Morning Bell: Read Before You Vote

Rory Cooper / April 13, 2011

A budget agreement that fell short in dollars but was advertised as “the largest spending cut in history” is being challenged by new reports that the old ways of Washington have yet to be overcome. News outlets such as The Washington Post, Fox News and the Associated Press suggest “creative accounting” may have been used to get to the figure of $38.5 billion in cuts. We’re still poring over the numbers, but this is a good time to remind the public that Congress needs to do the opposite of what former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) recommended last year when she said “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”

The National Journal reports: “…the final cuts in the deal are advertised as $38.5 billion less than was appropriated in 2010, but after removing rescissions, cuts to reserve funds, and reductions in mandatory spending programs, discretionary spending will be reduced only by $14.7 billion.”

Clearly, $14.7 billion cut from a $3.5 trillion budget is less than advertised and far less than expected. So far, our initial analysis has found at least $12.2 billion and as much as $20.6 billion in cuts in the final agreement should be reviewed thoroughly. These include $6.2 billion from the 2010 Census and it remains to be seen how much of that spending would have ended regardless. Then there’s $6 billion from rescissions of funds that were not likely to be spent anyway. (more…)