Obama: Budget Agreement ‘Good News For The American People’
In this weekend’s YouTube address, President Obama promoted last night’s budget agreement, which averted a government shutdown.
“This is an agreement to invest in our country’s future while making the largest annual spending cut in our history. Like any compromise, this required everyone to give ground on issues that were important to them. I certainly did,” said Obama.
“Some of the cuts we agreed to will be painful – programs people rely on will be cut back; needed infrastructure projects will be delayed. And I would not have made these cuts in better circumstances. But we also prevented this important debate from being overtaken by politics and unrelated disagreements on social issues. And beginning to live within our means is the only way to protect the investments that will help America compete for new jobs – investments in our kids’ education and student loans; in clean energy and life-saving medical research.
“Reducing spending while still investing in the future is just common sense. That’s what families do in tough times. They sacrifice where they can, even if it’s hard, to afford what’s really important.”
Ryan: ‘We Are Heading Toward A Debt-Fueled Economic Crisis’
In this weekend’s Republican address, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) promoted his budget proposals to reduce spending on entitlement programs, saying that spending on retirement and health care is getting out of control.
“Each day that Congress fails to act, the government takes one step closer to breaking its promises to current retirees. Each year that policymakers kick this can down the road means trillions of dollars in empty promises are being made to future generations,” said Ryan. “If we stay on the current path, we are heading toward a debt-fueled economic crisis – meaning massive tax increases, sudden cuts to vital programs, runaway inflation, or all three.
“Make no mistake: The prospect of a crisis is casting a shadow on economic activity in this country. Uncertainty is keeping job creators from hiring as fast as they should be. Businesses know that all this borrowing and spending today means higher taxes and lower incomes for their customers down the road.”
Budget Fight Shows Washington Still Broken
The Washington Post reports: “As the midnight Friday deadline loomed for a possible government shutdown, and politicians continued their rhetorical war of words, a larger message went out to the rest of the country: Washington is still broken. The deal announced less than 90 minutes before the deadline may produce a sense of relief that the government will remain open. But given the tortured negotiations and the claims and counterclaims that were traded all day, the public is likely to find fault with both political parties. Public sentiment has been clear for weeks. Overall, the country prefers compromise to confrontation, stalemate and shutdown, according to the polls.”
Budget Deal Doesn’t Thrill Some In The Tea Party Movement
CNN reports: “Some leading national Tea Party organizations are anything but happy with Friday night’s deal on the budget that prevented a federal government shutdown. A spokesman for the Tea Party Express tells CNN the group isn’t ‘very impressed’ with the budget deal and say the agreement proves the Tea Party has a lot more work to do to make deeper cuts in the federal budget.”
Late Clash On Abortion Shows Conservatives’ Sway
The New York Times reports: “The emergence of abortion as the last and most contentious of the issues that held up the budget deal reached Friday night highlighted the enduring influence of social conservatives within the Republican Party even at a time when the Tea Party movement’s focus on fiscal austerity is getting most of the attention. The main abortion-related provisions sought by Republicans were stripped out, apparently in return for deeper cuts in federal spending. But the intense push by abortion opponents, including Representatives Christopher H. Smith of New Jersey, Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania and Mike Pence of Indiana, sent a signal that Republicans intend to keep social issues on the front burner as Congress moves on to a further series of battles.”
Abortion Opponents Use Health Law To Put Restrictions In Private Insurance
The New York Times reports: “As more states begin setting up health care exchanges for individuals to buy insurance under the new health care law, abortion opponents are using the opportunity to try to restrict abortion coverage in private insurance plans…Now the coverage is getting increased scrutiny as states start to build their own systems under the new law, and a growing number of states are passing bans. On Wednesday, Virginia became the eighth state to pass a ban on abortion coverage for any private plan that would take part in an exchange, joining Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.”
