sequestration

Meals on Wheels Caught in Budget Food Fight

Posted on 05/8/2013 by Tamara Lytle | 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 …

Senate GOP to Obama: Tone Down the Political Attacks

Posted on 03/15/2013 by Associated Press | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsBy DAVID ESPO, Special Correspondent, The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Polite yet firm, Senate Republicans told President Barack Obama on Thursday to tone down his political attacks and prod Democratic allies to support controversial changes in Medicare if he wants a compromise reducing deficits and providing stability to federal benefit programs. Participants at a 90-minute closed-door meeting said Obama acknowledged the point without yielding ground — and noted that Republicans criticize him freely. “To quote an old Chicago politician, …

House Votes to Avert Shutdown; Obama Seeks Big Deal

Posted on 03/7/2013 by Associated Press | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsBy Andrew Taylor and Davis Espo of The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans pushed legislation through the House on Wednesday to prevent a government shutdown this month while easing the short-term impact of $85 billion in spending cuts — at the same time previewing a longer-term plan to erase federal deficits without raising taxes. President Barack Obama pursued a different path as the GOP asserted its budget priorities. He hosted a dinner with a dozen Republican senators at a …

Sequester: Doom or Snooze? 5 Points of View

Posted on 03/1/2013 by Tamara Lytle | Washington Watch | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsEveryone’s got an opinion on the sequester, from “the sky is falling” to “ho-hum.” Here are a few more perspectives on the impact of the $85 billion in federal spending cuts that kick in March 1. The sequester saves Social Security. Laura Clawson on Daily Kos Daily Kos staffer Clawson makes the argument that an alternative deal to stave off sequester likely would “gut Social Security.” Social Security and Medicare benefits are protected from the automatic cuts. But she quotes Rep. …

Obama Says He Can’t ‘Jedi Mind Meld’ a Budget Deal

Posted on 03/1/2013 by Associated Press | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsBy Jim Kuhnhenn of The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A combative President Barack Obama blamed Republican lawmakers Friday for failing to stop automatic spending cuts from beginning to kick in late in the day, arguing he can’t perform a “Jedi mind meld” to get Republicans to agree on a deal. But he and GOP leaders displayed no appetite for letting the fight shut the government down later this month. Meeting on the day that $85 billion in federal spending …

Cuts Imminent, Senate Democrats, GOP Stage Votes

Posted on 02/28/2013 by Associated Press | 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 …