spending cuts

18 Stories

FBI to Hang 'We're Closed' Sign 10 Days a Year

Thank the budget sequester

(Newser) - If you've got a federal crime to commit, the FBI will soon have a few dates to recommend.* In the latest fallout from the budget sequester , the FBI has decided to close its headquarters and all of its offices on 10 weekdays over the next year, sources tell...

Ryan's New Budget Axes ObamaCare, $5T in Spending

Would balance over 10 years

(Newser) - Paul Ryan is unveiling his latest budget proposal, and this time, he says, it'll balance in 10 years—half the time he claimed for his previous budget, NPR notes, because he's including new revenue from the fiscal cliff deal. As promised, the new plan calls for repealing ObamaCare,...

Sequester Cuts Look Certain as Senate Bills Fail

Last-minute measures had little chance of success

(Newser) - In case you were expecting a sequester miracle: Two separate measures to stem the crisis before tomorrow's deadline failed in the Senate today, as expected . One was from Democrats and the other from Republicans, but both were doomed even before the votes. They were placed in consideration as a...

GOP Far From Scared of Sequester

House GOP refuses to budge on taxes, feels politically impervious

(Newser) - If President Obama's attempts to pressure Republicans into a sequester deal are having any effect, the GOP is doing a good job of hiding it. The battle lines remain exactly where they started—President Obama won't accept a plan without revenue hikes, and Republicans won't accept revenue...

Stop Overhyping the Sequester
 Stop Overhyping 
 the Sequester 
OPINION
Feb 20, 2013 11:50 AM CST

Stop Overhyping the Sequester

These spending cuts will not bring about Armageddon: Matt Miller

(Newser) - Enough with the sequester hype, pleads Matt Miller in the Washington Post . We're less than two weeks away from across-the-board spending cuts unless a last-minute deal emerges, and to hear President Obama and others tell it, everyone should head to their underground bunkers now. "Criminals would run free,...

Obama: We Can't Afford 'Reckless' Sequester

President slams Congress, and Republicans in particular

(Newser) - President Obama took the stage at a White House event this morning, backed by a crowd of uniformed first responders, to warn against an upcoming round of " automatic brutal spending cuts " that he warned would cost America jobs, harming everything from border patrol to military readiness, education, and...

Simpson, Bowles Back With Sequel to Deficit Plan

They want to slash another $2.4T, far exceeding Obama's goals

(Newser) - If you liked the first Simpson-Bowles plan, good news! Washington's favorite bipartisan hypothetical budget slashers have come up with a sequel of sorts, proposing $2.4 trillion in new (and probably politically impossible) deficit cuts over the next decade, Politico reports. How would they get there?
  • They'd slash
...

Paul, Tea Party Slam 'Robin Hood'
 Paul, Tea Party 
 Slam 'Robin Hood' 
state of the union
Feb 13, 2013 3:29 AM CST

Paul, Tea Party Slam 'Robin Hood'

Senator urges cuts in State of the Union response

(Newser) - Rand Paul called for more "Adam Smith" and less "Robin Hood" as he gave the Tea Party's response to President Obama's State of the Union. "Government is the problem," the Kentucky senator said, calling for drastic spending cuts. Sequestration's automatic cuts aren't...

Obama Calls for Brief Sequester Dodge

Will seek budget cuts in address this afternoon

(Newser) - President Obama wants to put off the dreaded sequester just a little while longer. In an address this afternoon, Obama called for a handful of small budget cuts to justify pushing the automatic spending cuts back again, this time until after Congress has crafted a new federal budget, the Washington ...

What Sequester Is, and Why It Is Stupid
What Sequester Is,
and Why It Is Stupid
OPINION
Jan 31, 2013 11:33 AM CST

What Sequester Is, and Why It Is Stupid

Matthew Yglesias breaks down the looming spending cuts

(Newser) - Hey, politics watchers: Are you ready for another utterly avoidable budget crisis with the potential to arbitrarily wreck the economy? Well, good news! The "sequester"—a trillion dollars in spending cuts that no one actually wants—is barreling towards us, and apparently no one intends to stop it...

Congress: We're Not Avoiding Cliff Cuts

Democrats considering putting them off again, but many skeptical deal will emerge

(Newser) - Washington is bracing itself for a sweeping, painful set of across-the-board spending cuts, because lawmakers doubt they'll be able to come up with a deal to avert them, the Washington Post reports. While proposals are in the works to avert what's known as sequester, party leaders don't...

Majority of House GOP Totally Cool With Defaulting

Even more are OK with government shutdown: sources

(Newser) - More than half of House Republicans are OK with a government default if President Obama won't accept their budget-cut demands, party officials tell Politico . Even more GOP lawmakers are willing to allow a government shutdown come March 27. Taking the shutdown route would help ensure "President Obama understands...

We Want a Deal, But No Sacrifices
 We Want a 
 Deal, But No 
 Sacrifices 
NEW POLL
Dec 18, 2012 10:52 AM CST

We Want a Deal, But No Sacrifices

Obama approval near 2-year high

(Newser) - Most Americans are hoping for a deal to avert the fiscal cliff, but it seems that nobody really wants to endure the cuts that both sides say are needed, a Washington Post/ABC poll finds. Some 74% of Americans say they'd be OK with raising taxes on those earning more...

Greek Parliament OKs Austerity Budget

But Europe still hasn't settled on aid package

(Newser) - Following the tight passage of an austerity package last week, Greece's parliament has approved a 2013 austerity budget. The budget, part of a plan to receive further foreign financing, passed by a margin of 167 to 128, the New York Times reports. It cuts salaries, pensions, and benefits by...

Austerity Ekes Out Victory in Greece

Eurozone decision follows huge protests

(Newser) - In a 153 to 128 vote, Greek's three-party coalition government barely passed some $22 billion worth of new austerity measures in an effort to remain in the eurozone. Eighteen MPs voted "present" on the plan, with another abstaining. The vote on the measures, which include pension cuts and...

Looming Challenge: 'Avert the Cliff'

But is anyone willing to compromise?

(Newser) - Election 2012, check. Next up: the "fiscal cliff." We're fewer than 60 days away from what could be one of the largest tax hikes in US history—as the clock ticks down, will anyone in Washington be willing to compromise? As the Washington Post explains, Democrats may...

Obama Needs to Talk About Snuffleupagus
 Obama Needs to Talk  
 About Snuffleupagus 
Dana Milbank
Oct 10, 2012 1:56 PM CDT

Obama Needs to Talk About Snuffleupagus

Dana Milbank: Focus on the imaginary parts of Romney's plans

(Newser) - Barack Obama is focusing on the wrong Muppet. His campaign's new Big Bird attack ad may have garnered lots of attention, but "Big Bird is not the problem," writes Dana Milbank of the Washington Post . "The problem is Snuffleupagus." Snuffy, if you don't recall,...

Don't Fear the Looming Pentagon Cuts

...because it's the domestic cuts that will really hit home

(Newser) - Much ink has been given to the Pentagon cuts set to hit on Jan. 2, thanks to the failure of last year's deficit supercommittee. But with less than five months til D-Day, the AP takes the opportunity to dish out a cheery recommendation: Don't fear those $55 billion...

18 Stories