Even the threat of massive across the board spending cuts couldn’t get the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to agree on at least $1.5 trillion in federal spending cuts.
The committee announced Monday its failure to reach a compromise to reach the prescribed cuts, which sets in action an automatic sequester. In 2013, the sequester will cut $500 billion in defense spending and an equal amount in entitlement spending, exempting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and unemployment insurance, among some other programs for at-risk families.
“So at this point, at least, they simply will not budge from that negotiating position,” President Barack Obama said Monday in a press conference. “And so far, that refusal continues to be the main stumbling block that has prevented Congress from reaching an agreement to further reduce our deficit.”
It may seem like federal budget cuts don’t mean much to Murfreesboro, but the city does receive federal dollars in the form of block grants and funding for education, roads and parks.
“As of this time, it could impact some city departments and programs,” said Chris Shofner, spokesman for the City of Murfreesboro.
He explained the city receives federal money for the Community Development Block Grant program. In 2010 the city’s CDGB program received more than $700,000 to administer the program that helps low- to moderate-income residents purchase their first homes, rehabilitate run down properties and start new small businesses. It also funds more than a dozen local nonprofits, like Read To Succeed, Domestic Violence Program and Hope Clinic, through its public service grant program.
Federal funds also help Murfreesboro City Schools educate at-risk students through Title I funding, which equalizes funding in poorer school districts.
Local parks, like the Greenway and Stones River National Battlefield, could see funding dry up also.
“As the law currently stands, this process will lead to mandatory cuts to discretionary spending across-the-board which means national parks could see nine percent cuts that will also harm local businesses, jobs, and the protection of our national heritage,” said Alison Zemanski, spokeswoman for the National Parks Conservation Association.
Needless to say the president and other members of Congress said they were disappointed in the committee’s inability to reach a compromise.
“Now, the question right now is whether we can reduce the deficit in a way that helps the economy grow, that operates with a scalpel, not with a hatchet, and if not, whether Congress is willing to stick to the painful deal that we made in August for the automatic cuts. Already, some in Congress are trying to undo these automatic spending cuts,” Obama said.
U.S. Rep. Diane Black sees the committee’s failure as an affront to the future of America.
“The Super Committee had the chance to reverse the course of exponential government growth and they fell short because the two sides have very different visions of the future for our country,” Black said. “Considering that just days ago the United States reached a record $15 trillion in debt, it is absolutely essential that we bring our nation back from the edge of this fiscal cliff and ensure a prosperous future for our country, as well as our children and grandchildren.”
Now Congress is tasked with cutting the deficit and maintaining economic growth in these troubling times, she added.
“The task before us now is to forward policies that cut spending, pay down our debt, and put America back on a sustainable path. This is about governing and making the tough decisions necessary to fix our system and our economy,” she said.
U.S. Sen. Bob Corker echoed Black’s remarks, adding the country’s battle with spending is “the struggle of the decade.
“On its current course the federal government is projected to spend almost $44 trillion over the next 10 years, and it is nothing short of an embarrassment, an absolute national disgrace and failure of leadership that we cannot agree on even a paltry $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over that time frame,” he said.
Regardless of the committee’s failure to reach a decision, Obama assured the deficit will be trimmed by at least $2.2 trillion over the next 10 years.
“That’s going to happen, one way or another,” he said. “We’ve got $1 trillion locked in, and either Congress comes up with $1.2 trillion, which so far they’ve failed to do, or the sequester kicks in and these automatic spending cuts will occur that bring in an additional $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction.” |
Email
Print
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Google
Yahoo!