Yesterday, Congress passed a two week spending bill, meant to avert a government shutdown. The bill will cut spending, in that two week period, by $4 billion. House leadership has proposed a bill that would cut annual spending by $61 billion. The new Republican House, filled with Tea Party Freshmen, had campaigned on $100 billion dollars in cuts, and, truthfully, this bill will not satisfy them. The problem is, that the House bill is unsatisfactory to the Democratic controlled Senate. So, Congress is dead-locked over the budget, and a shutdown looms for the first time since Newt Gingrich was Speaker.
Will a two week extension be long enough to get a deal done? It looks doubtful, but thanks to the Government Accountability Office, perhaps there is a way out. A study by the GAO has found that dozens of programs overlap in their missions. There are 47 job training programs, 80 programs to help disadvantage adults with their transportation needs, 82 programs for teacher improvement, and 52 programs for entrepreneurial efforts. These programs could be consolidated, eliminating administrative cost while not reducing services. To be sure, these measures will not balance the budget. The sacred cows of defense, Medicare and Social Security must be dealt with for the United States to get its fiscal situation in order. Will Congressional leadership deal with these issues, or are their efforts focused on short-term fixes on the back of the middle class.
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