http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/sequestration/ en-us Sun, 12 May 2013 03:14:14 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3018353/posts The United States Marine Band's 215th anniversary concert scheduled for Saturday, July 6, 2013, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has been canceled due to sequestration. This event will not be rescheduled. Notes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3018353/posts#comment Sun, 12 May 2013 03:14:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3018250/posts With Congress increasingly unable to resolve budget disputes, federal programs on automatic pilot are consuming ever larger amounts of government resources. The trend helps older Americans, who receive the bulk of Social Security and Medicare benefits, at the expense of younger people. This generational shift draws modest public debate. But it alarms some policy advocates, who say the United States is reducing vital investments in the future. Because Democrats and Republicans can't reach a grand bargain on deficit spending — with mutually accepted spending cuts and revenue hikes — Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid keep growing, largely untouched. Steady expansions... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3018250/posts#comment Sat, 11 May 2013 18:13:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3018185/posts Federal Reserve officials have mapped out a strategy for winding down an unprecedented $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program meant to spur the economy—an effort to preserve flexibility and manage highly unpredictable market expectations. Officials say they plan to reduce the amount of bonds they buy in careful and potentially halting steps, varying their purchases as their confidence about the job market and inflation evolves. The timing on when to start is still being debated. Enlarge Image image image The Fed's strategy for how and when to wind down the program is of intense interest in financial markets. While the strategy being... wsj http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3018185/posts#comment Sat, 11 May 2013 14:01:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3018031/posts With furloughs looming, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter this week paid tribute to the job done by the Pentagon's civilian work force while warning that there soon would be fewer of them doing it. In a series of appearances that fell during Public Service Recognition Week, Carter said the department had yet to come to a decision on how many furlough days to impose to meet the budget-cutting demands of the Congressional sequester process in the current fiscal year. Carter called the across-the-board sequester cuts "stupid," and said they would result in the loss of five to six percent of... Military dot com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3018031/posts#comment Fri, 10 May 2013 23:43:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3015913/posts Defense Department leaders spent months warning Congress that military readiness would begin to erode if sequestration went into effect on March 1. The Navy and Marine Corps are telling lawmakers that it's now happening and that things will only get worse from here. Across government, agencies say the impact of sequestration will be somewhat insidious. But in the case of DoD's two sea services, they're already feeling it, officials told the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness. "Due to reduced training and maintenance, almost all of our non-deployed ships and aviation squadrons are soon going to be less than fully... Federal News Radio http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3015913/posts#comment Sun, 5 May 2013 13:03:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3015320/posts <p>Fate is fickle, power cyclical, and nothing is new under the sun. Especially in Washington, where after every election the losing party is sagely instructed to confess sin, rend garments, and rethink its principles lest it go the way of the Whigs. And where the victor is hailed as the new Caesar, facing an open road to domination.</p> National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3015320/posts#comment Fri, 3 May 2013 14:12:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3014254/posts Once again, the Pentagon wants to scrap a weapon – in this case, the Abrams tank – that Congress has an interest in preserving. But with 'sequester' cuts, the tradeoff will be civilian furloughs. Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno testifies on Capitol Hill on April 23. The Army’s hulking Abrams tank, built to dominate the enemy in combat, is proving to be equally hard to beat in a budget battle, because of a bipartisan push to spend an extra $436 million on tanks, which the Pentagon does not want. Even as the Pentagon struggles to make some tough, congressionally... Chrisitian Science Monitor http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3014254/posts#comment Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:20:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3014127/posts The Pecksniffs of America had nothing but scorn for Congress' vote last week to stop furloughs of air traffic controllers, which were ostensibly mandated under the 2011 Budget Control Act. Congress failed to act to stop cuts to Head Start and Meals On Wheels, critics sneered, but did stop the Federal Aviation Administration cuts largely because they hit lawmakers where they live -- on the planes that fly them to and from their home districts. Nonsense. Congress did what it was supposed to do. Capitol Hill responded to the flying public's righteous anger. There was a fear factor: If a... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3014127/posts#comment Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:35:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3014022/posts PinocchiObama is at it again, using his weekly address to the nation to spin tall tales, demonize and scapegoat Republicans, misidentify the nation's problems, and propose the exact wrong solutions. He opened up this week's fiction with the umpteenth repetition of his empty claim that the nation's top priority "must be growing the economy, creating good jobs and rebuilding opportunity for the middle class." How many times has Obama promised to "pivot" toward a "laserlike focus" on jobs? How interesting that he chose to repeat this very same claim just as the Government Accountability Institute released a report concluding that... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3014022/posts#comment Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:16:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013949/posts Senate Majority Leader Reid, House Majority Leader Cantor Deride Across-the-Board Cuts -In Joint Appearance, Two Hill Leaders Don't Outline Way To Replace Cuts LOS ANGELES(MNI) - In a rare joint appearance, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Republican, said Monday they are frustrated by across-the-board spending cuts that have been mandated by the sequestration process, but they did not agree on how these cuts should be altered or eliminated. Appearing on a panel at the Milken Institute Global Conference, Reid and Cantor took turns blasting the sequestration process. Speaking of sequestration, Reid... MNI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013949/posts#comment Tue, 30 Apr 2013 02:51:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013411/posts That’s the simple reality of Friday’s vote to ease the pain for the Federal Aviation Administration. By assenting to it, Democrats have agreed to sequestration for the foreseeable future. In effect, what Democrats said Friday was that in any case where the political pain caused by sequestration becomes unbearable, they will agree to cancel that particular piece of the bill while leaving the rest of the law untouched. The result is that sequestration is no longer particularly politically threatening, but it’s even more unbalanced: Cuts to programs used by the politically powerful will be addressed, but cuts to programs that... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013411/posts#comment Sun, 28 Apr 2013 19:41:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013179/posts A typo is keeping President Obama from signing legislation designed to end budget-related FAA air traffic controller furloughs blamed for widespread flight delays, a congressional source told CNN Saturday. But the fix is going into effect anyway, and the system will be back to normal by Sunday, the FAA said. Apparently the holdup boils down to an "s" needing to be added somewhere in the Senate version of the bill -- it's not clear which word is the culprit. The House fixed the typo in the version it passed Friday, and the Senate plans to fix it on Tuesday, a... WPTV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013179/posts#comment Sat, 27 Apr 2013 20:32:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013023/posts ... k Obama chided Republicans on Saturday for approving a plan to ease air-traffic delays caused by federal spending cuts while leaving budget cuts that affect children and the elderly untouched. The Senate and the House of Representatives backed a plan this week to give the Department of Transportation flexibility to cover immediate salaries of air traffic controllers at the Federal Aviation Administration who had been furloughed as part of budget cuts known as "sequester. Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013023/posts#comment Sat, 27 Apr 2013 10:59:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012605/posts WASHINGTON – Legislation to end furloughs of air traffic controllers and delays for millions of travelers is headed to a House vote after a dark-of-night vote in the Senate that took place after most lawmakers had left the Capitol for a weeklong vacation. The bill passed late Thursday without even a roll call vote, and House officials indicated it likely would be brought up for quick approval there. Under the legislation, the Federal Aviation Administration would gain authority to transfer up to $253 million from accounts that are flush into other programs, to "prevent reduced operations and staffing" through the... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012605/posts#comment Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:48:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012546/posts The Senate took the first step toward circumventing sequestration Thursday night with a bipartisan vote that would put furloughed air traffic controllers back on the job. The House is expected to take up the measure Friday, and the White House has promised to consider any bill which it receives. The Senate vote came in response to passengers angered this week by long delays at several major airports. If the Senate bill wins House approval and is signed into law by President Obama, the furloughed controllers are not expected to return to work before Saturday Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012546/posts#comment Fri, 26 Apr 2013 04:16:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012490/posts <p>WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate late on Thursday approved legislation to provide enough funding for federal air traffic controllers through Sept. 30 to end furloughs that have brought widespread airline delays. Several Senate aides said an agreement had been reached on a bill giving the Department of Transportation new flexibility to use unspent funds to cover the costs of air traffic controllers and other essential employees at the Federal Aviation Administration.</p> Chicago Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012490/posts#comment Fri, 26 Apr 2013 01:05:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013295/posts SEOUL — The Army’s chief of staff has warned Congress that steep military budget cuts and canceled training exercises are hurting the Army’s readiness, including the ability to respond to a potential conflict on the tense Korean peninsula. While troops in South Korea are “obviously at a high state of readiness,” Gen. Ray Odierno told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that sequestration has led to a reduction in training for 80 percent of the Army. Among the cuts: 37,000 flying hours, impending furloughs for civilian workers, and six brigade maneuver combat training center rotations. The cancellation of... Stars and Stripes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013295/posts#comment Sun, 28 Apr 2013 12:16:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013140/posts WASHINGTON -- President Obama is clearly playing a nasty political game with the air traffic controller furloughs that have forced severe airline delays across the country. It's not the first time he's exploited the budget-cutting sequestration law for political purposes. Earlier this year, he tried to stir up fears that our economy would be hit by fiscal Armageddon if the Republican House didn't submit to his tax-hiking, big-spending demands. But his hysterical claims that our food would be unsafe, America's defenses would crumble and the elderly would lose their benefits have proven to be groundless. A headline in Thursday's Washington... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013140/posts#comment Sat, 27 Apr 2013 17:40:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013062/posts That was fast. After barely a work week of hours-long airport delays and missed international connections, both parties have slunk away from the $85 billion in across-the-board cuts that were lopping $637 million from the Federal Aviation Administration’s budget. But wonks shouldn’t forget the FAA cuts too quickly. President Obama has unwittingly made the best case for privatizing the nation’s aviation-control system since controllers went on strike 32 years ago. Air passengers were outraged this week — but they should have been doubly outraged. Unlike, say, Medicare, the FAA is supposed to be fully funded by the users of its... National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3013062/posts#comment Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:19:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012758/posts On a slow news day, this qualifies as breaking news. Democrats and Republicans have come together in rare bipartisan fashion to slap down the FAA’s sequester antics by increasing the spending flexibility of the agency to deal with a 4% reduction of a budget that’s gone up almost 10% over the last six years: In rare bipartisan accord, normally quarrelsome U.S. lawmakers passed a measure designed to end budget-related air traffic controller furloughs blamed for widespread flight delays.The House of Representatives approved the legislation, capping a major congressional initiative as delays snarled traffic at airports. The House vote comes a... Hotair http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012758/posts#comment Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:14:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012748/posts The Obama administration's second installment of sequester scare tactics is working about as well as its first go 'round. Run away: The White House has endorsed a plan to eliminate FAA spending cuts that have cause air travel delays across the country. The agency has been forced to furlough air traffic controllers as part of the automatic budget cuts that kicked in this spring. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants to end the cuts by claiming savings from the draw down of war spending in Iraq and Afghanistan. Republicans reject his proposal calling it an accounting gimmick. Of course it's... Towen Hall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012748/posts#comment Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:56:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012687/posts In congressional testimony on Wednesday, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Michel Huerta cited his agency’s Next Generation Air Transportation System — NextGen for short — as an example of the critical “investments” the federal government is making and must continue to make in air-traffic-control infrastructure, even as controllers are being furloughed, causing widespread delays and disruption at the nation’s airports. NextGen is an ambitious multiyear, multibillion-dollar project to increase air-traffic efficiency through technological innovation. Representative Hal Rogers (R., Ky.) asked Huerta whether, “in light of the current situation,” funding for NextGen projects should “have priority over the operation of commercial... National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012687/posts#comment Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:41:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012253/posts As travellers nationwide are learning, the White House has decided to express its dislike of the sequester—otherwise known as modestly smaller government—by choosing to cut basic air traffic control services. We wrote about this human- rights violation on Tuesday in "Flight Delays as Political Strategy," but the story gets worse the closer we look. Start with the Federal Aviation Administration, better known as the Postal Service without the modern technology. Flyers directly fund two-thirds of the FAA's budget through 17 airline taxes and fees—about 20% of the cost of a $300 domestic ticket, up from 7% in the 1970s. Yet... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012253/posts#comment Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:45:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012173/posts This week, the Obama administration furloughed 14,500 air traffic controllers -- staffers will lose two days of work per month -- ostensibly to comply with the 2011 Budget Control Act's $85 billion in sequester cuts this year. The Federal Aviation Administration's share is $637 million. So expect delays at the airport. That's the idea, but it didn't have to be. The Obama administration has chosen to hold airline travel hostage in its never-ending effort to extort further tax increases from the GOP. The administration argues that its hands are tied. By law, the FAA must cut spending across the... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012173/posts#comment Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:52:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012007/posts WASHINGTON, D.C. - Mike Perrone, national president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS), which represents over 11,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, including systems specialists and aviation safety inspectors, released the following statement regarding the continued furloughing of FAA employees: "The furloughing of FAA employees is having an impact on the aviation system and the flying public is noticing. Systems specialists, aviation safety inspectors, aeronautical specialists, examiners and thousands of other FAA employees work behind the scenes to ensure that planes take off and land on time, equipment is restored, and planes are safe to fly. These employees... Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012007/posts#comment Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:26:47 GMT