Obama signs bipartisan budget deal, defense bill (LINK CORRECTED)
Source: AP-Excite
HONOLULU (AP) - Rounding out a tough and frustrating year, President Barack Obama signed a bipartisan budget deal Thursday easing spending cuts and a defense bill cracking down on sexual assault in the military, as the president and Congress began pivoting to the midterm election year ahead.
Obama put his signature on both hard-fought bills while vacationing in Hawaii, where he has been regrouping with his family since Saturday. The bill signing marks one of Obama's last official acts in a year beset by a partial government shutdown, a near-default by the Treasury, a calamitous health care rollout and near-perpetual congressional gridlock.
Although the budget deal falls short of the grand bargain that Obama and congressional Republicans once aspired to, it ends the cycle of fiscal brinkmanship - for now - by preventing another shutdown for nearly two more years.
But the rare moment of comity may be short-lived. Hanging over the start of the year is a renewed fight over raising the nation's borrowing limit, which the Treasury says must be resolved by late February or early March to avert an unprecedented U.S. default. Both sides are positioning behind customary hard-line positions, with Republicans insisting they want concessions before raising the debt limit and Obama insisting he won't negotiate.
FULL story at link.
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20131226/DAAUATVO0.html
President Barack Obama speaks to members of the military and their families in Anderson Hall at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013, in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The first family is in Hawaii for their annual holiday vacation. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,627 posts)Where's the link?
Omaha Steve
(99,653 posts)Second time today I've done that.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,627 posts)alp227
(32,025 posts)Marking a rare step toward achieving his goal of closing the controversial detention facility, Obama released a statement crediting Congress for relaxing regulations that he said had significantly hindered efforts to transfer detainees who had been cleared to leave.
The continued operation of the facility weakens our national security by draining resources, damaging our relationships with key allies and partners and emboldening violent extremists, Obama said in the statement. He added that the new provision represents an improvement over current law and is a welcome step toward closing the facility.
full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-signs-defense-law-calls-it-a-welcome-step-toward-closing-guantanamo-bay-prison/2013/12/26/ba07e1d4-6e5c-11e3-b405-7e360f7e9fd2_story.html
full signing statement is here
Maybe Obama should give a "SHUT DOWN THIS PRISON" speech at Gitmo a la Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech, as a wake-up call to Congress.
debunkthis
(99 posts)please see the following site:
https://www.aclu.org/blog/tag/ndaa
fasttense
(17,301 posts)"Also included: a contentious provision to pare down annual cost of living increases in benefits for military retirees under age 62. Those cuts will save the government about $6.3 billion over a decade."
Thanks Obama, thanks RepubliCONS. Can't make Paris Hilton pay estate taxes on her 100s of millions but we can make sure those soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines pay for the rest of their lives.
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)Another predatory con from the Third Way-Republican alliance.
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)She voted for it.
24601
(3,962 posts)so that each person who receives more than a certain amount would be taxed on the excess. But that would allow a "donor" to avoid tax by spreading out the estate over a large number of recipients.
4dsc
(5,787 posts)I know it's finally something but its a bad deal all around. This is a Ryan budget after all.
4 Reasons Taxpayers Should Be Angry Budget Deal Fattens Pentagon
http://www.taxpayer.net/media-center/article/4-reasons-taxpayers-should-be-angry-budget-deal-fattens-pentagon
BumRushDaShow
(129,053 posts)I wish the dumbass media would stop reporting the bullshit about a "budget" bill "preventing another shutdown for nearly two more years". The government will shut down at 12:01 am January 16th, 2014 if Congress doesn't pass either individual Appropriations bills or some Omnibus appropriations to fund the government agencies based on the just-signed budget ceilings. This issue is separate from the debt ceiling nonsense.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)Woo-hoo. Another big win for the Dems. The Washington Generals of politics.