2011 Federal Budget Cuts

[Schadenfroh]

http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=259

House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers today announced a partial list of 70 spending cuts that will be included in an upcoming Continuing Resolution (CR) bill. The CR legislation will fund the federal government for the seven months remaining in the fiscal year and prevent a government wide shut-down, while significantly reducing the massive increases in discretionary spending enacted in the last several years by a Democrat majority.

Government basically shuts down March 4, when the current continuing resolution runs out and the money dries up, unless a new CR or real budget is passed. This will allow us to continue running the government on a new CR till the end of the year. There is so much FUD in the government right now.

The federal research project I am working on is in limbo due to no official budget. Everyone is concerned about the future since no one knows what is going to happen with it. The branch of the national lab that I wished to get a job at upon graduation is in the same boat, as is the armed forces:
http://www.dailytech.com/USAF+Hurting+from+Lack+of+2011+Budget+Law/article20843.htm

General Philip Breedlove said in an email, "The current continuing resolution, which expires March 4, has negatively affected Air Force modernization programs. Production rate increases and new production -- which includes military construction -- have been prohibited. Additionally, our day-to-day operations are constrained. An extended [CR] further increases the pressures on our Air Force, and funding shortfalls in military pay and health care will affect training and readiness."

Here is what the committee has proposed (compared to the president's proposed 2011 budget) :

The total spending cuts in the CR will exceed $74 billion
...
. Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies -$30M
· Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy -$899M
· Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability -$49M
· Nuclear Energy -$169M
· Fossil Energy Research -$31M
· Clean Coal Technology -$18M
· Strategic Petroleum Reserve -$15M
· Energy Information Administration -$34M
· Office of Science -$1.1B
· Power Marketing Administrations -$52M
· Department of Treasury -$268M
· Internal Revenue Service -$593M
· Treasury Forfeiture Fund -$338M
· GSA Federal Buildings Fund -$1.7B
· ONDCP -$69M
· International Trade Administration -$93M
· Economic Development Assistance -$16M
· Minority Business Development Agency -$2M
· National Institute of Standards and Technology -$186M
· NOAA -$336M
· National Drug Intelligence Center -$11M
· Law Enforcement Wireless Communications -$52M
· US Marshals Service -$10M
· FBI -$74M
· State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance -$256M
· Juvenile Justice -$2.3M
· COPS -$600M
· NASA -$379M
· NSF -$139M
· Legal Services Corporation -$75M
· EPA -$1.6B
· Food Safety and Inspection Services -$53M
· Farm Service Agency -$201M
· Agriculture Research -$246M
· Natural Resource Conservation Service -$46M
· Rural Development Programs -$237M
· WIC -$758M
· International Food Aid grants -$544M
· FDA -$220M
· Land and Water Conservation Fund -$348M
· National Archives and Record Service -$20M
· DOE Loan Guarantee Authority -$1.4B
· EPA ENERGY STAR -$7.4M
· EPA GHG Reporting Registry -$9M
· USGS -$27M
· EPA Cap and Trade Technical Assistance -$5M
· EPA State and Local Air Quality Management -$25M
· Fish and Wildlife Service -$72M
· Smithsonian -$7.3M
· National Park Service -$51M
· Clean Water State Revolving Fund -$700M
· Drinking Water State Revolving Fund -$250M
· EPA Brownfields -$48M
· Forest Service -$38M
· National Endowment for the Arts -$6M
· National Endowment for the Humanities -$6M
· Job Training Programs -$2B
· Community Health Centers -$1.3B
· Maternal and Child Health Block Grants -$210M
· Family Planning -$327M
· Poison Control Centers -$27M
· CDC -$755M
· NIH -$1B
· Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services -$96M
· LIHEAP Contingency fund -$400M
· Community Services Block Grant -$405M
· High Speed Rail -$1B
· FAA Next Gen -$234M
· Amtrak -$224M
· HUD Community Development Fund -$530M

It would be nice if they could just pass a budget or a new CR that would remove the uncertainty with the funding. However, these cuts do not come close to resolving our budget problem.

 

[CycloWizard]

Is March 4 the expiry date for the current CR, or the date when we hit the debt ceiling? Either way, this extended train wreck is not ending well.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Is March 4 the expiry date for the current CR, or the date when we hit the debt ceiling?

It is when the current CR expires, the debt ceiling will likely be reached later that month or in April.

 

[ichy]

According to what I heard this morning the budget cuts don't touch Medicare, Social Security, Homeland Security or Defense. What a joke.

 

[MotF Bane]

According to what I heard this morning the budget cuts don't touch Medicare, Social Security,

"Think about the poor and the minorities!"

Homeland Security or Defense. What a joke.

"FFEEEAAARRRR!!!!!"

 

[Anarchist420]

I know, the budget cuts are a huge joke. Why does someone who made 150k or more when they worked need a cost of living increase in SS? They don't. In fact, they should cap SS paychecks to $1400/mo/retiree and not give any cost of living increases. They need to repeal Medicare Part D, and replace it with nothing. Medicare should only pay for 60% of services, across the board.

Of course, when they do "reform" social security, that won't be the way they do it. I'm surprised Obama doesn't want to waste even more money by privatizing it.

 

[CPA]

I know, the budget cuts are a huge joke. Why does someone who made 150k or more when they worked need a cost of living increase in SS? They don't. In fact, they should cap SS paychecks to $1400/mo/retiree and not give any cost of living increases. They need to repeal Medicare Part D, and replace it with nothing. Medicare should only pay for 60% of services, across the board.

Of course, when they do "reform" social security, that won't be the way they do it. I'm surprised Obama doesn't want to waste even more money by privatizing it.

Tell me how privatizing SS would waste more money? This should be good.

 

[fskimospy]

Tell me how privatizing SS would waste more money? This should be good.

Because it would defeat the purpose of Social Security. You shouldn't need any more evidence than 2008 as to how horrible an idea it is. Imagine what the government would have had to do if social security was entirely in private investment accounts then, we would have had destitute seniors everywhere that you know we would have ended up having to provide for anyway.

Privatizing social security is incredibly dumb. If people want to get rid of it, that's one thing. (I think a bad idea, but at least its coherent) The idea of privatizing it... complete stupidity.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

$74B is annualized. If you aggregate this over 5 or 10 years then it looks much, much better. I'm learning.

 

[piasabird]

What about cutting NPR?
President has to sign it and it would have to get through the Senate.

Ho Hum.

Get ready for "The GOP is shutting down the Government!"

So what has the Democratic Leadership (Laugh) done to cut the budget??? The budget was due Jan 1. If they were not so busy shoving Obammah Care down our throats, maybe they could work on the budget???????

 

[Genx87]

Because it would defeat the purpose of Social Security. You shouldn't need any more evidence than 2008 as to how horrible an idea it is. Imagine what the government would have had to do if social security was entirely in private investment accounts then, we would have had destitute seniors everywhere that you know we would have ended up having to provide for anyway.

Privatizing social security is incredibly dumb. If people want to get rid of it, that's one thing. (I think a bad idea, but at least its coherent) The idea of privatizing it... complete stupidity.

Any senior relying on SS is destitute.

 

[sunzt]

So did they purposefully ignore SS, medicare, and medicaid? I mean none of these discretionary spending cuts will actually help the US in the long run avoid the train wreck funding hole known as SS, medicare, and medicaid.

 

[JSt0rm]

What about cutting NPR?

I still dont understand why republicans want to do this. You only hurt rural stations that will be used during national emergency. KCRW gets only 5% of its operating budget from those funds. You won't stop no rant no slant media by removing this funding source.

however some npr station in alaska will lose 70% of its budget. It will close shop and those people could potentially be left without any source of communication during a zombie outbreak.

 

[fskimospy]

Any senior relying on SS is destitute.

Actually in reality Social Security is the single most successful source of poverty reduction among America's elderly that has ever existed.

 

[fskimospy]

What about cutting NPR?
President has to sign it and it would have to get through the Senate.

Ho Hum.

Get ready for "The GOP is shutting down the Government!"

So what has the Democratic Leadership (Laugh) done to cut the budget??? The budget was due Jan 1. If they were not so busy shoving Obammah Care down our throats, maybe they could work on the budget???????

Are you high or something today? Why would they have been passing the 2011 budget back in January and February of 2010? When was the last time Congress did something like that?

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

So did they purposefully ignore SS, medicare, and medicaid? I mean none of these discretionary spending cuts will actually help the US in the long run avoid the train wreck funding hole known as SS, medicare, and medicaid.

You have to start somewhere. SS, medicare, medicaid are much more difficult problems...I imagine that they're working on the various options now.

Maybe we should start with eliminating Bush's Medicare Part D...Dems have bitched about it from Day 1 and should be glad to get rid of it. That's another $64B...annually.

 

[sunzt]

You have to start somewhere. SS, medicare, medicaid are much more difficult problems...I imagine that they're working on the various options now.

It probably hasn't gone much further than that point.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

It probably hasn't gone much further than that point.

Purely a matter of opinion...time will tell.

 

[fskimospy]

You have to start somewhere. SS, medicare, medicaid are much more difficult problems...I imagine that they're working on the various options now.

Maybe we should start with eliminating Bush's Medicare Part D...Dems have bitched about it from Day 1 and should be glad to get rid of it. That's another $64B...annually.

I'm pretty sure that Democrats' complaint was that it was unfunded, not that it exists. Lets raise the taxes to pay for it instead.

 

[Anarchist420]

Tell me how privatizing SS would waste more money? This should be good.

Wall Street would drive the price up, the investment bankers would charge the taxpayer way too much. I have a feeling the reason Bush wanted to partially privatize it was so that the Federal debt would increase. Bush loves doing sick shit like that.

The best thing to do is to outlaw FRB, abolish fiat currency, and let people loan their savings out at interest.

 

[bamacre]

Tell me how privatizing SS would waste more money? This should be good.

It depends on what one means by "privatizing" social security. To some that means taking the money and putting it into the stock market. To me, it means the government stops taking the money from people and the people do what they want with it.

 

[thraashman]

What about cutting NPR?
President has to sign it and it would have to get through the Senate.

Ho Hum.

Get ready for "The GOP is shutting down the Government!"

So what has the Democratic Leadership (Laugh) done to cut the budget??? The budget was due Jan 1. If they were not so busy shoving Obammah Care down our throats, maybe they could work on the budget???????

Seriously? Do you even think before you type? Busy shoving Obamacare down our throats? It was passed a while ago. The reason for things not getting done was that the GOP blocked ANYTHING from happening until the rich got their tax cuts. And I know you know that.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

I'm pretty sure that Democrats' complaint was that it was unfunded, not that it exists. Lets raise the taxes to pay for it instead.

Come on...that's just pure unadulterated BS. They were livid that Tauzin wrote the Medicare Part D bill and accused him of being in cahoots with the drug lobby.

The main objections were no allowance for drug re-importation and no direct drug price negotiations. These were the two main reasons given by almost every Democrat who said they voted against the bill.

During Obama's campaign, he promised to fix these two problems...and this is how he "fixed" it. Tauzin (now a prominent lobbyist for the drug companies) had a huge role in writing the Senate health care bill (Obamacare) which is a massive giveaway to the drug companies. Apparently, a backroom deal was cut to keep out drug re-importation and direct Medicare price negotiation in the bill. Also, to add insult to injury, Tauzin won another huge giveaway to the brand name drug makers by securing an extremely long exclusivity period for biologic drugs.

This is what hope and change looks like.

 

[MovingTarget]

Come on...that's just pure unadulterated BS. They were livid that Tauzin wrote the Medicare Part D bill and accused him of being in cahoots with the drug lobby.

The main objections were no allowance for drug re-importation and no direct drug price negotiations. These were the two main reasons given by almost every Democrat who said they voted against the bill.

During Obama's campaign, he promised to fix these two problems...and this is how he "fixed" it. Tauzin (now a prominent lobbyist for the drug companies) had a huge role in writing the Senate health care bill (Obamacare) which is a massive giveaway to the drug companies. Apparently, a backroom deal was cut to keep out drug re-importation and direct Medicare price negotiation in the bill. Also, to add insult to injury, Tauzin won another huge giveaway to the brand name drug makers by securing an extremely long exclusivity period for biologic drugs.

This is what hope and change looks like.

I wonder, has the CBO analyzed what would happen by enacting those two reforms? (allowing for reimportation and direct price negotiation) How much would it reduce the costs of the part D program?

(not a rhetorical question...I'm actually interested in the answer)

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

I wonder, has the CBO analyzed what would happen by enacting those two reforms? (allowing for reimportation and direct price negotiation) How much would it reduce the costs of the part D program?

(not a rhetorical question...I'm actually interested in the answer)

I'm as curious as you...but I somehow doubt (cynic that I am) the CBO has little, if any, political expectancy to evaluate this issue.