Editorial: Congress, Obama are budget failures
Congress and the Obama administration have painted themselves politically into a budget cutting corner that ordinary Americans are going have to bear the pain.
House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Barack Obama are in a doubledare showdown over the pending budget sequester.
If these three so-called leaders managing Washington do not come to agreement by next Friday, automatic budget cuts will begin.
These across-the-board cuts totaling $85 billion in military and domestic spending will automatically go into effect Friday creating significant cuts, job losses and service delays in public services across the country.
To this point, the public is largely unaware of the cuts’ impact in many areas.
Obama is blaming the Republicans for originating the sequester law. Republicans are blaming Obama for signing the sequester idea into law.
Washington decision making only seems to occur following political crisis and then moving on to another political crisis. So there is some hope that a workable compromise may come before Friday.
If the sequester goes into effect, it will not be pretty. For example, the Federal Aeronautics Administration would be required to cut its budget by $1 billion. FAA officials say such cuts in FAA staff will impact air traffic control and other FAA services.
The popularity of Congress currently is significantly lower than the president’s ratings. If the sequester cuts go into effect, it will be interesting to see who the public blames.
That is not a game of chicken that should have to be played. Congress and the president should do their job and get a budget deal done.