There's Now Even More Conservative Opposition To The Emerging Budget Deal

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Paul Ryan budget

AP

An emerging budget deal being brokered by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) found more conservative opposition on Tuesday, as the group Americans for Prosperity slammed its proposed higher spending levels.

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AFP's opposition came one day after Heritage Action and some key conservative commentators voiced their opposition, in what is becoming a growing issue on the right.

"Right now Congress is making backroom deals to increase spending and the deficit to over a trillion dollars a year, which we can't afford. They promised to cut spending, but instead are trying to spend even more!" AFP wrote in a letter to supporters.

"We need your help to stop this now. Tell them to keep their promise to stop overspending, and honor the spending limits set by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Any spending higher than that is a broken promise."

Together, Heritage Action and AFP are two significant conservative groups that have come out and bashed the deal, which congressional aides have suggested for more than a week is close to being completed.

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Details of the deal remain murky, as both Ryan and Murray keep their cards close to their vests. But congressional aides say that the mini-bargain would set discretionary spending levels a little above $1 trillion for the next two years, while repealing and replacing some cuts of sequestration.

The higher discretionary spending levels - spending on programs that have to be reauthorized by Congress every year - are the source of the emerging conservative opposition. Conservatives argue that while imperfect, sequestration has been the only effective check against the Obama administration's spending.

"Heritage Action cannot support a budget deal that would increase spending in the near-term for promises of woefully inadequate long-term reductions," the organization said in a statement on Monday.

"While imperfect, the sequester has proven to be an effective tool in forcing Congress to reduce discretionary spending, and a gimmicky, spend-now-cut-later deal will take our nation in the wrong direction."

Last week, three respected conservative members of the House - Mick Mulvaney (S.C.), Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Steve Scalise (La.) sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor urging them to bring a "clean" continuing resolution to the floor that would fund the government at the $967 billion level under sequestration.

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As of last Thursday, according to Politico, the letter only had 19 signatures. And many Republican defense hawks oppose a "clean" CR, saying that the defense cuts under sequestration are harmful to national security. But the three conservative members spearheading the effort, plus groups like Heritage Action and AFP, are the types who wield considerable influence within the House Republican caucus. The Club for Growth, another influential conservative group, did not respond to a request for comment on the deal.

The self-imposed deadline for a budget deal is Friday, though that's a "soft" marker. The government runs out of funding Jan. 15, after which the government would shut down again. Still, the best option for Ryan and Murray is to fast-track the bill through the House before it leaves for holiday recess Friday, and through the Senate before it skips town next week. Congressional aides say that would minimize the prospects of building conservative opposition.

The emerging deal also has its Democratic opponents, including those who think that an extension of benefits to the long-term unemployed should be extended.