automatic spending cuts

Meals on Wheels Caught in Budget Food Fight

Posted on 05/8/2013 by | Washington Watch | Comments

Bulletin Today | Caregiving | PoliticsMeals on Wheels programs across the nation are seeing the pain of federal budget cuts. The system that delivers hot meals to millions of home-bound or low-income seniors five days a week isn’t near collapse. But with across-the-board spending cuts, called sequestration, taking hold since March 1, local programs have begun to limit who they serve and intend to pull back in other ways. “It’s a slowly developing crisis,” Martha Roherty, executive director of the National Association of States United …

Cuts Imminent, Senate Democrats, GOP Stage Votes

Posted on 02/28/2013 by | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsBy David Espo, Special Correspondent, The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Squabbling away the hours, the Senate swatted aside last-ditch plans to block $85 billion in broad-based federal spending reductions Thursday as Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for the latest outbreak of gridlock and the Obama administration readied plans to put the cuts into effect. So entrenched were the two parties that the Senate chaplain, Barry Black, opened the day’s session with a prayer that beseeched a higher power …

Senate Democrats, GOP to Stage Votes on Rival Budget Cuts

Posted on 02/28/2013 by | General News | Comments

PoliticsBy Andrew Taylor of The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Across-the-board spending cuts all but certain, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate are staging a politically charged showdown designed to avoid public blame for any resulting inconvenience or disruption in government services. The two parties drafted alternative measures to replace the cuts, but officials conceded in advance the rival measures were doomed. At the White House, President Barack Obama invited congressional leaders to discuss the issue with him on Friday …

Pressure Rising to Avoid Cuts in Health Programs

Posted on 02/20/2013 by | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal Health | PoliticsBy Mary Agnes Carey, Senior Correspondent, Kaiser Health News Pressure is mounting for Washington to find a way to avoid the automatic spending reductions set to begin March 1, with President Barack Obama Tuesday urging Congress to stop the “meat-cleaver approach” that he says will undermine U.S. military strength and “eviscerate job creating investments in education and energy and medical research.” But while both Democrats and Republicans say they don’t want the billions of dollars in cuts to kick in, there’s …

Obama Presses GOP to Halt Automatic Spending Cuts

Posted on 02/19/2013 by | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsBy Jim Kuhnhenn and Julie Pace, White House Correspondents, The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Staking out his ground ahead of a fiscal deadline, President Barack Obama lashed out against Republicans, saying they are unwilling to raise taxes to reduce deficits and warning that the jobs of essential government workers, from teachers to emergency responders, are on the line. Obama spoke as a March 1 deadline for automatic across-the-board spending cuts approached and with Republicans and Democrats in an apparent …

Obama Rallies Democrats, Scorns GOP Fiscal Plans

Posted on 02/8/2013 by | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsBy Jim Kuhnhenn of The Associated Press LEESBURG, Va. (AP) — Assertive even as he preached humility, President Barack Obama vowed to confront Republicans on the budget deficit and urged Democrats on Thursday to stick with him on guns and immigration. He scorned a GOP plan to avoid imminent across-the-board spending cuts, declaring flatly “we’re on the right side of this argument.” In an address meant to motivate House Democrats during their annual retreat, Obama cast his overarching agenda as …