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The nation’s capital was enveloped in a familiar kind of gridlock late Monday, as Republicans again demanded that President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats act first to put off $85 billion in automatic cuts slated to take effect on Friday.
“The president says we have to have another tax increase to avoid the sequester,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said of the hefty and indiscriminate spending cuts. “Well, Mr. President, you got your tax increase. It's time to cut spending.”
Related: Obama to govs: Push Congress to avert cuts
As Congress returned to work following a weeklong recess, the Obama administration and lawmakers appeared no closer to resolving the automatic spending cuts before their Friday deadline. While both Democrats and Republicans bemoan the cuts as potentially catastrophic for the economy and the national defense, both sides have been locked in a virtual staring match over the sequester.
Republican House members publicly call on President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to come up with a plan to avoid looming automatic spending cuts.
The end result is that the cuts seem likely to take effect, if only for some limited period of time, come Friday. Both sides spent Monday posturing rather than working toward a solution.
For their part, the House GOP is content to rest upon the two bills they had passed in the last Congress meant to offset the $85 billion in spending cuts with a series of additional, alternative cuts. Democrats, led by Obama, had rejected that alternative as “unbalanced” because it did not include some measure of new tax revenue.
But, buoyed by stronger approval ratings than congressional Republicans, the president has also been generally unwilling to budge from his stance that a sequester replacement would have to include new tax revenue – likely through closing loopholes and deductions – in addition to other spending cuts.
“Unfortunately, in just four days Congress is poised to allow a series of arbitrary, automatic budget cuts to kick in that will slow our economy, eliminate good jobs, and leave a lot of folks who are already pretty thinly stretched scrambling to figure out what to do,” Obama told a bipartisan group of governors at the White House this morning.
The president leaned on the governors to pressure their respective states' congressional delegations to support a compromise agreement.
Obama has relied increasingly on these public events to make his arguments to the public, pursuing a sort of "outside" strategy meant to rally pressure on lawmakers to strike deals on a range of issues. For instance, Obama will travel to Newport News, Va., on Tuesday to highlight the negative toll the sequester would take on that region's defense industry.
For their part, Republicans have derided the president as spending more time on campaigning against the GOP than working toward a deal.
"Instead of using our military men and women as campaign props, if the president was serious, he'd sit down with Harry Reid and begin to address our problems," Boehner said Monday, referencing the dire warnings of furloughed workers and potential pay cuts for some employees involved with the nation's defenses.
Boehner and the rest of the House GOP appeared no closer to relenting on their demand that any final compromise originate in the Senate. After a roller-coaster past two years in the House, in which conservative lawmakers often threatened to upset delicate agreements Boehner had struck with Obama, the speaker has adopted a strategy of deferring to the Senate on many top legislative matters.
Before the recess, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the rest of the Democratic leadership unveiled a sequester proposal that would offset the impending cuts with new taxes on corporations and the ultrawealthy, more modest defense cuts and additional cuts in discretionary spending.
"Congress has the power to prevent these self-inflicted wounds," Reid said Monday on the Senate floor. "We have the power to turn off the sequester."
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio responds to President Barack Obama's remarks to the nation's governors earlier today about how to fend off the impending automatic budget cuts, Monday, Feb. 25 on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Amid the pessimism about the prospects for a deal, Boehner half-heartedly told reporters that "hope springs eternal" that an agreement could be reached by Friday.
"The president can sit down with Harry Reid tonight and work with Senate Democrats, who have the majority in the Senate to move a bill. It's time for them to act. I've made this clear for months now, and yet we've seen nothing," he said.
This story was originally published on Mon Feb 25, 2013 4:18 PM EST
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Recent discovery of Repubnuts accounting showed they did not put the two wars of theirs on the books along with Medicare drug program they created (which does not let Medicare even negotiate better prices...kickbacks to repubs from big pharma probably). Repubs cooked the books for 8 years and then caused a Wall Street crash, major recession and bailouts of finance/banks/insurers you ban bet they never wanted to audit and regulate... that ripped off $trillions from the country. Let's get an honest accounting firm to come in and audit the 2001-2008 Bush economies and show the real truth behind our debt, then we can finish off the argument showing repubs have hurt economies since Nixon's second term. Then add up the hundreds of $billions if not $trillions repubs lost from our treasury giving their CEO buddies in oil and big AG industries a bunch of unneeded subsidies. Let's go econ profs, get your bullet proof vests on and tell the truth, we will stop the repubs from shooting you.
only the obozobots are stupid enough to believe this spending cut BS...there are none just a very slight slow down in growth
BigBearcatBill
What's your take on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the housing debacle?
Repubs have tried to bust the Treasury for 30 years, so they can have white man rule forever even when whites will be only 30% of the population. Your masters Limbaugh and Beck are the KKK Grand Dragons that lead you all like tools.
Obama needs to pay for new Obama phones! Of course he needs to raise taxes to give more money away. I say let the damn thing happen. I'm tired of hearing about this stuff every 3 months... only to have a stopgap measure and not a solution.
The LifeLine program was started by the Reagan Administration. Cell phones were added by the GW Bush Administration.
No Federal tax dollars are used to fund the program.
@RE-Elect...I pay a tax on each and every phone bill I pay so that lazy leeches, like yourself, can have those free cell phones........so, while not directly using federal tax dollars, it is absolutely a tax!
Maobama is trying to scare people that it's the end of the world as we know it. In fact HE put this in place. It's one of the few things he's done that I agree with. 2 1/2 percent less INCREASE is not a bad thing. It's past time to cut spending. Obama lies!
Personally i, if it goes to Sequestration, I think that, that will be the final nail in the right wing greed monger republicans coffin!! The amount of jobs lost if sequestration goes into effect will cause chaos among the citizens of this country, you will see a hatred for republicans like you have never seen before!! Hang on to your seatbelts the ride will be wild if it comes to pass.
well a typical brainwashed 0bozobot idiot, see above. there are no cuts, just a very slight slowdown in growth
I'm all for sequestration. You Libs insist on spending money we don't have.
Robert
You have OD'D on the koolaid, out of the gene pool now!! LMAO
Actually Robert, I'm betting that there won't be any major disruptions after the sequester. That's what the administration is REALLY scared of; it will confirm to the people that the government CAN get by on a little less.
Then the cat is out of the bag, and we can get on to the serious task of tackling the deficit for real. About time if you ask me. The longer we wait, the worse it will be for your kids and mine.
on a side note, my friends wife just lost her job at the hospital she works at as a xray technicain. the reason for the layoffs was the increased costs that obamacare caused. why the heck didnt we just have a single payer health care system started with an option?
Where is the budget? Wait till obamacare kicks in full force, the libs will be licking thier wounds and crying the blues.
Leadership leads it doesn't demand. Stick to your guns Republicans as we have got to cut spending.
President Obama is taking a stand against shared sacrifice. And, if you pony up $500,000, he'll tell you all about it four times a year.
Wow, the paid lib bloggers are out in force tonight, how can you tell you ask?, easy Fiesty was first on the blog.
The democrats own sequester and no amount of their BS can change it. Lot of egg on their faces when the world doesn't end Mar.01, 2013. Will we we some small efects begining in June, maybe.
Now on to the next dem manufactured crisis, govt shutdown. Repubs, hold your ground, you are winning the fight.
Govt doesn't shutdown, essential services are still running and will be. Are some of the freebies slowed, yea, and that is a good thing. The poor will just have to spend some of their own cash for a period, I feel so bad for them, NOT.
culheath,
Why not make your own money and give it away? Why do you always operate like a parasite and live off someone else? We have seen your insolence before and we know you. We call you SULIPs (for Stupid Urban Liberal Parasites).
OBARAKUMA is good for nothing as a president, he still behaves like a democrap rather than a real president who should be able negotiate with the elected members of the Congress whether they are republicans or democraps. He behaves likes a democrap King of the nation. So stupid from a president!!!
The elephants at the circus are always very enjoyable, they behave, are impressive and for their size most agile and always put on a great show!
The Elephants in Washington are NOT enjoyable, getting less impressive by the day, NOT VERY agile in working together for the benefit of the country, and the show continually receives worse reviews as time goes by! They STILL believe they WON the election and have a mandate! LOL Oh well, sometimes dreams can be fractured and parties have a DEATH WISH!
I'm happy to see more nails being added to the Republican coffin on a daily basis. Most of the country will not be in mourning in November of 2014!
FORWARD!!
FORWARD!!FOR WARD!!!stinking liberals it has been the GOP and CONSERVATIVES THAT HAS BEEN AGREEING AND THE STINKING LIBERALS JUST WANT TO CONTINUE TO DESTROY THIS COUNTRY WITH OBAME, do you liberal idiots see it is you liberal idiots and obame crushing the middle class,thats right liberal idiots continue to destroy this country as we know it,well to do people and corp. america obame and liberals want america to be kenya or some other third world garbage country so if i were you i would close all of your buisness's so the liberal idiots and obame cant take everything that you worked your butts off to get
dont you know the obozobots think that if we slow down spending by 1 cent...we will become somalia or detroit
Man I hope the GOP will hold their own! Enough of giving in to the LIAR in Chief!!! It all has to STOP!! Spend, Spend, Spend! That's all he knows how to do, besides DIVIDE this great nation! He has managed single handedly to all but start a REVOLUTION! What is it going to take for America to WAKE UP???? Barack Obama is a LIAR!!!!!!!
It is really ashame that in a country the size of ours that we cannot find more intelligent people to run our "pathetic" government. What a useless bunch of morons!
Boehner is right! Obama is slowly but surely destroying this country. It is sickening to me to see all the people blast the Republican party and name call tea baggers, etc. etc. Demo-repub-or Independ, Boehner is right!
Choose your side but take your blame as well, Obama is a moron and too many people are blind to see that.
Feisty Red Head first on board to make funny of others she disagrees with, I wish her a vaginal itch for life and no hands!
Are American people this dumb, oh wait, never mind, Obama is President again but wait it is still G. Bush's fault!
Hey I say let the 3% cuts take place.
Honestly, all these programs can use a little trimming down. (let these retard politicians know what it's like to run a business and trim costs)
The liberals think Boehner is worst speaker in our history, I tend to agree (he should just tell obama what he wants and if obama says otherwaise tell him screw off -- basically get a little backbone) but we also have the worst president in american history.
Boehner needs to stick to guns with this cry-baby president and not let him raise taxes on everyone to waste money on programs that FAIL!!!
OBAMACARE anyone??? More poor people with suffer as a result of this then will benefit.
Jim, I don't think the phone company would appreciate my cutting my personal or business phone payments by 3% each month, do you? We can reduce our costs as individuals (cancel cable e.g.) or as businesses (reduce hours). The government big ticket items are Medicare and Defense. Defense has always been a bastion of waste and Medicare is fast becoming the biggest scam in history for hospitals and medical providers, but no politician who wants to remain in office will dare cut either.
raising the top tax rate will not change the amount of revenue collected as long as the loopholes are still in place, closing some loopholes is a must unless you think a $77,000 tax deduction for a dancing horse is a good idea, and i'm sure there are many more that are just as dumb.
It does seem silly until you release how many people are hired to take care of the "dancing horse".
Yup Johnny Boy, Obama did get the tax increase, and unless the whining has dulled your pitiful little brain, you got EXACTLY what you voted for all of those months ago when you held us hostage over another made up crisis. Your sequester...You did it all with the hope of swaying opinion against Obama...and making him a 'one term President'...now unless you have something positive to contribute shut up! Have a glass of wine and wake up tomorrow...new day, s.o.s.Your party cannot even speak with one voice with respect to this...you are all over the place..I only wish you and the rest of Congress forfeit your pay until a compromise is reached!
The Republicans agreed to the tax increases and Obama's "sequester" because Obama was holding the economy and country hostage.....the sequester was Obama's "word" to re-visit the spending cuts at a later date if he was given his tax increases right away....this WAS the compromise. I guess the Republicans made a mistake thinking Obama's word was worth anything.......
The sequester was the brainchild of the bipartisan committee established by Congress; Obama refused to endorse that committee's sequester recommendation, but Congress adopted it and Obama held his nose and signed it. All of that took pass in 2011 with Congress believing that March 31, 2013 was far, far away.
@Bruce....uhhhh...you do realize that Obama first proposed and later demanded the sequester???? He OWNS this!
everyone should have a stake in this game......everyone SHOULD PAY TAXES! It is easy for the leeching, parasite liberals to keep saying that "the rich" (any family who makes over $100k in their eyes) needs to pay more and offer nothing themselves......
bush started the cell phones at 7 million a year to the most handicapped people who could not get out of bed . now with obama phones to all of the people on welfare and ssi who can walk 18 billion a year tax payers money so they can talk and text to all the other bums who don't work cut all obama phones .
federally funded cell phones for drug dealing......
No federal funds are used to fund the program.
@RE-Elect...the program is funded through a tax that us working people pay in each and every billed phone bill.......you wouldn't know about that.
Hope, got a link to substantiate that claim?
re-elect obama 2012 that statment shows us all with a brain that you have an obama phone and getting all the free stuff also get a job .ted nugent for prez 2016
@Bruce...look at your phone bill...notice the part that says "Universal Service Fund" or "Universal Service Fee"??? ...well, this is the TAX to pay for Obamaphones!! Wait, what am I saying....you don't get a bill with your Obamaphone, do you?
spending is going up across the board...there are no cuts
The best way to sum up the entire GOP-Tea Party-Right Wing Cartel: "TURD BLOSSOM" Party....
jus as lon as you git yo chek....
Neither side is budging? If I'm not mistaken, Congress passed the sequester law in 2011 and only Congress can amend or repeal an existing law. If Congress is 'one side' who or what is the other?
obame hitler and his scumbagliberal nazis are the idiots that is ruining this country,conservatives and republicans dont bow to hitler and the nazis,you agreed twice now it is hitler to give in otherwise let the sequester happen screw the liberal idiots,always will be the liberal idiots and thier idiot man in the whitehouse will blame everyone and everything,welfare trash and liberal idiots jealous of hard working people and want everything from hardworking people and are to lazy to work for them selves to own anything