Saturday, February 19th, 2011

News

The highly anticipated spending bill from the now GOP-controlled House is coupling budget cuts with relaxed regulations that are intended to comprehensively restrict the Obama administration’s budget for not only the implementation of the health care law, but also policies aimed at containing global warming and efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay that Associated Press reports.

Efforts lasted into Saturday morning to pass the controversial spending bill, but Republicans won the vote largely on their ability to shelter certain industries from regulations deemed disadvantageous for businesses. These included protections against federal regulations applied to businesses deemed greenhouse gas polluters and private colleges. The bill calls for $61 billion in federal budget cuts, which are far above the original cuts proposed.

While the bill has since passed the House, its future is indeterminate. Funding will run out March 4, at which point the Senate will begin to work on its own version of the bill. The Obama administration will then have to hash out differences with the Republican-controlled House.

In reaction to the measure, Treasury Secretary Tim Geitner stated at the G20 meeting in Paris that the cuts would harm the economic recovery and hit the enduring fragile state of the economy. He stated that the cuts would specifically harm the capacity of the US to create jobs and grow the US economy.

President Obama’s reaction has been unwavering. He has vowed to veto the hard line cuts forwarded by the Republican House should they pass the Senate. Unless a compromise can be reached, the nearing shut down date of March 4 continues to be a fear for the public and government alike. The Telegraph states that such paralysis is likely to damage US economic recovery, which also could have the impact of harming the global economic recovery as well.

Sources:

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9LFMNU00.htm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/recession/8335823/US-shutdown-looms-as-budget-war-rages.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0219/House-Speaker-John-Boehner-unleashes-new-GOP-freshmen