Obama Getting Serious on the Budget
Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 3:37 pm
Obama Seeking Budget Cuts at First Cabinet Meeting
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20090420/pl_ ... s3098536_4
President Obama asked Cabinet secretaries Monday to find $100 million worth of savings or cuts in the federal budget over the next 90 days in an effort show his administration is making the government more efficient.
But this figure pales in comparison to both the size of the $3.7 trillion fiscal 2010 budget the president has proposed to Congress as well as the government's budget deficit, which the Congressional Budget Office projects will hit $1.85 trillion in fiscal 2009.
Obama sought to portray his savings proposal as a tone-setter rather than a package of big spending cuts.
"None of these things alone are going to make the difference but cumulatively, they make an extraordinary difference because they start setting a tone," Obama said following his first Cabinet meeting. "So what we're going to do is line by line, page by page, $100 million there, $100 million here, pretty soon, even in Washington, it adds up to real money."
Obama said in the weeks to come his administration also will propose eliminating 100 programs from the budget. The administration is expected to provide more details of its fiscal 2010 plan the week of May 4.
Republicans were quick to circulate e-mails illustrating how small $100 million is when compared to the amount of government spending and the debt.
"I appreciate the efforts to save millions by identifying unnecessary or duplicative government spending. But let's not forget that at the same time they're looking for millions in savings, the president's budget calls for adding trillions to the debt," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement.
Among the examples of how savings can be achieved, the administration said the Agriculture Department believes it can save $62 million on a 15-year lease by consolidating operations at seven facilities into one location. The Homeland Security Department, according to the White House, can save $52 million over five years by buying office supplies in bulk. These examples, and others detailed by the White House, focus on finding savings in existing operations as opposed to cutting programs.
Meanwhile, House and Senate lawmakers are negotiating details of a final budget resolution that sets broad outlines for tax and spending decisions later in the year.
The major differences in the competing versions (H Con Res 85, S Con Res 13) of the legislation are over discretionary spending levels and whether to use the budget reconciliation process, which prevents filibusters in the Senate, for health legislation.
The House wants to spend more on the fiscal 2010 appropriations bills and use reconciliation to move bills in September that would overhaul the health care system and rewrite student loan programs.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20090420/pl_ ... s3098536_4
President Obama asked Cabinet secretaries Monday to find $100 million worth of savings or cuts in the federal budget over the next 90 days in an effort show his administration is making the government more efficient.
But this figure pales in comparison to both the size of the $3.7 trillion fiscal 2010 budget the president has proposed to Congress as well as the government's budget deficit, which the Congressional Budget Office projects will hit $1.85 trillion in fiscal 2009.
Obama sought to portray his savings proposal as a tone-setter rather than a package of big spending cuts.
"None of these things alone are going to make the difference but cumulatively, they make an extraordinary difference because they start setting a tone," Obama said following his first Cabinet meeting. "So what we're going to do is line by line, page by page, $100 million there, $100 million here, pretty soon, even in Washington, it adds up to real money."
Obama said in the weeks to come his administration also will propose eliminating 100 programs from the budget. The administration is expected to provide more details of its fiscal 2010 plan the week of May 4.
Republicans were quick to circulate e-mails illustrating how small $100 million is when compared to the amount of government spending and the debt.
"I appreciate the efforts to save millions by identifying unnecessary or duplicative government spending. But let's not forget that at the same time they're looking for millions in savings, the president's budget calls for adding trillions to the debt," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement.
Among the examples of how savings can be achieved, the administration said the Agriculture Department believes it can save $62 million on a 15-year lease by consolidating operations at seven facilities into one location. The Homeland Security Department, according to the White House, can save $52 million over five years by buying office supplies in bulk. These examples, and others detailed by the White House, focus on finding savings in existing operations as opposed to cutting programs.
Meanwhile, House and Senate lawmakers are negotiating details of a final budget resolution that sets broad outlines for tax and spending decisions later in the year.
The major differences in the competing versions (H Con Res 85, S Con Res 13) of the legislation are over discretionary spending levels and whether to use the budget reconciliation process, which prevents filibusters in the Senate, for health legislation.
The House wants to spend more on the fiscal 2010 appropriations bills and use reconciliation to move bills in September that would overhaul the health care system and rewrite student loan programs.
