Looks like the President pulled a fast one on Speaker Boehner…
And good for him!
Actual budget cuts were “only” $14.7 billion, as opposed to the GOP’s bragging about almost $40 Billion.
I haven’t had time to dig into today’s speech yet, but I’m hoping he’s on his way to taking control of the debate and protecting the middle class, seniors and other from the hatchet wielding GOP.
It should be a piece of cake. President Obama is a very smart man. Boehner is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Paul Ryan is delusional. ‘
This could be fun….
Or it could be a disaster.
It all depends on President Obama….
From the National Journal:
The meat of the spending deal struck between the two parties late Friday night was revealed in a legislative omnibus released early Tuesday morning. The specifics show that finding nearly $40 billion in cuts during the 2011 fiscal year required clever accounting and, for the White House, a willingness to concede on rhetoric to find gains on substance.
For example, the final cuts in the deal are advertised as $38.5 billion less than was appropriated in 2010, but after removing rescissions, cuts to reserve funds, and reductions in mandatory spending programs, discretionary spending will be reduced only by $14.7 billion.
White House officials said throughout the process that the composition of the cuts was more important than the top-line number, and that including mandatory cuts allowed that top line to grow while limiting the immediate impact of the cuts.
The move also keeps the 2011 discretionary baseline slightly higher, a terrain advantage for the Democrats heading into the 2012 spending process.
via NationalJournal.com – Budget Cutting Ain’t Easy – Wednesday, April 13, 2011.
Lost in the 21st Century 