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Thursday, October 06, 2005

Growing Unease With Nussle's Budget Cut Plans

As House Budget Chairman Jim Nussle (R-IA) continues to push for an amendment to the budget resolution passed in April to institute an across the board cut to discretionary spending by 2 percent, many Republican members of the Senate have expressed reservations or outright disdain for such a plan, threatening its survival.

While not ruling out any avenue for finding budget cuts to offset the cost of Hurricane Katrina relief and reconstruction spending, a number of key Senate Republicans criticized Nussle's proposal. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg's (R-NH) preference is to use the reconcilation process already in place to look for larger cuts to entitlement programs. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) called Nussle's proposal a "nonstarter," ruling out re-opening the budget resolution. And Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK) stated he opposes the proposal and believes a substantial majority of the Senate would also oppose it. Discretionary spending makes up only 26 percent of the total federal budget and Stevens believes it should not have to shoulder a disproportionate share of the cuts.

Unfortunately, Congress has yet to realize the damage done by cutting investments in America to pay for Katrina costs will not only make communities and families around the country less secure, it will actually do very little to offset the cost of Katrina. It's time Congress realizes it needs to revisit the massive tax cuts for the wealthy if it wants to truly keep Katrina spending deficit neutral.