Related Content: budget

Obama Budget is Preview of Election Battle

On The Radar

President Obama's 2013 budget, scheduled for release Monday, offers a preview of the November election as both parties angle to refine the vision they hope to sell to voters. Obama's plan and the House Republicans' answer, due in the spring, are aimed as much at offering voters a choice as at promoting policies destined for enactment.
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Contraception Debate Drowns Out Budget Talk

On The Radar

The new White House chief of staff, Jacob J. Lew, made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows to discuss the budget that President Obama is to release on Monday, but instead he was forced repeatedly to defend the administration’s effort to guarantee that insurers cover birth control for women in the face of criticism from religious groups.
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Panetta: U.S. to Wind Down Combat Mission in Afghanistan Next Year

On The Radar

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that the U.S.-led NATO coalition would end its combat role in Afghanistan next year, the clearest indication yet that the Obama administration is accelerating its plans to wind down the long and unpopular Afghan war. “Hopefully by mid- to the latter part of 2013, we’ll be able to make a transition from a combat role to a training, advise, and assist role,” The Washington Post said Panetta told reporters accompanying him to Brussels.

White House to Release Budget Proposal Feb. 13

On The Radar

President Obama’s final budget proposal of his term, covering fiscal year 2013 and the decade beyond, will be released on Feb. 13, a week later than officials had previously indicated. The Office of Management and Budget notified reporters of the timing on Monday in an e-mail without explanation, though a spokesman said the extra time was needed “to finalize technical and programmatic decisions.” The administration had not committed to releasing the budget on Feb. 6, but that date had been talked about for weeks.

Obama's Modest Proposal on Defense

On The Radar

As he unveiled his administration's new blueprint for U.S. defense strategy last week, President Obama sought to vaccinate himself against charges that he was gutting the nation's military. Even after the strategy is fully implemented, he said, "the defense budget will still be larger than it was at the end of the Bush administration."
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Shifts at Pentagon Reflect Dual Realities of Different Threats, Tighter Budgets

On The Radar

The Obama administration's high-profile rollout of its new military blueprint for the years ahead was designed to do two very different things: mark a decisive shift away from manpower-heavy counterinsurgencies like Afghanistan and shield the White House from Republican criticism over its plans for significant cuts to the Pentagon budget.
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President Cuts Defense Spending

On The Radar

New strategy relies less on ground troops and more on naval forces, air power. 

Congress Reaches Deal to Avoid Government Shutdown

On The Radar

Congress has reached an agreement to fund the federal government through Sept. 30 of next year — avoiding a government shutdown at midnight Friday — and was considering a deal for a short-term extension of a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits to American workers. While a final deal on the payroll package continued to elude negotiators on Thursday, congressional leaders struck a less partisan tone than in days before and expressed optimism that a deal could be reached.

Paul Ryan to Announce New Approach to Preserving Medicare

On The Radar

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, who has been castigated by Democrats and hailed by Republicans for his plan to privatize Medicare, will on Thursday unveil a new approach that would preserve the 46-year-old federal health program. Working with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), the Wisconsin Republican is developing a framework that would offer traditional, government-run Medicare as an option for future retirees along with a variety of private plans.

GOP Tries To Reign In Spending On Jobless Benefits

On The Radar

One of the year-end fights going on in Congress is about unemployment insurance. Democrats want to extend benefits for people who have been out of work for a long time. Republicans say it's time to change the program and lower its cost. The Labor Department estimates that if Congress doesn't act soon, some 2.5 million people could stop receiving checks by March.