{"id":287304,"date":"2011-03-02T21:41:43","date_gmt":"2011-03-02T21:41:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/02\/congress-delays-us-budget-impasse\/"},"modified":"2011-03-02T21:41:43","modified_gmt":"2011-03-02T21:41:43","slug":"congress-delays-us-budget-impasse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/02\/congress-delays-us-budget-impasse\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress delays US budget impasse"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n \t\t
\n 2 March 2011<\/span>
\nLast updated at <\/span>16:41 ET<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The US Congress has passed a bill extending funding for the federal government by two weeks, staving off a possible government shutdown.<\/p>\n

It comes as politicians continue to tussle over Republican plans to cut federal domestic spending by a quarter.<\/p>\n

The bill contains $4bn (\u00a32.5bn) in agreed cuts, well short of the $60bn targeted by Republicans.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the cuts plan would cost the US economy 200,000 jobs.<\/p>\n

“I would like to see job creation,” said Mr Bernanke, speaking to the House Financial Services Committee, adding that the impact was “not trivial”.<\/p>\n

The 200,000 figure he cited is equivalent to about 0.13% of the US labour force.<\/p>\n

His estimate was well below the 700,000 potential job losses cited by some Democrats, but conflicted with Republicans’ claims that their cuts plans would be job-creating.<\/p>\n

In contrast, the Fed chairman said the likely impact of the cuts on growth would only be about 0.2% this year and 0.1% next.<\/p>\n

Day of reckoning<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tContinue reading the main story<\/a>\t<\/p>\n

\u201cStart Quote<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n

We cannot keep doing business this way\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

End Quote<\/span>
\n\tBarack Obama<\/span>
\n\tUS President<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Republicans control the House of Representatives – the lower chamber of Congress – but not the Senate.<\/p>\n

They have been threatening Washington DC with an effective shutdown if the cuts are not passed, by refusing to raise the federal government’s borrowing limit.<\/p>\n

Although the government cannot exceed its borrowing cap by law, perversely that does not prevent Congress passing legislation that creates unfunded spending commitments.<\/p>\n

House Representatives endorsed a tax-cutting package at the end of last year that significantly increased the current US budget deficit.<\/p>\n

The extension bill only postpones the day of reckoning by two weeks, to 18 March, with Democrats claiming that is not enough time to reach an agreement over the budget.<\/p>\n

Counter-proposal<\/span><\/p>\n

“We cannot keep doing business this way,” said President Barack Obama.<\/p>\n

“Living with the threat of a shut-down every few weeks is not responsible, and it puts our economic progress in jeopardy.”<\/p>\n

Senate Democrats are preparing their own counter-proposal to the Republicans’ cuts.<\/p>\n

Mr Obama has asked Vice-President Joe Biden to broker an agreement between the two sides.<\/p>\n

The federal government last experienced a shut-down in the mid-90s during Bill Clinton’s presidency.<\/p>\n

On that occasion, most voters blamed Newt Gingrich’s Republicans.<\/p>\n

But this time round it is unclear whose electoral prospects would be damaged if a deal is not reached.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

See the original post:
\nCongress delays US budget impasse<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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