House weighs cutting off funds for Libya mission (AP)

WASHINGTON – Clearly frustrated with President Barack Obama, Republican leaders are propelling the House toward crucial votes on the U.S. military role in Libya that could embarrass the commander in chief and reverberate in Tripoli and NATO capitals.

"I just believe that because of the president's failure to consult with the Congress, failure to outline for the American people why we were doing this before we engaged in this puts us in the position where we have to defend our responsibility under the Constitution," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in advancing two measures.

The House was scheduled to vote Friday on the competing measures: a resolution giving Obama limited authority to continue the American involvement in the NATO-led operation against Moammar Gadhafi's forces and a bill to cut off funds for U.S. military attacks there. The bill would make an exception for search and rescue efforts, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, aerial refueling and operational planning to continue the NATO effort.

"The president has ignored the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution, but he cannot ignore a lack of funding," said Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla., sponsor of the bill. "Only Congress has the power to declare war and the power of the purse, and my bill exercises both of those powers by blocking funds for the war in Libya unless the president receives congressional authorization."

House Republicans and Democrats are furious with Obama for failing to seek congressional authorization for the 3-month-old war against Libya, as required under the War Powers Resolution. The 1973 law, often ignored by Republican and Democratic presidents, says the commander in chief must seek congressional consent within 60 days. That deadline has long passed.

Obama stirred congressional unrest last week when he told lawmakers he didn't need authorization because the operation was not full-blown hostilities. NATO commands the operation, but the United States still plays a significant support role that includes aerial refueling of warplanes and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance work as well as drone attacks and bombings.

A New York Times report that said Obama overruled some of his legal advisers further incensed members of Congress.

A coalition of anti-war Democrats and tea party-backed Republicans are expected to defeat the resolution in a repudiation of the president.

"The war in Libya is illegal, unconstitutional and unwarranted. It must end," Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, said.

The fate of the legislation to cut off funds was uncertain.

In a last-ditch effort Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with rank-and-file Democrats to explain the mission and discuss the implications if the House votes to cut off funds. The administration requested the closed-door meeting.

Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., said Clinton apologized for not coming to Congress earlier. But he said she warned about the implications of a House vote to cut off money.

"The secretary expressed her deep concern that you're probably not on the right track when Gadhafi supports your efforts," Walz said.

Rep. Howard Berman of California, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said such a vote "ensures the failure of the whole mission."

Earlier this week Clinton said lawmakers were free to raise questions, but she asked, "Are you on Gadhafi's side, or are you on the side on the aspirations of the Libyan people and the international coalition that has been bringing them support?"

In the Senate, backers of a resolution to authorize the operation wondered whether the administration had waited too long to address the concerns of House members.

"It's way late," said Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee. "This is one of the reasons why they're having this veritable uprising in the House, because of a lack of communication. And then the icing on the cake was probably for them when he (Obama) said that we're not engaged in hostilities. That obviously is foolishness."

He added, however, "That is not a reason to pass a resolution that would encourage Moammar Gadhafi to stay in power."

Earlier this month, the House voted 268-145 to rebuke Obama for failing to provide a "compelling rationale" for the Libyan mission and for launching U.S. military forces without congressional approval.

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Obama turns next to cutting deficit

By Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP

President Obama speaks to visitors at the Lincoln Memorial after reaching a deal with Congress to avert a government shutdown.

EnlargeCloseBy Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP

President Obama speaks to visitors at the Lincoln Memorial after reaching a deal with Congress to avert a government shutdown.

"Every corner of the federal government has to be looked at," White House senior adviser David Plouffe told CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, two days after Obama and congressional leaders struck a down-to-the-wire deal over spending cuts for the remainder of this budget year, which ends in September.

That agreement, which averted a partial government shutdown, would cut $38.5 billion. Many of those cuts involve money that was allocated but had not yet been spent. More details are expected to be released today as Congress prepares to vote on the agreement later this week.

SPENDING: Budget deal ups the political anteTIMELINE: A closer look at the budget dealGOP HOPEFULS: Budget fight far from over With that budget drama largely behind him, Obama is preparing for a new set of showdowns. In a series of talk-show appearances on Sunday, Plouffe gave a broad outline of Obama's proposal. He said the president favors increasing taxes for top earners and limiting benefits in Medicare and Medicaid.

Plouffe said the White House does not believe Social Security is contributing to the short-term deficit. He said deficit-reduction will not be done by "putting all the burden on seniors."

Republicans said Obama lacks credibility on the deficit.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., the senior Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, said Obama's new plan follows the release in February of a fiscal 2012 budget proposal that was "the most irresponsible spending plan any president has ever put forward."

That $3.7 trillion plan would cut $1.1 trillion from the deficit over 10 years. In December, Obama's bipartisan fiscal commission voted 11-7 on a plan that recommended $3.9 trillion in reductions over a decade. House Republicans are aiming for even more dramatic cuts. In a blueprint issued last week, Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin called for $5 trillion in cuts over the next decade.

Sessions said it "will not be sufficient for the president to simply make a speech" Wednesday. Instead, he said Obama must submit a new budget to Congress.

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Obama turns next to cutting deficit

By Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP

President Obama speaks to visitors at the Lincoln Memorial after reaching a deal with Congress to avert a government shutdown.

EnlargeCloseBy Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP

President Obama speaks to visitors at the Lincoln Memorial after reaching a deal with Congress to avert a government shutdown.

"Every corner of the federal government has to be looked at," White House senior adviser David Plouffe told CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, two days after Obama and congressional leaders struck a down-to-the-wire deal over spending cuts for the remainder of this budget year, which ends in September.

That agreement, which averted a partial government shutdown, would cut $38.5 billion. Many of those cuts involve money that was allocated but had not yet been spent. More details are expected to be released today as Congress prepares to vote on the agreement later this week.

SPENDING: Budget deal ups the political anteTIMELINE: A closer look at the budget dealGOP HOPEFULS: Budget fight far from over With that budget drama largely behind him, Obama is preparing for a new set of showdowns. In a series of talk-show appearances on Sunday, Plouffe gave a broad outline of Obama's proposal. He said the president favors increasing taxes for top earners and limiting benefits in Medicare and Medicaid.

Plouffe said the White House does not believe Social Security is contributing to the short-term deficit. He said deficit-reduction will not be done by "putting all the burden on seniors."

Republicans said Obama lacks credibility on the deficit.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., the senior Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, said Obama's new plan follows the release in February of a fiscal 2012 budget proposal that was "the most irresponsible spending plan any president has ever put forward."

That $3.7 trillion plan would cut $1.1 trillion from the deficit over 10 years. In December, Obama's bipartisan fiscal commission voted 11-7 on a plan that recommended $3.9 trillion in reductions over a decade. House Republicans are aiming for even more dramatic cuts. In a blueprint issued last week, Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin called for $5 trillion in cuts over the next decade.

Sessions said it "will not be sufficient for the president to simply make a speech" Wednesday. Instead, he said Obama must submit a new budget to Congress.

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Congress Strikes a Budget Deal to Avert Shutdown, Cutting $38.5B

April 8: The U.S. Capitol was seen at dusk as a government shutdown loomed Friday night in Washington. (AP)

Congressional leaders, with barely an hour to go before a federal government, announced late Friday night they had reached a deal to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year.

The deal includes $38.5 billion in spending cuts while leaving the more contention policy matters, such as blocking funding for Planned Parenthood, for a later debate.

The Senate passed a short-term spending measure Friday night to buy lawmakers the time needed to prepare and pass the final budget bill next week. The House passed the measure early Saturday, which will be signed by President Obama when he receives it, according to senior administration officials.

"This agreement between Democrats and Republicans on behalf of all Americas is a budget that invests in our future while making the largest spending cut in our history," Obama said in a short speech to the nation after the deal had been announced."Today Americans of different beliefs came together again."

Shortly after midnight, White House budget director Jacob Lew issued a memo instructing the government's departments and agencies to continue their normal operations.

Of the $38.5 billion in spending cuts to Obama's original 2011 budget proposal, the short-term stopgap measure contains the first $2 billion and the final budget bill will cut the other $36.5 billion.

Boehner said the agreement came after "a lot of discussion and a long fight," and he won an ovation from his rank and file.

"We fought to keep government spending down because it really will be a jobs creator for our country," Boehner said.

On Friday, senior administration officials said Obama made it clear to his staff that he wanted them to stay out of the limelight and let the legislative process work. He urged them to avoid making comments that would hamper a potential deal.

It was a remarkable end to a roller-coaster week of negotiations, in which the government several times seemed headed for a shutdown because the two sides couldn't agree on a full-year budget.

Obama has already signed two temporary spending bills, which included a total of $10 billion in spending cuts, but he said this week he wasn't interested in any more short-term fixes.

As late as hours before the agreement, a government shutdown seemed quite possible -- if not inevitable -- as both sides couldn't even agree, at least in public, on what was holding up a deal.

Democrats said Republicans were pushing for social policy measure, while Republicans said the Democrats hadn't agreed to enough spending cuts.

But in the end, neither side wanted a shutdown that would risk the economic recovery and their political future.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called the agreement "historic."

"Both sides have made tough choices, but tough choices is what this job is all about," Reid said.

Obama called Boehner and Reid after the announcement of the budget resolution to thank them for their work.

The government's current fiscal year began back in October, but Democrats last year, facing stiff opposition from Republicans, put off a vote on a full-year budget as both parties geared up for the midterm elections. The standoff began in earnest several weeks ago, when the new

Republican majority in the House passed legislation that would fund the government for the rest of the year, but with $61 billion in cuts and numerous curbs on the government that Democrats objected to.

In the weeks since, the two sides have alternately negotiated on a budget for the rest of the year and taken time out to pass interim measures to buy themselves more time.

Republicans originally wanted to ban federal funds for Planned Parenthood, a health care services provider that is also the nation's largest provider of abortions.

Federal funds may not be used to pay for abortions except in strictly regulated cases, but supporters of the ban said cutting off government funds for the organization -- currently about $330 million a year -- would make it harder for it to use its own money for the same purpose.

Democrats rejected the proposal in private talks. Officials in both parties said Republicans returned earlier in the week with a proposal to distribute federal funds for family planning and related health services to the states, rather than directly to Planned Parenthood and other organizations.

Democrats said they rejected that proposal as well, and Obama had vowed to veto a bill that the House passed Tuesday to fund then refused to agree to allow a separate Senate vote on the issue as part of debate over any compromise bill.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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NASA cutting contractors at Marshall Space Flight Center

The Marshall Space Flight Center,has about 2,500 government and 3,500 contract employees. STORY HIGHLIGHTSSpace agency says it is cutting because of budget constraintsEssential Center functions will continue, spokesman saysCenter is best known for developing transportation and propulsion technologies (CNN) -- NASA said Thursday, because of budget constraints, between 150 and 300 contractor positions will be eliminated at the Marshall Space Flight Center, the agency's Huntsville, Alabama facility.

"Funding to Center support contractors will be reduced and that will result in reductions to the contractor workforce here," NASA said in a statement.

Marshall spokesman Dominic Amatore said the furloughs were not wholly unexpected.

"Our director back in January talked about budget issues and at that time, told employees about forming groups to look at expenditures, especially procurement money," he said.

Amatore said Marshall Center director Robert Lightfoot delivered an all-hands message on Tuesday to announce the layoffs.

"The cuts are broadly across the center," Amatore said. "The jobs that are directly affected by this budget involve center operations and maintenance, so it really cuts across the operation."

The contract employees will get additional information from the organizations they work in and, ultimately, from the specific contract companies they work for, Amatore said.

The facility's main priorities are not expected to be affected.

"Marshall Space Flight Center officials have conducted a comprehensive review of all institutional procurement and other expenditures and established funding priorities, ensuring that essential Center functions are maintained and that operational capabilities are in no way compromised," a space agency statement said.

Marshall supports a variety of initiatives for NASA, including engineering, science and space operations, but is best known for developing transportation and propulsion technologies.

The furloughs will be implemented by the end of May, Amatore said.

Amatore said Lightfoot addressed the possible government shutdown Tuesday, and that NASA would identify a "certain core group" that would be essential to operations.

Marshall currently has approximately 2,500 government employees and 3,500 contract employees, he said.

In a statement, Lightfoot said, "As NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden has said, tough times require tough choices. Marshall Center is doing what is necessary to live within our budget and retain the essential capabilities needed to support NASA's mission. We know this is a difficult time for members of our contractor workforce who are being affected by reductions and we intend to assist them in their career transition as much as possible."

In February 2010, President Barack Obama announced plans to conclude the Constellation rocket program, which led to 900 contractor job cuts at Marshall last year.

Despite the layoffs, Amatore said employees remain concentrated on the job at hand.

"We're very focused on flying safely. We've got a space shuttle launch coming up this month," he said. "NASA employees are very dedicated, very focused."

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GOP to Unveil Budget Plan Cutting More Than $6T Over Next Decade

"Feb. 15: U.S. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) checks his watch as Director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget, Jacob Lew arrives late to testify at a House Budget Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington." /

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