Walker: Public Employee Benefits ‘LIke A Virus That Eats Up More And More of The Budget’
Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) appeared on Fox News Sunday, advocating his budget package — which in addition to requiring greater contributions from public employees to their benefits packages, would also strip public employees of most collective bargaining rights. “If we’re going to be in this together, (cut) our $3.6 billion budget deficit, it’s going to take a whole lot more than just employee contributions when it comes to pensions and health care,” Walker said. “But it’s got to be a piece of the puzzle because as I saw at the local level, it’s like a virus that eats up more and more of the budget if you don’t get it under control.”
Schumer: ‘There Are Lots Of People On The Hard Right Clamoring For A Shutdown’
Appearing on State of the Union, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) accused Republicans of not wanting to avoid a government shutdown. “Here’s the bottom line: we have said shutdown is off the table,” Schumer said. “Speaker (John) Boehner, (Senate Minority Leader) Mitch McConnell, other Republican leaders have not taken it off the table when asked and there are lots of people on the hard right clamoring for a shutdown.”
Lugar: ‘We Must Have Reductions That Are Very, Very Substantial’
Appearing on State of the Union, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) warned of the “imminence of a government shutdown,” and called for President Obama and the Congressional leadership to work out a solution for spending cuts. “This is a time for presidential leadership because it is crucial … (that) we do not have a government shutdown,” said Lugar. “But we must have reductions that are very, very substantial and the Senate must have an opportunity to act upon them as well as the House.”
Graham: ‘Only Way We’ll Shut The Government Down’ Is If Dems Keep Government ‘Large And Unsustainable’
Appearing on Meet The Press, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said: “The only way we’ll shut the government down is if our Democratic colleagues insist on keeping the federal government large and unsustainable. From 2008 to 2010 the federal government in non-defense discretionary spending grew about 24 percent. Very few people in America had that increase in their budgets. And if you count the stimulus, over 80 percent increase in spending. What I hope to happen is that we’ll find a way to resolve this by reducing spending in a bipartisan fashion. The House members did exactly what they campaigned on. The Democratic House was fired because they spent too much. There will probably be a temporary CR, but it should have some spending cuts as a down payment on controlling the size of our federal government.”
Van Hollen: GOP Budget Would Cost 800,000 Jobs
Appearing on Face The Nation, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) opposed the House Republicans’ budget proposal, warning that its deeper spending cuts would cost jobs. “The bipartisan commission on fiscal responsibility specifically warned against deep, immediate cuts in the year 2011. Why? Because it would hurt a fragile economy and put people out of work,” said Van Hollen. “In fact, there are estimates that about 800,000 Americans would lose their jobs if you do this in a reckless manner.”
Hillary Clinton: We Do Not Want Violence In Bahrain — But ‘We Cannot Dictate The Outcomes’
Appearing on This Week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke about the situation in Bahrain: “You know, Christiane, we’ve been very clear from the beginning that we do not want to see any violence. We deplore it. We think it is absolutely unacceptable. We very much want to see the human rights of the people protected, including right to assemble, right to express themselves, and we want to see reform.” However, she also added: “We — we try to hold everyone to a similar standard, but we cannot dictate the outcomes. We cannot tell countries what they’re going to do. We had, you know, no control over what happened in Egypt.”
Susan Rice: ‘We Are Not Pushing People Out, Or Dictating That They Stay’
Appearing on Meet The Press, Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice was asked why the administration has not called for changes for changes of leadership in Bahrain, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, as it did with Egypt. “David, David, look, each of these countries is different. Each of these circumstances will be decided by the people of those countries. We are not pushing people out or, or dictating that they stay,” said Rice. “What we’re doing is saying consistently across the board there are universal, universal human rights that need to be respected. There are aspirations and, and demands for reform that are, are legitimate and need to be addressed very urgently.”
Rumsfeld: Obama Apologizes For America — I Am Proud Of America
Appearing on State of the Union, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld harshly criticized President Obama: “I think he has made a practice of trying to apologize for America. I personally am proud of America.”
