If there’s one thing politicians are good it, it’s avoiding hard choices. The new Republican majority in the House appears - at least for the moment - not to be an exception. Despite having a clear mandate to make deep cuts in the current budget, the House proposed a mere $4 billion in pain-free reductions while putting off the question of a government shutdown for another two weeks. The timid approach met with overwhelming 91-9 approval in the Senate yesterday and a 335-91 vote in the House on Tuesday.
President Obama will have no problem signing this continuing resolution (CR) into law because it keeps the government open until March 18 while zeroing out programs the White House already had targeted for elimination. Coming up with $4 billion in savings every two weeks would add up to the $100 billion Republicans pledged to cut, but the public expects more.
A Rasmussen Reports poll released Tuesday suggested 53 percent of likely voters believe the GOP plan to be insufficient. Another 58 percent have no problem with a shutdown of the non-essential functions of government to get the job done right.
Nobody is going to lose sleep over the loss of $2.7 billion in earmarked pork projects made in the current CR. Of the $1.2 billion in programs closed, $680 million comes in the form of one-time hits that provide no long-term budget savings. For instance, the Smithsonian Institution will not receive $30 million to renovate a building - funds that weren’t needed because the money was already raised from private donors. Another $650 million in transportation spending that was never part of the president’s budget will also be dropped.
Among the canceled programs, the Election Assistance Commission will lose $75 million it would have doled out to states for electronic voting machines that states don’t want to buy. The Agriculture Department loses $29 million in broadband subsidies, but only because the same handouts are available from other departments.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
How does the public support spending reduction? The public supports TAXING THE RICH. Yes – poll after poll show this. The public supports protecting the social safety net. The public supports funding our schools, protecting our environment, social security, medicare, consumer protection, regulating Wall St.The public wants JOBS. The notion that the public supports the Republican JOB-KILLING budget cuts is B.S.The public will be out in the street opposing the Republican assault on the Middle Class. From the Middle East to the MidWest – to all of Middle Class America – you will see opposition to the Richest of the Rich running roughshod over the rest of us.
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