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Showing Original Post only (View all)Breaking: Obama Signs Sequestration Order to Begin $85 Billion in Spending Cuts [View all]
Source: CBS News
Pres Obama has now signed the sequestration order putting in place $85 bil in automatic spending cuts.
by Steve Holland via twitter 8:41 PM
Obama signs order to begin spending cuts
March 01, 2013
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama has signed an order authorizing the government to begin cutting $85 billion from federal accounts, officially enacting across-the-board reductions that he opposed but failed to avert.
Obama acted Friday, the deadline for the president and Congress to avoid the steep, one-year cuts.
Obama has insisted on replacing the cuts, known as a "sequester" in government budget language, with tax increases and cuts spread out over time. Republicans have rejected any plan that included tax revenue.
The government says the reductions will soon result in furlough notices to government employees and will trim government spending on defense contracts and in domestic government programs. Active military personnel and anti-poverty and low-income assistance programs are largely protected from the cuts.
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57572184/obama-signs-order-to-begin-spending-cuts