Obama wants emergency funding to combat Zika

Even though Republicans have been dismissive of his last budget in office, President Obama on Tuesday laid out what ideally he would like to do as a coda to his eight years in the White House.

Both projections are above the actual deficit of $438 billion recorded last year, the lowest deficit total for Obama’s presidency, a period when the deficits soared to above $1 trillion annually for four years as the government was buffeted by the worst recession in seven decades and a serious financial crisis.

Obama and former Speaker John Boehner struck a two-year deal last fall setting the top-line figure for this year’s appropriations process at $1.1 trillion and lifting spending caps known as sequestration.

But having the national budget – and the funds for Colombia – approved will prove hard. Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton may be challenged to embrace or separate themselves from Obama’s policies, and Republican candidates will seek to draw a contrast between his vision for the country and their own.

Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs, said, “We have just started our review of the president’s proposed budget, but already I can see the president is not working in reality but instead has created a budget based in fantasy”.

However, with the Republicans urging severe government spending cuts, an increase in aid to Colombia faces a far from certain future approval.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday sent his final annual budget proposal to a Republican-led Congress, seeking $19 billion for a broad new cybersecurity initiative and declaring that his plan “is about looking forward”.

It calls for $152 billion in research and development, an increase of 4 percent over fiscal year 2016, including funding for an effort to cure cancer, which is spearheaded by Vice President Joe Biden. All told, its tax hikes would average more than a quarter-trillion dollars a year to cover deficits made worse by a softening economic picture.

Westerman asked, “How does the president’s proposed $6.1 trillion in deficit spending over the next decade embody America’s values and aspirations?”

The budget proposal highlights Obama’s priorities for fighting climate change, helping the poor, increasing taxes for the wealthy, and strengthening national security.

HORSLEY: Obama proposed a $10 a barrel tax on crude oil to fund transportation projects, along with new spending on job training and food aid for kids during the summertime when the school lunch program is not available.

The budget arrived the day after Obama requested an immediate $1.8 billion infusion to combat the Zika virus, which can cause horrific birth defects and is spreading in Latin America. And off-budget war spending will decrease by $636 billion through 2026. And impose the Buffett Rule or so-called Fair Share Tax, which would mean those making $1 million or more would pay at least 30 percent of their income in federal taxes.

“In the midst of what people are rightly noting is our a year ago, this is continuing the theme of turning the idea of a lame duck on its head”, the staffer continued, saying that the president is “still totally focused on leaving it all on the field, and putting out new ideas”.

By expanding the Research and Experimentation Tax Credit and adding $152 million in federal research, Obama’s budget proposal allows the U.S.to invest heavily in innovation.