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US Congress Set to Decide 2011 Federal Budget

   Lisa Ferdinando | Capitol Hill  April 14, 2011
   House Speaker John Boehner (file photo)

Photo: AP

   House Speaker John Boehner (file photo)

   Congress is voting on a spending bill to fund the U.S. government
   through September. The last-minute agreement was reached nearly a week
   ago after intense negotiations between the White House and Congress,
   slashing $38.5 billion in spending and averting a government shutdown.
   Marking 100 days in the majority, Republicans in the House of
   Representatives say they have changed the debate and tone in
   Washington, increasing the focus on slashing federal spending.
   House Speaker John Boehner applauded the agreement on the 2011 budget
   that averted a government shutdown. He said the bill is not perfect,
   but is a good start in the long process of reducing federal spending.
   "We are cutting $38.5 billion of money that has already been authorized
   and appropriated. And anybody that does not believe this money would
   not be spent if we do not act is kidding themselves because this is
   real money and these are real cuts," he said.
   He said the cuts are the largest package of non-defense reductions in
   history, and said the Senate Budget Committee expects that over 10
   years it would save $315 billion. He said he believed the measure would
   clear with a bipartisan majority.
   The bill is a compromise - Republicans had sought broader cuts, while
   Democrats had sought less.
   Democrats accuse Republicans of seeking to slash money for important
   programs for senior citizens and middle- and lower-income Americans,
   while seeking policies that would benefit wealthy Americans.
   House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she and her Democratic
   colleagues were kept out of the negotiations on the 2011 spending bill,
   and they are still examining it. She did not indicate how she would
   vote.
   "It was evident that the Republicans in the House, the Democrats in the
   Senate were the two majorities. They were the ones who had the votes,
   so they had the strength to negotiate and the president presided over
   that. I feel no ownership of that or any responsibility to it, except
   that we do not want to shut down government," she said.
   The debate on federal spending is dominating Washington. President
   Barack Obama on Wednesday outlined his strategy to cut $4 trillion from
   the budget deficit over 12 years. He called for shared sacrifice and
   said the country cannot afford to maintain the Bush-era tax cuts for
   the wealthiest Americans.
   On Friday, House lawmakers are expected to vote on a
   Republican-sponsored budget plan for 2012 that the majority party says
   makes smart cuts that will stimulate the economy, while saving nearly
   bankrupt social programs.
   But Democrats are opposed to the measure, saying the plan from House
   Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan threatens seniors and low-income
   Americans by cutting programs.

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