President Obama Vows Not To Sign A Budget Bill That Doesn't Fix Sequestration

[cal04]

“I will not,” the president said in an interview with The Huffington Post, when asked if he would put his signature to legislation that allowed for sequestration to come back in October this year.

“And I’ve been very clear. We are not going to have a situation where, for example, our education spending goes back to its lowest level since the year 2000 -- since 15 years ago -- despite a larger population and more kids to educate. ... We can’t do that to our kids, and I’m not going to sign it,” Obama said.

Those comments, coming in the week that House and Senate Republicans unveiled their respective budgets, foreshadow a bitter and difficult funding fight. Under current law, sequestration is scheduled to return in October, with caps imposed on both defense and non-defense accounts. According to the White House Office of Management and Budget, discretionary spending overall would be reduced more than $90.4 billion, compared to pre-sequester caps. Spending on defense would level off at $521 billion; for non-defense, it would be $492 billion.

(snip)
“If we can find some common ground around that, and if we can recognize that given the economic growth, given the reduction in deficits, now's the time for us to make sure that we are making the investments we need to continue to grow and to keep our country safe, then we can do what Senator Murray did with Congressman Ryan, and plus-up both the defense and non-defense budgets,” said Obama on Friday.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/21/obama-gop-budget_n_6905734.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

[newfie11]

1. I guess we will see. Nt

[merrily]

2. Remind me: where did the idea of the sequester originate?

Yes, I know Sperling said he did not propose it exactly in the form adopted by Republicans. But, what sane person would, at that point, have assumed Republicans were going to accept the sequester exactly as the White House proposed it?

[Cha]

3. Thanks President Obama.. mahalo cal