For the first time in 92 years Congress is kicking off the budget process. On Tuesday Rep. Paul Ryan and the house Republicans unveiled their budget plan which according to Representative Ryan will balance the budget by 2023 and bring $4.6 trillion in savings over the next ten years. On Wednesday afternoon Senate democrats unveiled their own budget plan, which to no one’s surprise was different than the Republican version. They are looking for $1.85 trillion in cuts from the deficit over 10 years and include a mix of tax increases from closing loopholes and spending cuts.
The budget battle comes smack in the middle of the sequester talks and a new Washington Post/ABC poll shows that President Obama’s approval rating has dropped 5 points since December, down to 50% overall. This isn’t the worst rating he has received but shows that he is starting to loose steam with the American people. Furthermore, the Washington Post/ABC poll shows that when it comes to Americans’ confidence in fixing the economy 44% of Americans put their trust in President Obama and 40% put their trust in Republicans. This is only a 4 point lead, which is down from his 18 point lead that he had right after he was elected.
So, with his own budget plan set to be unveiled the week of April 8th, two months later than expected, President Obama is left to play defense with Congress. On Tuesday he met with Senate Democrats, Wednesday House Republicans, and today he is set to meet with Senate Republicans and House Democrats. It is unclear what exactly will come out of these meetings other than President Obama walking out with a smile on his face.
Abby Borovitz