Cuts in the House Budget and Government Shutdown...

[Fergasun]

TMK,

The synopsis you posted is wrong.

I hope you are repeating some BS GOP talking point. I'm sorry to point out that if the GOP is saying that, they are liars. I don't know where you got your synopsis from... however I have seen Boehner touting they achieved $100B and I am confused how they get to that number.

From FederalTimes.com in December 2010:

An existing continuing resolution that generally freezes agency spending at 2010 levels expires at midnight Friday. Senate sources had earlier warned that a battle over the omnibus could lead to a government shutdown over the weekend. Democrats' retreat now seems likely to avert that possibility.

The original one passed in October also funded the FY2011 budget at FY2010 levels.

TheHill.com has recent article with quote from Boehner:

“I am not going to move any kind of short-term [funding bill] at current levels,” he told reporters at his weekly press conference. “When we say we’re going to cut spending, read my lips, we’re going to cut spending,” Boehner added, invoking George H.W. Bush’s infamous and ultimately broken pledge on taxes during the 1988 presidential campaign.

Why would there have been $40B cuts in the original spending resolution? It was passed by the *old Congress* which was Democratically controlled. The political will to force through spending cuts was provided by the November elections.

There are $61B in cuts on the table from FY2010. So far in FY2011 there have been essentially $0B in spending cuts compared to FY2010. $61B + $0B = $61B.

*Edited to make my response less harsher to TMK since I don't think he came up with that himself.

---------- Post added February-21st-2011 at 07:48 AM ----------

I figured it out.

The GOP cuts of $100B were not to FY2010 levels; but were cuts from the Obama FY2011 budget (which was never enacted).

I think myself and some of the TEA folks thought the GOP had promised to make $100B in cuts to the FY2010 spending levels.

[TMK9973]

TMK,

The synopsis you posted is wrong.

I hope you are repeating some BS GOP talking point. I'm sorry to point out that if the GOP is saying that, they are liars. I don't know where you got your synopsis from... however I have seen Boehner touting they achieved $100B and I am confused how they get to that number.

From FederalTimes.com in December 2010:The original one passed in October also funded the FY2011 budget at FY2010 levels.

TheHill.com has recent article with quote from Boehner:Why would there have been $40B cuts in the original spending resolution? It was passed by the *old Congress* which was Democratically controlled. The political will to force through spending cuts was provided by the November elections.

There are $61B in cuts on the table from FY2010. So far in FY2011 there have been essentially $0B in spending cuts compared to FY2010. $61B + $0B = $61B.

*Edited to make my response less harsher to TMK since I don't think he came up with that himself.

---------- Post added February-21st-2011 at 07:48 AM ----------

I figured it out.

The GOP cuts of $100B were not to FY2010 levels; but were cuts from the Obama FY2011 budget (which was never enacted).

I think myself and some of the TEA folks thought the GOP had promised to make $100B in cuts to the FY2010 spending levels.

LOL - I'm a die hard Dem!!!

But you read it wrong. The continueing resolution that expired in Dec was renewed and is set to expire March 4th.

And yes - your edit is correct. It is for the FY 2011, which started last Oct, which already included 40 billiion in cuts.

[Fergasun]

TMK,

This is why talking about the budget it so hard. Increase and decrease needs to talk about the baseline.

FY2010 budget is the last budget we had approved and signed.

The FY2011 continuing resolution kept spending levels at the FY2010 levels.

Therefore there have been zero cuts (compared to the FY2010 baseline).

The FY2011 budget proposal, rolled out in February 2010 by Obama included a proposal for $40B increase in spending.

Since it was never enacted, I struggle calling the continuing resolution a "cut" of $40B.

However both parties are playing the same game, the GOP is pretending they "cut" spending by $100B (even if it is only by $60B) and the Democrats are pretending there already was a $40B "cut" in the budget (even though it was nothing compared to the FY2010 baseline).

In more simpler terms. The GOP and Democrats are $100B off as far as meeting half-way. Were they to meet in the middle, the FY2011 budget would be $10B less than the FY2010 budget . In hindsight my number of $45B in cuts from FY2010 seems too big for Democrats to swallow; I'd put the over/under at maybe $25-30B. The GOP/TEA freshman will get their first taste of Senate-dominated legislative action... will they swallow it or complain? If they complain they will get blamed for the government shut-down. This all assumes McConnell and Reid cut a deal... just like they've done for the past what 8 years? They know exactly how the Senate runs (and Senators won't give up budget cuts so easily either).