Monday March 16, 2015

// March 16th, 2015 // Daily News

GOP to offer budget blueprint, with Medicare, food stamp cuts

Republicans now in charge of Congress offer their budget blueprint this week with the pledge to balance the nation’s budget within a decade and rein in major programs such as food stamps and Medicare.
More pressing for many Republicans, however, is easing automatic budget cuts set to slam the military.
The chairmen of the House and Senate Budget panels plan to release their budget plans this week—the House on Tuesday and the Senate on Wednesday. The nonbinding measure called a budget resolution sets broad parameters on taxes and spending; it requires follow-up legislation later this year to implement its balanced-budget goals, and Republicans are unlikely to take on that task as long as President Barack Obama occupies the Oval Office.
House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price, R-Ga., and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., plan to produce blueprints that would balance the budget within 10 years—without raising taxes.
Instead, they will propose major spending cuts to programs such as Medicare, health care subsidies, food stamps and the Medicaid program for the poor and elderly to produce a budget that’s balanced. Such cuts, if actually implemented later, would likely slash spending by $5 trillion or so over the coming decade from budgets that are presently on track to spend almost $50 trillion over that timeframe.
To the dismay of defense hawks, however, they can’t really use Congress’ arcane budget process to repeal automatic Pentagon cuts that will strip $54 billion from core Pentagon programs based on limits set under a hard-fought 2011 budget deal. Nor can they match Obama’s proposal to add $38 billion to the Pentagon’s budget next year without exposing the entire budget to a parliamentary challenge by Democrats.
That has deficit and defense hawks like Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., fuming.
“If we’re going to have a lower (defense) number than the president of the United States is proposing, we have no credibility on saying that we are committed to defending this nation – not when every service chief, every witness before our committee says it will devastate … our ability to defend the nation,” McCain said. “You can’t do that and claim that you care about national defense.”
In the House, 70 Republicans have signed a letter by Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, pledging their “unwavering support” for Obama’s $561 billion defense request instead of the $523 billion amount mandated under the 2011 budget deal. That law requires automatic spending cuts for years because of the failure of Congress to produce follow-up deficit cuts.

Today’s Inspiration

Focus on God’s Promises

by Joyce Meyer – posted March 16, 2015

For I the Lord your God hold your right hand; I am the Lord, Who says to you, Fear not; I will help you!
—Isaiah 41:13

The Lord says to you this morning the same thing He told Jacob in a dream: “I am with you and will keep (watch over you with care, take notice of) you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done all of which I have told you.” (Genesis 28:15). Keep your mind on this promise in spite of any news you may hear that tempts you to be afraid today.

God promises to be with you, watch over you with care, take notice of you wherever you may go, and bring you back again. He says He will not leave you, and He will complete all the promises He has made to you. This means that no weapon formed against you will prosper (See Isaiah 54:17).

Comments are closed.