Obama's 2012 Budget: Hoping for a Better Reception

NewsNM note (Spence) - At this time last year, the Obama debt commission had made its recommendations. President Obama ignored most of the suggestions and submitted his budget proposal to the Senate. The President's package was defeated 97-0, with not a single member of his own party voteing for his budget. No budget bill was ever passed in 2011 though Republican budget proposals did get many votes in both the House and the Senate. Now President Obama takes his 2012 budget to the Senate.   Fox News  - President Obama is offering his spending blueprint for the next decade -- an election-year document that seeks to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction through cuts in government spending, higher taxes and inclusion of last year's debt-ceiling deal for deficit reduction.

At the same time, Obama will ask for substantial spending increases on infrastructure and job training, but will offer few reforms to entitlement programs, which take up 40 percent of the annual federal budget.
Republicans, who are vowing to oppose Obama's tax increases, have planned several events Monday to counter the president's release. On Sunday House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said the president's proposal is full of gimmicks and does little to reduce the deficit or curb the rapid growth of benefit programs like Medicare. "Medicare is going bankrupt ... The president's health care law takes the $500 billion from Medicare to spend on Obamacare," he said. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Obama's 2012 Budget: Hoping for a Better Reception