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Obama Meets With Boehner for Budget Talks

   Cindy Saine | Capitol Hill  April 05, 2011
   House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaks during a news conference on
   Capitol Hill in Washington, to discuss GOP efforts to create jobs and
   cut spending, April 1, 2011

Photo: AP

   House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaks during a news conference on
   Capitol Hill in Washington, to discuss GOP efforts to create jobs and
   cut spending, April 1, 2011

   House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said he did not reach an
   agreement about the federal budget with President Barack Obama in
   private talks at the White House. There are only four days left until
   the current temporary resolution to fund the U.S. government expires,
   and if no spending bill is agreed to by Congress, there will be a
   partial government shutdown that will affect services for millions of
   Americans.
   Lawmakers have debated 2011 fiscal year government-spending levels for
   months, with Republicans demanding large cuts in domestic discretionary
   spending, including some social programs for the poor, heating oil
   subsidies, and cuts in grants to college students from low-income
   families.
   After the White House meeting, House of Representatives Speaker John
   Boehner's office released a statement saying there was good discussion,
   but no agreement was reached. House Republicans are now proposing a
   stopgap bill that would keep the government running for one more week
   and cut another $12 billion in spending, but the White House has shown
   no interest in that approach.
   The Republican-controlled House has passed a budget with $60 billion in
   cuts, but it failed to pass in the Democrat-controlled Senate. A number
   of fiscal-conservative Tea Party Republicans are rejecting any
   compromise on spending cuts, putting Boehner in a difficult position as
   he negotiated spending cuts with the president.
   The president, Boehner and two other congressional leaders reportedly
   discussed domestic spending cuts in the range of $30 billion, close to
   the amount Boehner had originally requested.
   A partial government shutdown would mean that millions of government
   employees deemed non-essential would not report to work on Monday and
   would not get paid until the budget showdown is resolved. National
   security would not be affected, but national parks would close and visa
   and passport services likely would be suspended.
   Most Democratic lawmakers and many advocates for working families say
   Republicans are seeking to cut the national debt on the backs on the
   poorest and most disadvantaged in society, including children and the
   elderly.
   One of them is Children's Defense Fund President Marian Wright Edelman.
   "They are taking food out of the mouths of weak babies and weak
   mothers. I mean, what kind of country that is the richest in the world
   would take food literally out of the mouths of babies while giving tax
   cuts to billionaires and millionaires."
   Republicans argue government spending is out of control, and point out
   that House Democrats failed to pass a budget for 2011 last year when
   they still had majority control of the House. Lawmakers have spent so
   much time arguing over the current fiscal budget, that it is now
   colliding with efforts to begin debate on the 2012 fiscal budget.
   House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin,
   introduced his party's 2012 budget proposal Tuesday, which includes
   much more drastic cuts in government spending and a fundamental
   overhaul of the popular government health-care programs for the poor
   and for the elderly, Medicaid and Medicare.
   Ryan said he believes reducing the national debt is a moral imperative.
   "For starters, we propose to cut $6.2 trillion in spending over the
   next 10 years from the president's budget. We reduce the debt as a
   percent of the economy, we put the nation on the path to actually pay
   off our national debt. Our goal here, is to leave our children and our
   grandchildren with a debt-free nation."
   Senate Democrats are likely to reject Ryan's proposal outright, but it
   will help to frame the long-term debate on tackling the largest parts
   of the federal budget, Medicare, Medicaid, social security and defense
   spending.

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