Sessions: Obama's 'Secret' Plan 'Increases Spending by More than $1 Trillion'

Senator Jeff Sessions, the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, is releasing a statement this evening that claims President Barack Obama's "secret" plan "increases spending by more than $1 trillion above the current baseline."

"In other words," Sessions adds, "spending will increase $1 trillion above the already projected growth after enactment of the Budget Control Act as part of the last debt deal. It achieves not one dollar in net spending reduction or debt reduction, and it continues the country on a dangerously unsustainable debt path."

The senator's comments come in response to a series of interviews Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner conducted on the Sunday morning talk shows. The top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee is also basing his remarks on reports of details of President Obama's proposal, which he narrows down to these bullet points:

The President proposes growth over and above the BCA baseline, which already calls for spending growth every single year. Specifically, President calls for:

· More than $170 billion in stimulus spending, including $26 billion for extended unemployment benefits, $50 billion for transportation spending, and $90 billion for an extension of the payroll holiday (which is considered on-budget spending)

· The elimination of the $1.2 trillion sequester (half of the spending cuts exchanged in 2011 for the $2.1 trillion in previous debt limit increase) without corresponding spending cuts, resulting in a $1.2 trillion spending increase

· The unpaid-for ‘doc fix’ or Medicare reimbursements ($394 billion)

· Only $600 billion in mandatory ‘savings’ primarily achieved through further reductions in provider payments beyond those in the President’s health law, which do nothing to enhance the long-term sustainability of entitlement spending

Via: Weekly Standard

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Congressional Budget Office Confirms FY 2012 Deficit Exceeds $1 Trillion

Fiscal year 2012 concluded with a $1.1 trillion deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s monthly budget review released today. It marks the fourth year of trillion-dollar-plus deficits.

Anyone can see that these massive, continued deficits are hardly sustainable. Despite claims that tax hikes are the solution to reduce the deficit, the fact remains that too much spending is the root cause of federal budget deficits.

The federal government is currently spending about 23 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), well above the historical average level of 20.2 percent of GDP. Current spending levels follow even greater spending excesses recorded during years saturated with stimulus spending. Conversely, revenues are temporarily low due to the recession, but they will rise and even surpass their historical level of 18.1 percent of GDP as the economy recovers and more Americans return to work. (continues below chart)

Prompted by presidential debate moderator Jim Lehrer about deficit-reduction proposals, President Obama chimed in with an all-too-familiar refrain: “There has to be revenue in addition to cuts.” When Washington’s spending addiction is the problem, why hike taxes on Americans? Doing so would hurt a fledgling economy trying to recover.

Via: The Foundry

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