House Republicans Plan To Cut $32 Billion From Budget

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans announced Thursday that they plan to cut $74 billion from President Barack Obama's budget for fiscal 2011, slashing the domestic discretionary budget by $58 billion and cutting $16 billion from security spending for the rest of the year.

House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who announced the figures, did not specify which of the hundreds of government programs would see cuts, but promised they would not be the last in GOP leadership's effort to shrink government spending to 2008 levels.

The Republican proposal would only cut $32 billion from current spending levels for this fiscal year, however -- far lower than the $100 billion promised in the party's "Pledge to America."

Ryan balked at news coverage noting the discrepancy, tweeting, "Associated Press is wrong. House GOP plan would cut $74 billion from the Budget... and we're just getting started."

The proposal would decrease domestic spending by $43 billion from last year's budget. But it also allows for increases, including an $8-billion hike in funding for defense, homeland security and veteran programs over last year's levels.

Ryan said the GOP will continue to make cuts before raising the national debt limit, which Obama requested to prevent the United States from defaulting on its loans. The nation currently has $14 trillion in accumulated debt, and Congress must approve a routine increase on its mandated "debt ceiling" in the spring.

"Endless borrowing is not a strategy," Ryan said in a press release. "House Republicans will continue to build upon this down payment, working to restrain the explosive growth of government and to help restart America's engine of economic growth and job creation."

A bipartisan fiscal commission created by the president cautioned against immediate spending cuts, stating that "budget cuts should start gradually so they don't interfere with the ongoing economic recovery."

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), ranking member on the House Budget Committee, said a sharp reduction in spending would undo economic progress that he said has begun under Democratic policies. Senate Democrats estimated that reducing spending to 2008 levels would lead to 1 million lost jobs.

"The Republican spending cuts would undo the progress we are starting to see," Van Hollen said in a press release. "We must tackle the deficit and put our nation on a path to long-term fiscal sustainability. But it is important to be fiscally responsible in a way that doesn't cost us jobs."

Despite proclaiming a hard-line stance on the budget, Republicans have proposed a number of measures that would increase the deficit, adopting budgeting rules allowing them to pass tax cuts that would increase the deficit.

The House GOP voted in January to repeal 2010's sweeping health care law, even though repeal would add $230 billion to the deficit over the next decade, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. The Senate voted down an amendment to repeal the law on Wednesday.

Ryan will allow the Appropriations Committee to determine where to make cuts based on his budget plan before holding a vote on specific cuts later this month. The measure will be attached to a continuing resolution to fund the government until the end of September, the end of the 2011 fiscal year.

Comments

[gr2]

03:05 PM on 02/08/2011

Bush and Pres. Obama both used the same tactics, spending and tax cuts.
While it is true that the Pres. spending and tax breaks have spurred record profits for the markets and corporations , e.g. Halliburton (gained 83 percent jump in quarterly profit, sending its shares up nearly 5 percent in Jul 2010).
While those numbers prove the "Bush/Obama tax cuts" are working, it also gives some insight into where our tax dollars are being funneled. "Big business" has a stealth ally in the WH.
Without any significant decrease in unemployment, and a housing market still in shambles, we should reconsider the issue of spending cuts.

If we shift the last remaining US dollars to the those who haven't been successful, then we will become more reliant on our creditors.
Or do we distribute money to successful, wealthy business Leaders that already supply hundreds of millions of jobs worldwide . The Pres. is demanding that they spend their reserves, what happens when the world economy goes down further? Corporations eliminating their safety nets for the Presidents political expedience seems foolish.
If our "needy" go deeper into disparity it is a painful reality. If our business fail and our debt continues unchecked, it will be what Pres. Obama has referred to as a "debt inspired double-dip recession", a calamity worse than the first.

[linc]

11:56 PM on 02/06/2011

Republican Math: 1 trillion - 100 billion= balanced budget.

[gr2]

03:18 PM on 02/08/2011

It is what the holders of US debt are demanding.

[gr2]

04:45 PM on 02/06/2011

We haven't even made it though the worst recovery in history, as this second crisis, the debt crises is about to overlap.

Pres. Obama has already stated "we are headed for a debt inspired double-dip-recession".

While the markets and corporations would love to see more Gov spending, the spending has not begun to solve the housing or employment catastrophe.

China who has benefited greatly from our spending, "green energy", the stimulus, and low rate easy money polices. Even so they are warning us to get our spending under control.
This should be alarming. This is an emergency, not about what to cut, but how fast can we make enough cuts to save the dollar and our world standing.

[poonchkie]

06:20 PM on 02/06/2011

The new congress has no plans to cut corporate welfare, in fact they will increase the handouts to them. No one has even suggested that we end these bloodsucking wars. And as far as the "debt crises" is concerned, when bush/cheney launched into two wars there was no money to pay for them. They began looting the treasury in earnest when they had the house/senate and POTUS with the biggest payout on their way out the door.

[gr2]

03:07 PM on 02/08/2011

Restricting businesses that provide hundreds of million of JOBS worldwide it not the solution!

[Patriot429]

11:12 AM on 02/06/2011

Do these tea party followers even remotely understand that cutting spending on this scale "recesses" the economy? Hence a "recession" results and as percarious as our economic recovery is this could result in the 2nd republican caused Great Depression! I honestly believe that gaining political power is a higher priority for the republican party than the well being of our nation!

[gr2]

04:47 PM on 02/06/2011

Pres. Obama said "we are headed for a debt inspired double-dip-recession"

[poonchkie]

06:00 PM on 02/06/2011

Don't even try. The best you will get is Fox/saudi propaganda and simplistic views. And as far as China is concerned, they own us lock stock and barrel. I challenge you to find anything in your home made anywhere else other than China. I don't think they even understand that this is not a crisis created in the last two years, but a process that has been accelerated over the last 10 but certainly begun under Reagan and continued under subsequent presidents culminating in the repug looting the treasury and the American people under bush.

[gr2]

03:14 PM on 02/08/2011

Not to mention Pres. Obama's continued support for NAFTA .
As Senator he vetoed for the Bush "energy policy, hence, more ethanol subsidies and higher food prices. China is so angry with our mismanagement they have called for the replacement of the US dollar as a world standard.

[pbnyc59]

09:11 AM on 02/06/2011

So Ryan is learning there is more to governing than sound bites and looking pretty.

[Olethea]

08:56 AM on 02/06/2011

Is it me, or is this another Republican underpants gnome scheme?

Step one: Collect underpants
Setp two: ???
Step three: Profit!

I mean, talking points are fun and all, but you need an actual plan or idea.

[Herkybird]

02:40 AM on 02/06/2011

Mr Ryan, mebbe you wondered what it was so easy to get elected in a predominately Democratic state. Now you know why. YOU HAVE BEEN PUNKED by the GOP!

[Bude]

11:57 PM on 02/05/2011

Oh, that's why they call him shorty.

[jdl51]

11:39 PM on 02/05/2011

Despite one of the biggest tax cuts in history and borrowing $6 trillion in eight years, the Bush administration had the worst job creation of any administration in decades. The only beneficiary of all this largesse was the wealthy. The middle and lower classes either stagnated or lost ground. Now the new republican congress, after whining and complaining for months about the massive amount of waste in government and the deficit, can only find spending cuts amounting to around $4 billion a month and has extended the tax cuts for the wealthy. To pay down our debt and begin to eliminate our deficit spending, there will have to be tax increases for the wealthy and huge cuts in corporate welfare, both of which the republicans are against, even though it's the only way to restore some semblance of fiscal sanity to our budget.

[poonchkie]

06:09 PM on 02/06/2011

The irony is they always say what they're going to do and what their priorities are, mainly the rich. The looting will continue now that they are in power yet again. They said when Obama was elected that they would do everything in their power to ensure he failed. The fact that it would adversely affect the American people was irrelevent. Just as the American people are irrelevent. If you replace their continuous phrase "American people" with "Our corporate owners" then their actions would make sense. They screamed and lambasted the POTUS for not focusing enough on "jobs" yet their first act in power was to insure their rich donors wouldn't have to pay an additional 3% in income taxes. Instead of focusing on "jobs", they are wasting time and money trying to claw back the HCR, block any regulations to protect American consumers, eliminate the EPA and get rid of even the weak regulations we have to protect the environment.

[gr2]

03:32 PM on 02/08/2011

The expansion and stability of Corporations that supply hundreds of millions of Jobs worldwide are a "priority".
Every Gov. in every country and all their citizens overspent for 10+ years (including the USA).
Now the world is paying the price!

[redhead55]

10:46 PM on 02/05/2011

Have a feeling he comes up 'short' in more ways than one.

[Jon Whittaker]

04:00 AM on 02/06/2011

What, you mean like... he has a small penis?

[DeeAnna Roberts]

10:15 PM on 02/05/2011

In other words....that rising star turned out to be nothing more than a passing comet. Let's all make a wish.

[pakaal]

10:02 PM on 02/05/2011

"$8-billion hike in funding for defense, homeland security and veteran programs over last year's levels."

Better yet, fund only the last of the three. We do not need to spend another penny on Defense, enough already!

[innerpuppie]

08:44 PM on 02/05/2011

Republicans don't care whose money they spend as long as it isn't theirs and as long as they don't suffer.

[gr2]

04:56 PM on 02/06/2011

We are spending China's, Japan's...etc...Money. And they are warning the USA to get spending under control!
We haven't even got past the worst recovery in history and a new debt crises is about to overlap. You can argue that the Markets, CEOs and banks have made record profits the last two years,although that is true; we need stability in the housing markets and a significant amount of new jobs.

[Sweetbay]

07:32 PM on 02/05/2011

"Despite proclaiming a hard-line stance on the budget, Republicans have proposed a number of measures that would increase the deficit, adopting budgeting rules allowing them to pass tax cuts that would increase the deficit.

The House GOP voted in January to repeal 2010's sweeping health care law, even though repeal would add $230 billion to the deficit over the next decade..."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey.   Ignore those increases.  We said we cut and you should repeat after us.


If republicans knew how to budget and manage money, then we wouldn't be in this mess.  Every GOP president took us more and more into debt and for thirty years the American worker got less and less of the pie to show for it.

[gr2]

05:24 PM on 02/06/2011

Unfortunately thats only part of the picture. States across the country are forced to cut education budgets to pay for the new HC requirements. Ironically many are also cutting work forces including health care professionals!

[Sweetbay]

05:49 PM on 02/06/2011

No, they are not.  States are cutting everywhere, but not because of the health care law.  The states were already on notice before the law even passed that after the stimulus ran out they were going to have to make cuts.

Geesh.  Have some historical perspective of at least current events.