Obama
budget seeks boost for military, domestic programs
Send a link to a friend
[January 30, 2015]
By Jeff Mason
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - President Barack
Obama will call for a 7 percent rise in U.S. domestic and military
spending in his budget that would end caps known as "sequestration," the
White House said on Thursday, setting up a new conflict with Republicans
in Congress.
|
The fiscal 2016 budget, which the administration plans to unveil
on Monday, would fund a host of programs that Republicans are
unlikely to support.
It is the latest salvo by the Democratic president lobbed at a
Congress controlled by the opposition party, and follows a defiant
State of the Union address last week that critics said betrayed an
unwillingness to seek compromise.
Obama maintained that tone during remarks to congressional Democrats
in Philadelphia, promising not to remain on the sidelines during the
last two years of his presidency and urging lawmakers to be
unapologetic about backing progressive policies.
"Let's make sure that we end this across-the-board sequester," he
said. "Let's make sure we're funding the things that we know help
American families succeed."
The White House hopes it can find common ground with Republicans to
prevent sequester cuts from going back into full force when the next
fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jan/30/images/ads/current/LPL_small%201.gif) Obama's budget, which is as much a political document as a fiscal
road map, would do that by trimming "inefficient spending programs"
and eliminating tax loopholes, a White House official said. It
proposes a roughly 7 percent spending jump over the sequester
limits.
That includes $530 billion in non-defense discretionary spending,
which is $37 billion above the caps, and $561 billion in defense
outlays, which is $38 billion above.
"This is the beginning of a negotiation," White House spokesman Josh
Earnest told reporters. "We're certainly open to ideas that
Republicans have."
The proposals got a quick brush-off from Republican Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell's office, which noted the administration
tried unsuccessfully to do away with the cuts before.
"Previous budgets submitted by the president have purported to
reverse the bipartisan spending limits through tax increases that
the Congress, even under Democrats, could never accept," said Don
Stewart, McConnell's deputy chief of staff.
The automatic spending cuts went into effect in 2013, but were
lessened in 2014 and 2015 under a bipartisan bill negotiated by
Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington state and Republican
Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
That compromise bill ends with the current fiscal year on Sept. 30.
[to top of second column] |
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jan/30/images/ads/current/ccaonline_lda050208.png)
A spokesman for Republican House of Representatives Speaker John
Boehner said Obama's solution of raising taxes for some would not
fly.
"Republicans believe there are smarter ways to cut spending than the
sequester and have passed legislation to replace it multiple times,
only to see the president continue to demand tax hikes," said Cory
Fritz. "Until he gets serious about solving our long-term spending
problem, it’s hard to take him seriously."
Obama's budget also will include $1 billion in new aid for Central
America. The money is meant to address conditions that led to an
influx into the United States last year of tens of thousands of
illegal migrants, including more than 60,000 children traveling
without their parents.
The budget will likely propose spending increases to help fund
infrastructure projects, as well as research and development
initiatives. Following through on Obama's State of the Union
address, it will propose raising taxes on the wealthy to cover tax
credits and educational programs for the middle class.
That drew praise from Democrats.
"The president’s plan to replace the sequester with a budget that
creates jobs and opportunities for the middle class is just what the
American people need," said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.
(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan in Philadelphia and Patricia
Zengerle in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish, Andre Grenon and
Lisa Shumaker)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jan/30/images/ads/current/christian_village_lda_061014.png) |