Why States Could Lose All Federal Funding

Why States Could Lose All Federal Funding

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State education and environmental spending would take the biggest hits proportionately if the automatic across-the-board federal spending cuts take effect March 1, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center.

The percentage of funding each program area receives from the federal government that would be vulnerable to budget sequestration varies greatly. For instance, 100 percent of federal education funding to states would be vulnerable to the cuts, while just 4 percent of federal  transportation funding to states would be on the chopping block if Congress allows the sequester to take effect.  - Find out which programs are most vulnerable here

OBAMA MISSES BUDGET DEADLINE AGAIN    President Obama on Monday blew the deadline for submitting his budget request to Congress for the third year in a row, prompting Republicans to grouse once again about presidential incompetence on fiscal matters. Congressional aides in both parties say they expect to see the budget in mid- to late-March — a delay of more than a month under federal budget law and a record unmatched by any other incumbent president except, on one occasion, Ronald Reagan. Though Obama’s budget requests have been dead on arrival in Congress since Republicans took control of the House two years ago, the blueprint remains an important political document. -  Read more at the Washington Post

WILL PAYROLL TAX HIKE UNDERCUT CONSUMER SPENDING?    Economists worry that the payroll tax increase could take a big bite out of consumer spending this quarter. When lawmakers agreed to allow the payroll-tax holiday to expire at the end of the year the tax shot up by 2 percentage points, from 4.2 percent to 6.2 percent. The tax could slow growth in consumer spending to a fourth of its potential, which was expected to be about 2 percent, according to the economists at RBC Capital Markets.   -  Read more at National Journal

ON THE DOCKET: CANTOR ON THE GOP REBOOT    House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., will lay out his vision for the Republican party today at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. Flanked by middle class working Americans, Cantor will deliver his speech “Making Life Work” in an attempt to regroup and rebrand the battered GOP.  -  Read excerpts from his speech here  and check back for The Fiscal Times’ coverage of the event.

SENATE DEMS CRAFT THEIR OWN GAME PLAN    Senate Democrats will huddle behind closed doors today and Wednesday at the Westin Annapolis for their annual retreat. They will spend much of their time strategizing on how to handle key issues, including the looming sequester, tax reform, immigration reform and gun control.  Senate Dems will then meet with the president upon their return Wednesday to coordinate a strategy. Read more at The Hill

Brianna Ehley is the former Washington Correspondent for The Fiscal Times. She is currently a reporter on Politico's health care team in Washington, D.C.