Automatic budget cuts to happen: Senator McConnell

Reuters ^ | 12 Feb 13 | David Lawder

[SkyPilot]

The Senate's top Republican predicted on Tuesday that automatic spending cuts will take effect on March 1 as scheduled.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he did not expect some last-minute deal to materialize that would avert the cuts, known in budget jargon as a "sequester."

"Read my lips: I'm not interested in an 11th-hour negotiation," McConnell told reporters.

"It's pretty clear to me that the sequester's going to go into effect," McConnell said. "I have seen no evidence that the House plans to act on this matter before the end of the month."

The across-the-board cuts were set in motion in August 2011 as part of a deficit-reduction deal between Republicans and Democrats.

They were supposed to be so draconian that Congress would be inspired to replace them with more thoughtful ways of reducing the budget deficit.

But Republicans and Democrats have been unable to agree on a substitute for the sequester.

The cuts will be split evenly between military programs and domestic discretionary spending, with the first seven months' worth coming to about $85 billion if Congress fails to act before March 1.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner has declined to reintroduce legislation passed by the House last year that would shift the cuts from the military to other domestic programs, such as the Medicaid healthcare program for the poor.

Instead, he has simply pinned blame for the looming cuts on President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats.

WARNINGS CONTINUE

U.S. Defense Department officials warned lawmakers on Tuesday that the military portion of these cuts will erode U.S. war fighting capability, force the furloughing of some 800,000 civilian employees for 22 days, and slash ship and aircraft maintenance.

[SkyPilot]

During the "Fiscal Cliff" negotiations (which were defined as tax increases + the sequestration cuts), the GOP was only focused no taxes. There were not interested one iota in the sequstration cuts.

Numerous media reports said it was after midnight before the deadline, and even the Democrats were "shocked" the Republicans had not even brought the subject up. They chose to punt, and delay them until 1 March, which actually made things worse for the military, because now the cut is 13% instead of 9%, with all of the money coming out of Operations and Maintenance, which will devastate the military.

The Republicans have simply abandoned our military. There is no other way to sugar coat this.

Poor Sen McConnell. It is just to "hard" for him to be disturbed with National Security or other trivial matters.

[brownsfan]

“Poor Sen McConnell. It is just to “hard” for him to be disturbed with National Security or other trivial matters.”

No worries for Bit...er, Mitch. He’s wealthy, and his future is secured. Nothing else matters. Nothing.

Here’s the problem Republicans face. The Obama media reflexively will blame Republicans for sequestration, (even though it’s Obama’s idea!). The stupid American public believes the media, even though the public knows the Obama media is not trustworthy, (I still can’t figure that one out).

The stupid public thinks Washington should just crank up the presses and make more money. The stupid American public has no clue about economics and how inflation happens.

[RJS1950]

It wouldn’t matter either way. Avoid sequestration and der Fuehrer and his butt-boy UpChuck Hagel will gut the military anyway and there will be little that even the true conservatives could do about it. When the troops are pulled from AF they will come home, be mustered out and be on the street with no job prospects other than 28 hour a week, minimum wage jobs, IF they can land one of those.

I still feel we are approaching a 1776 moment in our history; we are being herded into slavery to the political elite and their non-working constiuency.

FUBO & FAD

[Graewoulf]

Well said.

This is what happens when Congress and THE NINE SUPREMES refuse to use their Constitutional Duty to implement Checks and Balances on a tyrannical White House.

BTW, which member of Congress has been advocating using Checks and Balances? There surely must have been at least one - - - ? Anybody, anybody - - - ?

[Graewoulf]

Well said.

This is what happens when Congress and THE NINE SUPREMES refuse to use their Constitutional Duty to implement Checks and Balances on a tyrannical White House.

BTW, which member of Congress has been advocating using Checks and Balances? There surely must have been at least one - - - ? Anybody, anybody - - - ?

[LibertyOh]

If the Republicans don’t act to make it very clear they have done their part, not rely on what they did last year, sequester will be pinned on them, particularly with these kind of comments. The House should re-pass its proposed cuts, let the Senate totally fail to act - then Republicans can show the effect is totally the D’s act/failure to act.

D’s are determined to gut the military, let them own it.

[Mr. K]

GOOD! NO ONE HAS THE GUTS TO CUT SPENDING ANY OTHER WAY

THERE IS NOT ONE SINGLE DEPARTMENT THAT COULD NOT EASILY ABSORB a 10% CUT

[LibertyOh]

If the Republicans don’t act to make it very clear they have done their part, not rely on what they did last year, sequester will be pinned on them, particularly with these kind of comments. The House should re-pass its proposed cuts, let the Senate totally fail to act - then Republicans can show the effect is totally the D’s act/failure to act.

D’s are determined to gut the military, let them own it.

[sickoflibs]

RE :”During the “Fiscal Cliff” negotiations (which were defined as tax increases + the sequestration cuts), the GOP was only focused no taxes. There were not interested one iota in the sequstration cuts.
Numerous media reports said it was after midnight before the deadline, and even the Democrats were “shocked” the Republicans had not even brought the subject up. They chose to punt, and delay them until 1 March, which actually made things worse for the military, because now the cut is 13% instead of 9%, with all of the money coming out of Operations and Maintenance, which will devastate the military.
The Republicans have simply abandoned our military. There is no other way to sugar coat this.”

My argument against the GOP is slightly different than yours, since the Act was passed they should have offered responsible cuts to DOD or a reasonable process for making them like base closings in 1990s.
Their position of deficit reduction w no tax increases and NO defense cuts they took in last years campaign left us here. There was zero chance of that. So now the cuts are painful as possible.

They (GOP) passed this piece of crap in 2011 and walked away. Are they even sure O will get the blame?
You get no defense of them from me.

[RJS1950]

Hmmmm...hard question and I cannot think of one; at least none stands out as having advocated for the Consitution.

With today’s environment, FDR would have succeeded in packing the SC and we would have been firmly in the grasp of socialism 70 years ago. At least back then a lot of democrats moved away from supporting FDR because he was becoming a dictator. Now days, all democrats are our enemies and will work with der Fuehrer to enslave us.

FUBO & FAD

[SkyPilot]

THERE IS NOT ONE SINGLE DEPARTMENT THAT COULD NOT EASILY ABSORB a 10% CUT

It is actually much, much worse than that for the Dept of Defense.

The cut for this year has increased from 9% to 13% because of the delay. Defense is about 18% of the budget, but by the language of the 2011 Budget Control Act, it has to "pay for" 50% of the cuts - a terrible formula that the Republicans agreed to.

On top of this, military pay and service contracts are exempt, so all of the money has to come from the DoD's Operations and Maintenance account. No one knows how deep this cut will be. Estimates are from 25-30%, maybe more.

Worse still, the DoD is under the Continuing Resolution, which has frozen their budget. Fuel, health care, everything has gone up in price, but they have less money.

The military is already dealing with round 1 of the cuts that started in 2011, and those were $487 Billion over ten years. Those were deep cuts.

Add it all together, and the military is about to eviscerated.

The Republicans simply have gone past caring. They are in this for themselves. Take a look at what they are supporting instead.

Amnesty.

For millions of illegals who have broken our laws, defied our sovereignty, filled up our jails, exhausted our schools, avoided paying taxes, and overwhelmed our hospitals and emergency rooms.

For that, the GOP is willing to give away the store and spend Billions in taxpayer treasure and accumulate new debt.

Why?

The GOP leadership see amnesty as giving them votes and power.

Defense? Our military men and women?

They can get in the back of the bus.

[BfloGuy]

The Republicans have simply abandoned our military.

The military budget is not being cut.

It will only grow more slowly.

It's hardly an abandonment.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Agreed. We have all been screaming for spending cuts so now we have them. If it was up to me I would close down about 4-5 govt agencies totally and cut at least 20% out of everything else.

All the budget cuts to the military are doing is cutting the rate of growth anyway.

[SkyPilot]

The military budget is not being cut.

You are completely mistaken.

This is not a "baseline budget" gimmick or spin. The US military is under a $487 Billion cut spread out over 10 years that began 2 years ago. The Continuing Resolution has frozen its spending at last year's levels, and Sequestatraion is now a 13% cut in real terms, that translates to a much greater cut in O&M funds because military pay and service contracts are off limits due to Obama's orders.

[sarge83]

Agreed!

There has to be cuts across the board, including some in the military and there is waste and fat rolled into DOD. I am not advocating gutting the military by any means but our defense strategy needs a major overhaul. Bloated bureaucracy in the pentagon and socialized DOD bidding contract policies have to go away. Keep the tip of the spear sharp and ready.

The leviathan in Washington has to have real honest to God cuts across the board and they are going to hurt. Cutting rates of growth is just whistling past the graveyard and prolonging the inevitable.

[BfloGuy]

I stand corrected [and, boy, I hate it when that happens].

Thank you for the clear and accurate information.

[entropy12]

Speech by Senator McConnell:

http://blog.heritage.org/wp-content/uploads/budget-and-defense-606.jpg