House Republicans on Thursday continued on their mission to cut billions of dollars from the current year’s budget.
“When we say we are going to cut spending, read my lips: We are going to cut spending,” said House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday.
He added that the House wouldn’t pass a budget that doesn’t cut spending, fueling new speculation of a possible government shutdown when current stop-gap funding measures run out March 4.
Republicans have vowed to cull $60 billion from the fiscal 2011 budget, in their first big opportunity to make good on campaign promises to rid Washington of mounting deficits and government spending.
Some of the more controversial amendment votes expected later Thursday would determine funding for family planning and the major health care expansion Congress passed last year.
Earlier Thursday, lawmakers took their scalpel to arts funding, slashing $20 million from the National Endowment for the Arts and $4.5 million from National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs. They also voted to retain a big $390 million cut aimed at heating subsidies to poor households.
One of the largest additional budget cuts happened Wednesday, when lawmakers of both parties agreed to an amendment stripping $450 million slated to build a new engine for the F-35 fighter jet.
However, for all the rhetoric, lawmakers are also voting to avert some major cuts. They agreed to restore funding that would keep some firefighters and police officers on the payroll through September, despite an $800 million tab for both.
On Thursday, lawmakers voted on amendments to protect $450 million slated for Amtrak train service, as well as another $200 million in financial help for struggling nations abroad.
Earlier this week, Boehner raised eyebrows when he predicted budget cuts could cost some federal jobs, adding, “so be it.”
However, on Thursday he backed off the tough love stance.
“Listen, I don’t want anyone to lose their job whether they are a federal employee or not. But come on! We’re broke!,” Boehner said. “We’ve got to make tough decisions and the American people sent their representatives here to Washington to make tough decisions on their behalf.
Late Wednesday, Democrats accused Republicans of killing jobs and hurting the economy. They cited a report by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, which gets funding from labor unions, that $60 billion in cuts would result in hundreds of thousands of jobs lost in both the public and private sectors.
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7 Responses
Lev M’luchim V’surim B’yad Hashem
To understand the situation, consider someone whose income level is that of kollel family, but whose spending reflects the sort of lifestyle an sucessful professional working in the goyish world , and he balances the books by borrowing money. Sooner or later, he’ll be bankrupt.
“Read my lips ….” Where have we heard that before, and what happened with the promise on those lips?
Its very tough now the whole debate about whether to balance the budget or the economy is too weak for that. However, long term we have to start changing laws like mortgage deduction and raising retirement age
Well the good news is that the House controls the purse strings and THANK G-D the socialist liberal democrats are NOT in charge.
Everything was based on the later generation will pay since there will be more people and more workers. This is good in a growing economy and expanding population but is not good for reality. Somebody has to pay. The ever growing “ENTITLEMENTS” has cook the goose that laid the golden egg.
We are entitle to social security however we can not expect to put in say £112,00 and than get back $300,000 Remember what you are putting in. In California a person works 30 years get 90% of his last years salary for the rest of his life. There the state pays 3% per year for pension. Think if he made $75000 for 30 years [which he did not] he gets a life pension based on the last year
say $75,000 or $85,000 or more for the next 30 years [average life span 80] Total cost $2,025,000 to the tax payers. Can we afford to pay these pensions. Pensions is what kill the AMerican car companies. Union are an organize Mafia
How about we start by cutting welfare for those who CHOOSE not to work?