”

As expected, the CPC substitute never gained much traction and was defeated soundly in a roll call vote of 98-322 (no Republicans voted for the substitute and 131 Democrats voted against it).

Whether the CPC budget is a bellwether for the Obama budget remains to be seen, but given the remarkable similarities in policies albeit a heftier price tag, perhaps the past is prologue. While the CPC Budget was prepared prior to the economic downturn, it is remarkable how much more the Obama budget still spends.

Read the full report here.