Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/455017
ByJoshLedermanand Andrew Taylor TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON Declaringan end to "mindless austerity," President Barack Obama called for a surge in gov- ernment spending Thurs- day, and asked Congress to throw out the sweeping spending cuts both parties agreed to four years ago when deficits were spiral- ing out of control. Obama's proposed $74 billion in added spending — about 7 percent — would be split about evenly between defense programs and the domestic side of the bud- get. Although he's sought before to reverse the "se- quester" "spending cuts, Obama's pitch in this year's budget comes with the added oomph of an improv- ing economy and big recent declines in federal deficits. "If Congress rejects my plan and refuses to undo these arbitrary cuts, it will threaten our economy and our military," Obama warned in an op-ed article Thursday in The Huffing- ton Post. He said the nation's debt still would decline as a share of the overall economy. The figures represent Obama's opening offer as he gears up for an inevitable budget battle with the new Republican-run Congress. He was to brief House Dem- ocrats on the plan Thursday evening in Philadelphia at their annual retreat. Republicans immedi- ately balked — Texas Sen. John Cornyn dismissed the plan as "happy talk" — al- though it was unclear just how much of Obama's pro- posal they would oppose. GOP lawmakers are fo- cused primarily on revers- ing restraints on military spending, while Democrats and Obama are seeking new domestic dollars for educa- tion, research, health care and infrastructure. Repub- licans argue that spend- ing more in so many areas would undo the hard-fought reductions in the country's annual deficit. They also oppose many of the tax hikes Obama has proposed to pay for the in- creased spending. Neither party has tender feelings for the sequester, which cuts bluntly across the entire federal budget and was originally designed more as a threat than as an actual spending plan. With the economy gaining steam while deficits decline, both parties have signaled they want to roll some of the cuts back.Abipartisandealstruck previously softened the blow by about a third for the 2014 and 2015 budget years. Both parties are gener- ally inclined to boost spend- ing for the military, which is wrestling with threats from terrorism and extrem- ist groups and has been strained by budget limits and two long wars. "At what point do we, the institution and our nation, lose our soldiers' trust?" asked Gen. Raymond Odi- erno, the Army chief of staff, at a Senate hearing on Wednesday. Said Ryan Murphy, a spokesman for the GOP- controlled House Budget Committee: "The president should work with Congress to ensure the military has the resources it needs to complete its mission, and to achieve deficit reduction within the caps through smarter reforms and sav- ings." Yet among congressional Republicans, there's no una- nimity about where more Pentagon funds should come from — a division within the GOP that Obama appeared eager to exploit. Some House Republicans want to cut domestic agency budgets to free money for the military — an approach that failed badly when they tried it two years ago. Some are eying cuts to so-called mandatory programs such as Social Security and Medi- care, while others want to ignore the spending re- straints altogether. "Whatever it takes within reason to get this problem fixed is what I'm willing to do," said Sen. Lindsey Gra- ham, R-S.C., adding that he would be willing to consider more tax revenue "just to get the damn thing done." The budget constraints stem from the hard-fought budget and debt bill of Au- gust 2011 that both par- ties negotiated and Obama signed into law. The threat of across-the-board cuts to virtually every federal agency was supposed to force Democrats and Re- publicans to compromise on smarter, less onerous spending cuts, but the mea- sure kicked in when a su- percommittee failed to reach an overall fiscal deal. The White House said Obama's budget would be "fully paid for" by cutting inefficient programs and closing tax loopholes — particularly a trust fund provision the White House has been eyeing. Spokes- man Josh Earnest said that and a few other tax tweaks would not only pay for Obama's increased spend- ing but also offset middle- class tax cuts the president wants to create or expand. FEDERAL BUDGET Ob am a ca ll s fo r sp en di ng s ur ge , buoyed by improving economy EVANVUCCI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS President Barack Obama, le , Vice President Joe Biden, center, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey applaud outgoing Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel during a celebration in honor of Hagel's service, on Wednesday in Fort Myer, Va. J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch testifies Wednesday during her confirmation hearing. By Erica Werner and Eric Tucker The Associated Press WASHINGTON Attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch won two key Repub- lican endorsements Thurs- day en route to likely con- firmation as the first black woman in the nation's top law enforcement job. "I believe she's not only qualified but exception- ally well-qualified and a very good person, to boot," Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, a senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Com- mittee, declared from the dais on the second day of Lynch's confirmation hear- ing to replace Eric Holder. Another committee Re- publican, Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, said later he in- tended to back Lynch. GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said he was inclined to do the same. That seemed to guar- antee Lynch's approval by the Judiciary Commit- tee in coming weeks, since she needs only two Repub- lican votes on the panel if all Democrats back her. From there, her nomina- tion would move to the full Senate, where she also is likely to win approval. Lynch, 55, the top fed- eral prosecutor since 2010 for parts of New York City and Long Island, promised senators a fresh start from Holder, who has clashed repeatedly with congres- sional Republicans during his six years in the job. Re- publicans deride him as a liberal firebrand and cheer- leader for President Barack Obama, and can barely wait to be rid of him. That accounted in part for the swell of GOP sup- port for Lynch after a day- long confirmation hear- ing Wednesday where she calmly pledged indepen- dence from Obama and promised to work with the Republican-led Congress. Lynch did not appear Thursday at the second and final day of her con- firmation hearing, which featured outside witnesses. On Wednesday, Lynch aligned herself with Holder on certain decisions, agree- ing with his assertions that waterboarding is tor- ture and illegal, that civil- ian courts are an appropri- ate venue to prosecute sus- pected terrorists captured overseas, and that the de- partment's resources are best reserved for prosecut- ing violent offenders. AG nominee wins GOP endorsements CONFIRMATION HEARING The Associated Press LONG BEACH The Califor- nia State University board of trustees has approved a new, voluntary charge to support operations of the statewide student associa- tion. The student involvement and representation fee that was passed Wednesday would charge $2 per stu- dent, per semester The Los Angeles Times reported. However, students will be able to opt out of paying it before they register. The nonprofit associa- tion advocates in Sacra- mento and Washington on behalf of students. The group currently is funded by the chancellor's office, and member fees are col- lected by individual cam- pus student associations California State Student Association Chairman Devon Graves and others said the fee will provide a steadier source of funds and give the group greater autonomy. "It's all about indepen- dence," he told the Times. "We will be able to extend the student voice on every campus and system-wide." Some campus organi- zations opposed the new fee, arguing that there was too little information on how the revenues would be spent. 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