Economy Slow Down Predicted As Sequester Looms
February 22, 2013
U.S. President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to take action to prevent $85 billion in automatic spending cuts -- known as the "sequester" -- from going into effect on March first. The sequester deadline resulted from a battle over raising the debt ceiling in August of 2011. Congress and the president agreed on a future threat of severe mandatory budget cuts as a way of forcing action to cut the national deficit. But the threat did not work, and now, the cuts are poised to happen within days -- unless Congress finds an elusive compromise to cut spending.
Democrats and Republicans in Washington are once again approaching a showdown over how to reduce the national debt -- with Republicans calling for cuts in domestic spending programs and Democrats asking that tax loopholes be closed on the wealthiest Americans.
This time, the Republicans who control the House of Representatives are threatening to let the cuts take effect. “The sequester will be in effect until there are cuts and reforms that put us on a path to balance the budget over the next 10 years, period!” explained House Speaker John Boehner.
President Obama is warning the cuts would be brutal.
"These cuts are not smart. They are not fair. They will hurt our economy," Obama stated. "They will add hundreds of thousands of Americans to the unemployment roles. This is not an abstraction. People will lose their jobs."
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