2011 budget

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Obama Ready to Cut Social Security

President pushing $4T deficit reduction plan

(Newser) - With Medicare already on the table , President Obama has signaled that the other big budgetary time bomb isn't safe from cuts: Social Security. The president is pressing congressional leaders to accept an ambitious plan to slash $4 trillion over the next decade, insiders say. He hopes to use the...

Obama Caught Griping About GOP Sneakiness

Reporter eavesdrops on conversation between prez, donors

(Newser) - President Obama gave campaign donors a candid, insider account of the budget debate—apparently unaware that his microphone was still broadcasting his remarks to the White House press room. Obama told donors yesterday that Republicans had tried to slip their agenda into the budget bill, but he’d put his...

25% of Republicans Defied Boehner on Budget Vote

Speaker could be in trouble with conservatives

(Newser) - John Boehner got the budget deal he negotiated through the House yesterday, but it wound up feeling a bit like a defeat for the House speaker, the New York Times observes. Fifty-nine Republicans—roughly a quarter of his caucus— rejected the bill , sending a message to Boehner that they were...

Angry Dems Seek Obama Challenger

Some House Dems outraged by budget deal

(Newser) - The budget deal President Obama hammered out with Harry Reid and John Boehner appears to have been the last straw for some Democrats—especially in the House. Democratic caucus members, including Nancy Pelosi, who voted against the budget deal are feeling ignored and disappointed, and some have even begun discussing...

Senate Rejects Move to Defund Planned Parenthood

Defunding bill shot down after passing House

(Newser) - A measure to defund Planned Parenthood was shot down in the Senate after passing the House by a vote of 241-185. The Senate vote was 42-58, with five Republicans rejecting the stand-alone measure: Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins and...

Budget Deal Clears House, Senate

Any threat of a government shutdown is now gone

(Newser) - The shutdown showdown is over, at least until the fall. The House and Senate today passed a measure to fund the government through September, the end of the 2011 fiscal year. The bill passed 260-167 in the House on a bipartisan vote, required because 59 Republicans broke ranks and voted...

CBO: Budget Deal Cuts Much Less Than Advertised

Spending only going down $352M

(Newser) - You know that 2011 budget pact that was supposed to have yielded the " biggest annual spending cut in history "? Well, it turns out it'll produce less than 1% of the promised $38 billion in savings by the end of this budget year, according to a Congressional Budget...

Some Smoke, Mirrors in That $38B in Budget Cuts

Dem. priorities take the brunt of cuts, but also many accounting tricks

(Newser) - Sure, Congress is patting itself on the back over $38 billion in spending cuts —but many of those savings aren't what they seem, reports the Washington Post . Mandatory programs are protected by law, so $17.8 billion of those cuts will go right back up next year. The $4....

Paul Krugman on Budget Deal: What Happened to the Old Barack Obama?

 Barack Obama Has Gone AWOL 
paul krugman

Barack Obama Has Gone AWOL

Not only is Obama caving to the GOP—he's 'celebrating' it, writes Paul Krugman

(Newser) - Barack Obama has left the building. Granted, with Republicans running amok, all Obama really has is “the bully pulpit,” but incredibly, “he’s using it to reinforce his enemies’ narrative,” writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . Maybe he did have to make big concessions...

Shutdown Charade Was Bad Theater
Shutdown Charade Was
Bad Theater

Shutdown Charade Was Bad Theater

Brinkmanship game disingenuous, reckless

(Newser) - Last night’s “needless, reckless, game of shutdown chicken” was a sham, with both sides drawing out the drama, complains Dana Milbank of the Washington Post . Sure, Barack Obama, John Boehner and Harry Reid all said they wanted to reach a resolution. But “If that were so, a...

Budget Talks Hinged on Planned Parenthood

How the deal came together

(Newser) - When Barack Obama and John Boehner met Thursday night, one issue loomed over the rest: Planned Parenthood. Boehner was insisting that any budget deal would have to defund the organization, something Obama was utterly opposed to, sources tell Politico . Joe Biden said that if that point prevented a deal,...

Tea Party on Budget Deal: 'We Won' to 'Disappointed'

Not everybody's happy, but Boehner doesn't have a mutiny on his hands

(Newser) - John Boehner put a happy face on the grinding budget deal reached last night, but reactions varied among the GOP rank-and-file—specifically those with their eye on the Oval Office. Some reactions from around the Beltway, courtesy of Politico:
  • Michele Bachman: “The deal is a disappointment for me and
...

Now They Can't Agree on What They Disagree About

Boehner says it's about spending; Reid says it's abortion

(Newser) - With the midnight deadline creeping closer, there's been plenty of partisan rhetoric today but still no budget deal. Harry Reid and John Boehner even disagree on the main sticking point, reports the Washington Post . Reid contends that the two sides have agreed on $38 billion in cuts and that the...

Still No Deal After Latest White House Talks

Obama expecting final answer on budget deal Friday morning

(Newser) - President Obama emerged from the third White House meeting with Harry Reid and John Boehner in 24 hours Thursday night without a deal to avert a government shutdown at midnight Friday. The president told reporters that differences still remain between the two parties, adding "I’m not yet prepared...

Nicholas Kristof: GOP Gives Democracy a Bad Name



 GOP Gives 
 Democracy 
 a Bad Name 
Nicholas Kristof

GOP Gives Democracy a Bad Name

Why are we paying these people?

(Newser) - Nicholas Kristof has spent a lot of time in Libya, Egypt, Bahrain, and China recently, talking up the virtues of democracy. “But if Congressional Republicans actually shut down the government this weekend, they will be making a powerful argument for autocracy,” he writes in the New York Times...

Shutdown Odds: 52-48
 Shutdown Odds on Rise 

Shutdown Odds on Rise

Intrade is on the fence as Reid, Boehner, and Obama meet again

(Newser) - The rhetoric is sounding more and more dire about a government shutdown, and the Intrade markets had the odds in favor of it happening at 52%-48% about 1pm ET. That's up from 40% about noon. President Obama, Harry Reid, and John Boehner have another come-to-Jesus meeting today, following a morning...

Government Shutdown: John Boehner, Harry Reid, President Obama All Working to Avoid It
 Nobody Really Wants 
 a Shutdown 
Analysis

Nobody Really Wants a Shutdown

Boehner, Reed and Obama all pragmatists

(Newser) - The federal government sure looks like it’s hurtling toward a shutdown, but there might be three reasons for hope: John Boehner, Harry Reid, and President Obama. All three are considered pragmatists who don’t seem all that interested in a shutdown, Politico observes. “There is nothing in Boehner’...

GOP to Vote on 1-Week Budget Extension

And Democrats aren't happy about it

(Newser) - With Republicans and Democrats still leagues apart on the 2011 budget , House Republicans will vote today on yet another extension. This one would only be for a week, but would include a full-year Pentagon budget. It would also include a lot of domestic cuts, as the price to keep the...

Budget Meeting Fails to Avert Shutdown

Shutdown would be 'inexcusable,' Obama says after talks with Reid, Boehner

(Newser) - President Obama emerged from a late-night meeting with John Boehner and Harry Reid Wednesday with no deal to avert a government shutdown. The president told reporters, however, that the 90-minute talk had helped to "narrow the issues" and he's still confident that a deal can be forged before the...

Shutdown Would Furlough 800K Federal Workers

Military wouldn't get paychecks; Obama, Boehner, and Reid meet tonight

(Newser) - Lots more bluster today, but no apparent progress on averting a government shutdown that would begin at midnight Friday. As crunch time nears, President Obama is scheduled to meet tonight with John Boehner and Harry Reid, reports Reuters . The White House, meanwhile, warned that 800,000 federal workers would be...

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