The Republican-dominated House’s move to pass Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin’s federal budget proposal March 29 is unsurprising. Neither is U.S. President Barack Obama’s response three days later.
With a vote of 228-191, the House passed the fiscal 2013 budget resolution, which sets the international affairs budget at $49.1 billion, 4.8 percent lower than Obama’s already reduced $51.6 billion request. Ten Republicans voted against the House budget, The New York Times reports.
Obama slammed the House Republicans’ move, calling the proposal a “Trojan horse” and a “prescription for decline.” The scathing attack was made at an Associated Press luncheon Tuesday (April 3). But while Obama’s response is hardly surprising, conservative groups such as The Heritage Foundation wonder why he chose to criticize a plan that won’t likely be passed into law, “if for no other reason than the President’s own veto pen.”
The budget is now in the hands of the House Appropriations Committee, which will set funding allocation to different subcommittees. The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition says the allocations are expected to be announced after the recess this April.
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