The Real Savings of the $38 Billion Budget Cuts for This Year…$352 Million

[The Straight Story]

The Real Savings of the $38 Billion Budget Cuts for This Year…$352 Million

The great budget reduction negotiated by Republican leaders and President Barack Obama may not be so large after all. In fact, it might just be pretty darn small.

An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office has concluded the real savings from the plan may only be $352 million—which would represent one-one hundredth of the original promise of $38 billion.

The drastically smaller amount is a result of many decisions made by the GOP and Obama in crafting their compromise. Besides giving more money to the Department of Defense, the two sides counted as cuts recissions (cancelled contracts), reserve funds and writing off funding that might never have been spent anyway.

“It is kind of crazy to have come to the brink of shutting down the government over a $350 million difference,” Scott Lilly, a former staff director for the House Appropriations Committee, told National Journal.

http://www.allgov.com/Where_is_the_Money_Going/ViewNews/The_Real_Savings_of_the_38_Billion_Dollar_Budget_Cuts_for_This_Year__352_Million_Dollars_110415