WASHINGTON - A freshman Democratic senator accused the president Barack Obama on Tuesday of failing to provide leadership to a worsening of the national deficit as top Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill has spent more time than pointing the finger at a common ground for a must-do as government funding for the next six months.
Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., called Obama to look "tough negotiations" when packaging the work of the unfinished budget last year and said that "now it will not happen."
"When it comes to an issue of significant national importance, the President must lead to" Manchin said. Freshman senator gets re-election next year, the state, where voters tend to be hostile to Obama.
White House press secretary Jay Carney responded that Obama "Leadership and the severity of the need to live in our funds, reduce costs where we can, obviously."
On Capitol Hill, the main democratic leader continued his assault on the spending measure passed the House, which contains bruises cuts in many programs. The vote is looming on the bill of the Republican Party, in writing, and a democratic alternative in the Senate this week
Republicans say the Democratic plan that would cut the national agency operating budgets of about 3 percent last year, do not go far enough that the GOP plan, which cuts the agency about 13 percent average - cuts that feel twice as deep as they would be implemented in the second half of the fiscal year ending September 30.
"We need to start a numbers game," said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Is called the GOP bill "a piece of destruction of the legislation." Reid suggested that reducing agricultural programs and subsidies for exploration by oil companies, which means to bridge the gap.
Looming in the Senate vote last week are in the test plan of the House GOP and other milder Democrats in the Senate, which aims to promote Obama, Republicans dominate the House and Senate Democrats to face overwhelming differences.
Democrats said the vote in the Senate to show some freshmen of tea with the support of the House GOP that his bill is a matter of death in the Senate and they need to approach their applications small cuts.
No measure can muster the 60 votes needed in the Senate proceedings in advance, not a single Democrat is likely to vote for the measure of the Republicans, and some may be reluctant to Bill and democratic. This could put pressure on the President of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other congressional leaders from both parties seek a compromise.
In the meantime, the option of a democratic vote of the Senate provides up to another 5 billion U.S. dollars of spending cuts are not likely to get the unanimous support of Democrats, especially moderates - including Manchin - up for reelection in 2012.
One such Democrat, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, said the Democratic measure "does not go far enough", but has not decided whether to support it. Manchin agreed, saying that the theater was a waste of kubuki crazy time.
"Republicans say the Democrats will not go far enough. Democrats say Republicans go too far, "said Manchin." The truth is both reason and both proposals would fail. Worse yet, everyone in Congress know they will fail. "
In the meantime, "said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., The current debate over federal funding agencies through September 30" is just a dress rehearsal "for a wider debate about the programs benefits such as Medicare, which are the real drivers of the spiral of the federal budget.
"The Democrats have to do much better than this if we are able to shape the country's economy," said McConnell. "Frankly, it's embarrassing.
McConnell also spoke of possible layoffs of workers in federal spending cuts to be implemented.
"The only entity in America that does not sacrifice during this economic downturn, workers in the federal government," said McConnell. "I can not guarantee that someone would not be affected .... But we have largely immune from the federal government of this recession. "
House GOP measure the cuts will be extended to domestic programs whose budgets are set annually to Congress in a politically sensitive program outside of Head Start and Pell Grants. Money for food inspection, environmental monitoring, for local schools and police and fire departments, and grants to municipalities for community development would be significantly reduced.
The Democratic alternative would reduce spending by 11 billion U.S. dollars last year to limit the increase in the Pentagon and military nuclear operations, only 1 percent, far less than the increases received in previous years.
The Senate Democratic plan, is far from the reduction sought by the Republicans, but shows a considerable movement of where the party was last year when he tried to pass an omnibus spending money with a 30 billion U.S. dollars more than the current measure. Senate Republicans blocked the effort.
The lack of progress openly and House leaders are considering another temporary spending bill to avoid a government shutdown when the current measure expires at the end of next week.
House GOP Whip Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday that the chamber is likely to propose a short term measure to fund the government between two and four weeks.
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