Delays in FY 2014 Budget Release, State of the Union Address

President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2014 budget, tentatively scheduled for release on February 4^th, will most likely be delayed for several weeks. The President’ s State of the Union address, typically delivered in late January or early February, is also expected to be delayed.

UPDATE: The White House has announced that the State of the Union address will take place on Tuesday, February 12th.

Sequestration Update:

As reported earlier this month, Congress and the Administration approved a fiscal cliff deal, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which included delaying sequestration cuts for federal programs until March 1^st.

This week, congressional Republicans grappled with how to address defense sequestration. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) indicated that the sequester is a strong leverage point for Republicans, and that there will be Republican support for allowing sequestration cuts to occur on March 1^st if President Obama does not offer other reductions. However, other Republican members have openly disagreed with Speaker Boehner.

Congressional Democrats and the Administration maintain that they oppose the sequester, but they also will not agree to replace it without new revenues or offsetting cuts that would not disproportionately burden the middle class.

Labor Department Secretary Hilda Solis Resigns

U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis announced this week that she will be resigning from her post, opening another position for Obama to fill for his second term.

Kara Herbertson, Research and Policy Manager

This entry was posted on Friday, January 11th, 2013 at 11:23 am and is filed under Legislation, News, Public Policy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.