Friday, April 15, 2011
The great budget reduction negotiated by Republican leaders and President Barack Obama may not be so large after all. In fact, it might just be pretty darn small.
An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office has concluded the real savings from the plan may only be $352 million—which would represent one-one hundredth of the original promise of $38 billion.
The drastically smaller amount is a result of many decisions made by the GOP and Obama in crafting their compromise. Besides giving more money to the Department of Defense, the two sides counted as cuts recissions (cancelled contracts), reserve funds and writing off funding that might never have been spent anyway.
“It is kind of crazy to have come to the brink of shutting down the government over a $350 million difference,” Scott Lilly, a former staff director for the House Appropriations Committee, told National Journal.
In fact, if one includes “emergency” funds for the military, spending this year will actually increase by about $3 billion.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
CBO Says Budget Deal Will Cut Spending by Only $352 Million This Year (by Tim Fernholz, National Journal)
Budget Deal: CBO Analysis Shows Initial Spending Cuts Less than Expected (by David A. Fahrenthold, Washington Post)
Continuing Resolutions for 2011 in the 112th Session of Congress (Congressional Budget Office) (pdf)
So-Called Budget Cuts include Non-Existent “Czars” and an Unused Reserve Fund (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
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