Hot on HuffPost:

See More Stories

government spending

Published: 04/21/11

Obama: 'Change Turned Out to Be a Lot Tougher Than Expected'

By  not in system - AOL News
Obama: 'Change Turned Out to Be a Lot Tougher Than Expected'

SAN FRANCISCO -- President Barack Obama told supporters on Thursday he is pressing ahead with his agenda in a difficult political environment in Washington and that "change turned out to be a lot tougher than expected." Obama addressed about 200 people who paid up to $35,800 apiece for the fundraiser at a San Francisco hotel, the first of four fundraisers of the day. Mandel Ngan, AFP / Getty Images The president admitted Thursday that "change turned out to be a lot tougher than expected." Even though he's running for re-election from the White House, Obama said he still wants to ...

Published: 04/19/11

Geithner Shows Confidence on Reaching Deficit Deal

By  not in system - AOL News
Geithner Shows Confidence on Reaching Deficit Deal

WASHINGTON -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday reassured investors that the White House and Republican lawmakers will reach a deal to control the nation's finances, downplaying an unprecedented warning that the government risks losing its coveted debt rating if it fails to do so. In an interview on CNBC, Geithner said he disagrees with Standard & Poor's decision to lower its long-term outlook for the federal government's fiscal health. The credit agency on Monday warned the government could lose its top credit rating in the next two years if lawmakers fail to come up with a ...

Published: 04/13/11

House Republicans Vehemently Oppose Tax Increases

By  not in system - AOL News
House Republicans Vehemently Oppose Tax Increases

WASHINGTON -- Leading congressional Republicans renewed their vehement opposition to tax increases Wednesday, as President Barack Obama prepared to put forth his new prescription for slow growth and national indebtedness. "Most people understand that Washington doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem," said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va. "We can't raise taxes. ... That was settled last November during the elections." Joining Cantor in appearing on morning network news programs, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, ...

Published: 04/12/11

Spending Cuts Not Expected to Dent $1.5 Trillion Deficit

By  not in system - AOL News
Spending Cuts Not Expected to Dent $1.5 Trillion Deficit

WASHINGTON -- The $38 billion in spending cuts agreed to last week won't prevent this year's budget deficit from setting another record high, estimated at $1.5 trillion. Most of the agreed-to spending cuts either affect future budgets or amount to accounting gimmicks that won't reduce actual spending. The Treasury Department reported Tuesday that the deficit already totals $829.4 billion through the first six months of the budget year - a figure that until 2009 would have been the biggest ever for an entire year. For March alone, the government ran a deficit of $188 billion. President ...

Published: 04/12/11

Head of House GOP Committee Opposes Budget Deal

By  not in system - AOL News
Head of House GOP Committee Opposes Budget Deal

WASHINGTON -- The head of an influential House Republican panel says he'll oppose the budget deal negotiated by the White House and Congress to avert a government shutdown. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said in a statement Tuesday that while some of his GOP colleagues will support the compromise announced late Friday night, he believes "voters are asking us to set our sights higher." Jordan heads the Republican Study Committee. He said the committee had pushed for a full $100 billion in cuts from President Barack Obama's budget. The deal negotiated by Obama, Speaker John Boehner and Senate ...

Published: 04/11/11

Obama's Debt-Cutting Plan: Everything on the Table

By  not in system - AOL News
Obama's Debt-Cutting Plan: Everything on the Table

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama, plunging into the rancorous struggle over America's mountainous debt, will draw sharp differences with Republicans Wednesday over how to conquer trillions of dollars in spending while somehow working out a compromise to raise some taxes and trim a cherished program like Medicare. Obama's speech will set a new long-term deficit-reduction goal and establish a dramatically different vision from a major Republican proposal that aims to cut more than $5 trillion over the next decade, officials said Monday. Details of Obama's plan are being closely held so ...

Published: 04/11/11

White House: Obama Regrets Vote Against Raising Debt Limit

By  not in system - AOL News
White House: Obama Regrets Vote Against Raising Debt Limit

WASHINGTON -- The White House says President Barack Obama regrets his vote as a senator in 2006 against raising the debt limit. A fight over raising the debt limit is looming, and the White House is trying to explain away the apparent contradiction between Obama's previous opposition, and his position now that it must be increased. Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday that Obama believes his vote was a mistake. He said Obama now realizes that the debt ceiling is too important to be trifled with. Republicans are threatening to withhold their votes to raise the ceiling unless Obama agrees ...

Published: 04/10/11

White House: Obama to Lay Out New Spending Plan to Cut Deficit

By  not in system - AOL News
White House: Obama to Lay Out New Spending Plan to Cut Deficit

WASHINGTON - One budget deal down, President Barack Obama and Congress began to pivot Sunday from the painful standoff over this year's spending to a pair of defining debates over the nation's borrowing limit and the election-year budget. Much will be revealed at midweek, when the House and Senate are expected to vote on a budget for the remainder of this fiscal year and Obama reveals his plan to reduce the deficit, in part by scaling back programs for seniors and the poor. Across the dial on Sunday, messengers from both parties framed the series of spending fights as debates over cuts - a ...

Published: 04/10/11

GOP Presidential Field Eyes Budget Wars From Afar

By  not in system - AOL News
GOP Presidential Field Eyes Budget Wars From Afar

WASHINGTON -- Republicans are pressing ahead with one of the most ambitious and risky long-term spending agendas in memory, yet the dozen or so potential White House hopefuls are nearly invisible on the issue. They can't stay on the sidelines for long, however. The contentious debate will rope them in on terms they might find hard to control. The triumph of tea party candidates in 2010 pumped new urgency into a long-brewing Republican Party push for major cuts in domestic and benefit programs, including Medicare and Social Security. In the absence of a Republican president or ...

Published: 04/6/11

White House Says Shutdown Will Delay Pay to Troops

By  not in system - AOL News
White House Says Shutdown Will Delay Pay to Troops

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration warned Wednesday that a federal shutdown would undermine the economic recovery, delay pay to U.S. troops fighting in three wars, slow the processing of tax returns and limit small business loans and government-backed mortgages during peak home buying season. The dire message, delivered two days before the federal government's spending authority expires, appeared aimed at jolting congressional Republicans into a budget compromise. Billions of dollars apart, congressional negotiators were working to strike a deal by Friday to avert a shutdown by setting ...

Follow Politics Daily

  • Comics
robert-and-donna-trussell
CHAOS THEORY
Featuring political comics by Robert and Donna TrussellMore>>
  • Woman UP Video
politics daily videos
Weekly Videos
Woman Up, Politics Daily's Online Sunday ShowMore»
politics daily videos
TV Appearances
Showcasing appearances by Politics Daily staff and contributors.More>>