Possible TVA sale a bad idea, president’s budget fails on entitlements, Republican lawmakers say

Republican lawmakers from Tennessee were critical of the budget proposal released by President Barack Obama on Wednesday, saying it was overdue and failed to responsibly address unsustainable spending on entitlement programs.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said a proposal to consider selling the Tennessee Valley Authority could cost taxpayers money.

“This is one more bad idea in a budget full of bad ideas,” Alexander said. “There is today no federal taxpayer subsidy for TVA, period. There is by law no federal taxpayer liability for TVA debt. And after deducting its debt, selling TVA would probably cost taxpayers money.”

In a separate statement, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann said the overdue budget was a “dud.” He said it contained an additional $1.1 trillion in new taxes when the country needs “pro-growth policies.”

“If we are going to fix our spending and debt problems, the president has to show more leadership than he did with this budget,” said Fleischmann, whose district includes Oak Ridge. “He asks for tax increases and again has failed to truly address mandatory spending programs, which must be reformed in order to have a successful long term budget. This budget never balances and moves us further away from job growth and fiscal responsibility.”

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker said Congress and the president have now both failed to produce budgets that “responsibly address the number one driver of our country’s insolvency—unsustainable spending on entitlement programs.

“While I appreciate the president including some minor reforms in his budget, any serious fiscal reform package must do far more to ensure Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid are solvent for the next 75 years or more,” Corker said. “Over the next several months, through presidential leadership and responsible steps taken by Congress, I hope we will enact meaningful reforms that put our country’s fiscal problems behind us.”

The budget would apply to the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. It still has to be considered by Congress.