Few in the nation's capital are optimistic that a realistic alternative could be found and all sought to cast the political process itself as the culprit. SEE PROJECTED PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW JERSEY IMPACTS.
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Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy speaks during a special session of the National Governors Association 2013 Winter Meeting in Washington.
But as leaders rushed past each other to decry the potentially devastating and seemingly inevitable cuts, they also criticized their counterparts for their roles in introducing, implementing and obstructing the $85 billion budget mechanism that could affect everything from commercial flights to classrooms to meat inspections.
The GOP’s leading line of criticism hinged on blaming Obama’s aides for introducing the budget trigger in the first place, while the administration’s allies were determined to illustrate the consequences of the cuts as the product of Republican stubbornness.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said there was little hope to dodge the cuts “unless the Republicans are willing to compromise and do a balanced approach.”
Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., blamed Obama for putting the country on the brink of massive spending cuts that were initially designed to be so unacceptable that Congress would strike a grand bargain to avoid them.
Obama nodded to the squabble during his weekly radio and Internet address.
“Unfortunately, it appears that Republicans in Congress have decided that instead of compromising — instead of asking anything of the wealthiest Americans — they would rather let these cuts fall squarely on the middle class,” Obama said Saturday.
“We just need Republicans in Washington to come around,” Obama added, “because we need their help to finish the job of reducing our deficit in a smart way that doesn’t hurt our economy or our people.”
With Friday’s deadline nearing, few in the nation’s capital were optimistic that a realistic alternative could be found and all sought to cast the political process itself as the culprit. If Congress does not step in, a top-to-bottom series of cuts will be spread across domestic and defense agencies in a way that would fundamentally change how government serves its people.
Wide swath of cuts
And, yes, those cuts will hurt. The cuts would slash from domestic and defense spending alike, leading to furloughs for hundreds of thousands of government workers and contractors.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said the cuts would harm the readiness of U.S. fighting forces. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said travelers could see delayed flights. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said 70,000 fewer children from low-income families would have access to Head Start programs. And furloughed meat inspectors could leave plants idled.
The White House was ready with state-by-state reports designed to get hold-out lawmakers to compromise or face unhappy constituents.
The White House compiled the numbers from federal agencies and its own budget office. The numbers are based only on the $85 billion in cuts for this fiscal year, from March to September, that are set to take effect Friday.
Hopeful suggestions
The budget cuts were all but certain to come up when Obama dines with the governors tonight at the White House. But time is running out and hope is waning.
Suggestions intended to instill a spirit of compromise included bringing all sides to the bargaining table, where they could act like “adults,” a presidential summit at Camp David and even a field trip to watch “Lincoln.” Yet none of those options was on the books.
Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy said it is past time for both sides to sit down to help dodge cuts that will hurt all states’ budgets.
“Come to the table, everyone. Everybody. Let’s work this thing out. Let’s be adults,” said Malloy, a Democrat.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called those defense cuts “unconscionable” and urged Obama to call lawmakers to the White House or the presidential retreat of Camp David for a last-minute budget summit.
“I won’t put all the blame all on the president of the United States. But the president leads. The president should be calling us over somewhere — Camp David, the White House, somewhere — and us sitting down and trying to avert these cuts,” McCain said.
Ray LaHood, who served as a Republican representing Illinois in the U.S. House, urged his colleagues to watch Steven Spielberg’s film about President Abraham Lincoln’s political skills.
“Everybody around here ought to go take a look at the ‘Lincoln’ movie, where they did very hard things by working together, talking together and compromising,” said LaHood. “That’s what’s needed here.”
BUDGET BATTLE GLANCE
Education and defense would be among the biggest losers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey under automatic cuts to the federal budget set to take hold this week, according to a report that the White House issued today as it seeks to avoid the impending economic fallout. Citing numbers from federal agencies and its own budget office, the report found the states would lose:
EDUCATION:
Pennsylvania
- About $26.4 million in funding for primary and secondary education, putting around 360 teacher and aide jobs at risk and affecting about 29,000 students and 90 schools; and about $21.4 million in funds for about 260 teachers, aides, and staff who help children with disabilities.
- Aid to help about 3,160 low-income students finance the costs of college as well as work-study jobs for about 2,290 students.
New Jersey
- About $11.7 million in funding for primary and secondary education, putting about 160 teacher and aide jobs at risk; and about $17 million in funds for about 210 teachers, aides, and staff who help children with disabilities.
- Aid to help about 1,480 low-income students finance the costs of college as well as work-study jobs for about 650 students.
- Both states would lose Head Start and Early Head Start funding affecting about 2,300 Pennsylvania children and 1,300 in New Jersey.
ENVIRONMENT:
- In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, respectively, more than $5.7 million and nearly $4.9 million to ensure clean water and air quality, as well as prevent pollution from pesticides and hazardous waste; and more than $1.4 million and $472,000, respectively, in grants for fish and wildlife protection.
DEFENSE:
- In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, respectively, about 26,000 and 11,000 civilian Department of Defense employees would be furloughed; and about $7 million and $52 million, respectively to operate Army bases. New Jersey would also lose about $7 million to pay for Air Force operations.
LAW ENFORCEMENT:
- About $509,000 in Pennsylvania and $336,000 in New Jersey for prosecution and courts, crime prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, and crime victim and witness initiatives.
HEALTH:
- Each state would lose more than $2 million to help prevent and treat substance abuse, meaning about 6,600 total fewer admissions to substance abuse programs. Vaccine funding lost would affect about 5,280 children in Pennsylvania and 3,930 in New Jersey. Millions more in lost funding would cut: state responses to public health threats such as infectious diseases, natural disasters, and biological, chemical, nuclear and radiological events; health department funding; domestic violence services and meals for seniors.