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Meanwhile, back at the budget talks ...
Vice President Joe Biden said last night that Democrats and Republicans are "making good progress" on a budget deal that would avoid a government shutdown, and have agreed to a specific number on budget cuts: $73 billion.
Now they have to agree on the specific cuts that will make up that $73 billion. They also have to finesse the fact that the number includes budget items that have never been approved in the first place -- the actual number of cuts to existing programs total $33 billion.
And then congressional leaders have to sell a final package to skeptical lawmakers.
Everyone is working against a specific deadline of April 8, a week from Friday, the day a continuing resolution ends and the government essentially runs out of money.
"There is no reason why, with all that's going on in the world and with the state of the economy, we can't reach an agreement to avoid a government shutdown," Biden said, an apparent reference to Libya and other military engagements like Afghanistan. "Because the bottom line here is we're working off the same number ($73 billion)."
Of course, Biden also noted that "there's a difference in the composition of that number -- what's included, what's not included."
There may also be a dispute over the basic number: Tea Party Republicans say they want $100 billion in spending cuts; some congressional Democrats may think $73 billion is too much to cut.
الرئيسية 
موضوع: Biden: 'Good progress' on budget talks to avoid shutdown 
الخميس مارس 31, 2011 7:01 am
