Sunday, April 10, 2011

U.S. achieves an extension in extremis to avoid government shutdown

Republicans and Democrats buried the hatchet when there was only an hour for the "cerrojazo" the federal government for lack of funds. The two parties finally reached an agreement for the fiscal 2011 budget includes a cut in public spending of 38,000 million dollars, the largest in recent U.S. history.

"I have the pleasure to announce that the Washington Monument and all government offices will remain open," said Obama, with the obelisk illuminated in the background, at the time of his ambivalent blessing to the deal shortly before midnight. The agreement prevented the paralysis of the administration feared that would have left empty ministries, museums, national parks and thousands of federal agents throughout the country, in a sequel to "cerrojazo" of the Clinton era (only services "emergency" air traffic controllers to the soldiers in line of fire would have continued in their posts).

The question was how far would this time the struggle of the Republicans, with the historical precedent of Newt Gingrich still in recent memory. Chamber President, John Boehner, withstood late pressure from the Tea Party, preferring to negotiate with Democrats rather than force the closure, knowing that public opinion could again take its toll on the Conservatives, as they did 15 years ago .

"What we have done has been historic," proclaimed the Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid, the first to announce the white smoke when there was less than an hour before the guillotine fell. "Like all compromises, we had to make hard DECISIONS compromise on issues that were important to them," Obama said on his part, referring to the pulse delivered to the Republicans.

The president acknowledged that the cuts in government spending will be "historic" and go beyond "I would have liked in other circumstances." "We will continue investing in our future," promised the president, after explaining how the budgetary adjustment primarily affect dozens of social programs and infrastructure projects.

The White House resisted, however, the Republican offensive was intended to stop unfunded family planifiación programs and reduce the minimum core regulatory bodies such as the Environment Protection Agency (EPA).

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