The one terrible word that Obama refuses to comply with, and the Democrats refuse to contend with: sequestration.
In effect, starting January 1st, 2013 there will be a massive round of federal budget cuts that will directly impact state and local governments. Not only this, but it will have a direct impact on federal spending in some pretty critical areas, as Republican challenger George Allen reminds us:
“Virginians continue to see Washington fail to take responsible steps to avert the $500 Billion in defense cuts that could force hundreds of thousands of Virginians out of a job. Hard-working Virginia families are depending on these jobs to feed their families, pay for housing and send their children to school. Now Washington is failing to outline how these devastating cuts will be implemented, leaving Virginia employers and workers in the dark for how they should prepare. These looming defense cuts are on top of another nearly $500 Billion in defense cuts already in President Obama’s budget, jeopardizing our military readiness and national security. Leadership is about setting priorities, and the Obama administration needs to fulfill their responsibility and disclose their defense cuts plan. Virginians deserve responsible leadership in Washington that will establish accountability and reverse these devastating cuts without using hard-working small business owners as bargaining chips for tax increases in a weak economy.”
So the real question is, where is our illustrious former DNC chairman Tim Kaine going to explain how Obama’s lack of leadership will impact American families?
Time is ticking by… and let’s be honest — does anyone see this Congress or this President forging a budget during the lame-duck session?
I didn’t think so…
UPDATE: So what’s the bottom line in real numbers, asks one of our helpful commenters? Ask and ye shall receive (click to embiggen):
…and that’s not including defense cuts. The three biggest losers in this very expensive game of chicken? Defense spending, education, and HHS programs.
Here’s more from Federal Computer Week:
If the House Armed Services Committee hearing held Aug. 1 is any indication, the friction between Congress and the White House on the matter is intense. During the hearing, which lasted nearly three hours, lawmakers clashed with Jeffrey Zients, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, after Zients blamed Congress for the potentially disastrous fallout from sequestration. Close to an hour and a half of the hearing involved nearly unintelligible shouting matches, mainly between Zients and Reps. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) and Mike Turner (R-Ohio).
In a particularly hostile exchange, Forbes pressed Zients on whether he believes “draconian defense cuts” are a sensible way to achieve agreement between the two political parties on Capitol Hill. Zients in turn directed the blame at Congress.
“What is holding us up right now is the Republican refusal to have the top 2 percent [of earners] pay their fair share,” Zients said.
Despite Republicans’ efforts to blame Democrats and vice versa, sequestration is a bipartisan problem. It is part of the Budget Control Act of 2011, the same law that created the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. Sequestration was meant to be a last-ditch measure if the so-called supercommittee members could not agree on $1.2 trillion of what would have been targeted and deliberately planned cuts over the next 10 years.
What are both sides waiting for? The election results in November… to see who wins and who loses come January 1st.
Pathetic, isn’t it?
