Monday April 20, 03:42 PM
Obama to make 100-million-dollar spending cut call
By Stephen Collinson
WASHINGTON (AFP) - In his debut cabinet meeting Monday, President Barack Obama will command his government to cut 100 million dollars from the US federal budget in 90 days with an eye on the ballooning deficit.
The call will highlight Obama's vow to slash wasteful spending as he is assailed by critics who warn his ambitious political program and large expenditures to revive the economy will bankrupt future generations.
Obama will ask cabinet secretaries to identify cuts of a collective 100 million dollars over the next three months, an administration official said on condition of anonymity.
"Agencies will be required to report back with their savings at the end of 90 days," the official said.
Republicans have accused Obama of irresponsibly saddling future Americans with a dangerous legacy of huge debt, but the administration counters that short-term expenditures are vital to economic recovery.
Government data last week showed that the budget deficit raced to hit a record near one trillion dollars halfway through the current fiscal year, partly inflated by government bail outs of troubled financial institutions.
As part of his vow to go through the budget line-by-line to cull waste, Obama will point to savings already made by government agencies, some involving better use of technology or trimming everyday office expenses.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has cancelled or delayed 26 conferences, saving nearly 17.8 million dollars, the official said, adding that the agency will use more video conferencing facilities.
The Department of Homeland Security meanwhile is projecting budget cuts of 52 million dollars over five years just by buying office supplies in bulk, the official added.
The cabinet meeting comes days after a string of "Tea Party" demonstrations across the United States, which saw Obama critics claim the administration was busting hopes of future prosperity with high taxation and ballooning deficits.
The top Republican in the House of Representatives, John Boehner, argued Sunday that Americans were increasingly concerned that Obama's Democratic Party was dangerously inflating the deficit with its ambitious political plans.
"They're really concerned about the amount of spending that's going on in Washington and the amount of debt that's being piled up," Boehner said on ABC News show "This Week."
"They know that you can't have trillion-dollar deficits for as far as the eye can see without imprisoning the future for our kids and theirs."
The cabinet meeting comes on the heels of Obama's whirlwind weekend of diplomacy at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, dominated by signs of a tentative thaw between the United States and Cuba.
Back in Washington, however, domestic priorities are set to shape the agenda in coming weeks, as the administration renews its bid to reignite the economy.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecast last month the budget deficit could hit 1.845 trillion dollars for the whole year, based on Obama's 3.5-trillion-dollar budget plan approved by Congress.
The CBO said its budget deficit estimate for fiscal 2009, which ends on September 30, would be four times the 2008 record shortfall and amount to 13.1 percent of the country's total economic output.
The Obama budget forecasts a 1.750 trillion dollar deficit in fiscal 2009.
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