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NEWS ABOUT: federal spending

Dem Governor: ObamaCare Tempts Firms to Dump Plans

Tennessee's Bredesen foresees exodus to federally-subsidized insurance

(Newser) - If you crunch the numbers, President Obama’s health care plan is a great incentive for employers to stop providing coverage and put their workers in the hands of government-subsidized plans, meaning “much greater cost” for the US, writes Democratic Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen in the Wall Street Journal... More »

Deficit Breaks $1T Again

Budget gap shrinks, but is set to grow

(Newser) - The federal budget deficit is set to break a trillion dollars for the second year in a row, the Obama administration is set to report today. Officials foresee a deficit of $1.29 trillion for the 2010 budget year that ended Sept. 30, the AP reports, down from last year’... More »

Democrats Are Out of Gas

Party 'lacks vigor now that welfare state is complete'

(Newser) - The Democrats' passage of health care reform felt like a family reunion where you saw "the whole panoply of what you loved and found annoying about these people" to David Brooks. President Obama and Nancy Pelosi deserve posterity "for sheer resilience," he writes, but as the last... More »

Senators Fight to Keep Sending Pork Home

Upper chamber unlikely to follow House's lead on earmarks

(Newser) - House members may be pushing earmark reform, but many of their Senate colleagues refuse to let go without a fight—in fact, Politico notes, it may be the one issue on which senators from both parties can agree on. Lawmakers from both sides argue that the money would be spent... More »

Washington Is Waking Up to Public's Spending Fears

GOP needs to build consensus for cuts—and win back White House

(Newser) - President Obama may be just trying to save his political life with the creation of a bipartisan commission on government spending but the move shows Washington is waking up to the public's worries, writes Peggy Noonan. Concerns about federal spending and its implications for America's future have, just in time,... More »

Obama Is Acting Like a One-Term President

He refuses to move to the center, writes Noonan, when that could save him

(Newser) - Obama seems to genuinely mean it when he says he'd rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president, and that could explain a lot, writes Peggy Noonan. He "equates becoming more centrist with becoming more like George W. Bush," which is why he's refusing... More »

How Old Fogies Can Save America

Brooks: They need to unite in the cause of selflessness

(Newser) - Forget Washington—America's salvation lies with its senior citizens, writes David Brooks. He wants them to form a sort of tea party of their own, not to accrue more financial benefits but to return some they already have. Federal spending tilts too heavily toward the old instead of the young,... More »

Congress Ups Nat'l Debt Ceiling to $12.4T

Bill would authorize Treasury to fund gov through Feb.

(AP) - The Senate voted today to raise the ceiling on the government debt to $12.4 trillion, a massive increase over the current limit and a political problem that President Barack Obama has promised to address next year. The Senate's rare Christmas Eve vote, 60-39, follows House passage last week and... More »

Hoyer: US Must Raise Debt Ceiling $1.8T

Not until we have a solution, say moderate Dems and GOP

(Newser) - House Democrats are attempting to raise the national debt ceiling by $1.8 trillion to pay for loans coming due next year, despite strong opposition from Blue Dogs, their brethren in the Senate, and the GOP. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said today the move is necessary, and Nancy Pelosi... More »

The Obama He Doesn't Want You to See

President loath to look weak, profligate

(Newser) - President Obama’s ability to control his image seems to be spinning out of control, with several damaging narratives taking hold in the public consciousness. Politico breaks down the narratives Obama is most threatened by:
  • Obama the Big Spender: Though economists cheered on the stimulus, the backlash was severe among
... More »

Congress Votes to Boost Own Budget

Capitol Hill scoffs at belt-tightening, jacks funding 5.8%

(Newser) - With local governments around the country tightening their belts, Congress is loosening theirs. The House last week approved a 5.8% bump in the legislative budget, and the Senate is poised to do so as well. That’ll bring Capitol Hill’s annual budget to $4.7 billion, Politico reports.... More »

Don't Fear Debt —Failed Reform Is Scarier

Krugman: We need deficits in a recession; they 'saved the world'

(Newser) - Paul Krugman isn't surprised that the projected $9 trillion deficit over the next decade is being greeted as a sign of economic apocalypse—and that commentators think it proves health care reform should be scuppered. In fact, he writes in the New York Times, it's good to run a deficit... More »

TARP Watchdog: Bailouts May Cost US $24T

Number based on 'hypothetical maximum,' Treasury counters

(Newser) - The special inspector overseeing Treasury’s TARP program says federal assistance to banks and other financial entities could end up costing taxpayers $23.7 trillion, Bloomberg reports. Aside from the $700 billion bailout, Neil Barofsky says in testimony prepared for told Congress tomorrow, other trillion-dollar federal programs could balloon. “... More »

Feds Showing More Love for Uglier Endangered Species

(Newser) - When you’re an endangered species jockeying for federal funding, good looks are historically a plus. That may be changing, the Washington Post reports. In the past, researchers note, “there has been a very heavy bias toward ‘charismatic megafauna’—relatively large, well-known birds and mammals.” But... More »

Obama Promises 600K Stimulus Jobs

Public works, schools, summer youth programs to see US cash

(AP) - President Barack Obama promised today to deliver more than 600,000 jobs through his $787 billion stimulus plan this summer, with federal agencies pumping billions into public works projects, schools, and summer youth programs. Obama is ramping up his stimulus program this week, promising an accelerated pace of federal spending... More »

Obama to Cabinet: Cut $100M From Budgets

Move comes amid pressure to slice deficit

(Newser) - Facing pressure over spending, President Obama will unite his Cabinet today for the first time and ask members to find $100 million worth of potential budget cuts over the next 90 days, the Washington Post reports. Though it’s a tiny sum compared to a $3.5 trillion budget outline,... More »

Angry McCain Slams Obama Over Earmarks

Old spending bill proves minefield for Democrats

(Newser) - Democrats were hoping they could sneak the $410 billion omnibus spending bill from last fall quietly through the Senate and onto the president’s desk, to make way for the 2010 budget. But John McCain is having none of it. “If it seems like I’m angry, it’s... More »

Alaskans Erupt Over Jindal Volcano Jab

(Newser) - Alaskans of all stripes are incensed by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s disparaging comments Tuesday about the necessity of volcano monitoring, the Anchorage Daily News reports. It’s “a matter of life and death in Alaska,” Sen. Mark Begich wrote the Republican. Even Gov. Sarah Palin’s office... More »

Don't Like the Stimulus? Don't Take the Cash

Opponents can be 'guinea pigs' for alternate plans: Begala

(Newser) - Here’s a clear way for political leaders to oppose spending in the stimulus package: “refuse to take the money,” Paul Begala writes for CNN. Case in point: South Carolina’s governor, who opposes the plan, shouldn’t help his struggling state with federal cash. Instead, he can... More »

House Dems Debut $825B Stimulus Bill

Public works, education get plenty of attention in measure

(Newser) - House Democrats today introduced a long-awaited stimulus package, developed with President-elect Obama, and totaling $825 billion, the New York Times reports. The economic recovery plan includes billions in tax cuts, Medicare subsidies, and public-education and infrastructure spending. The Senate is developing its own version, and vigorous debate is anticipated as... More »

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