As President Obama prepares to ask for a 7 percent hike in federal spending in fiscal 2016, congressional Republicans are gearing up for a new budget fight.
Multiple reports have indicated that Obama is planning to request an additional $68 billion above current spending limits, and Republicans are none too happy about that development.
“Does the White House truly believe it’s got ‘enough goodwill building’ on the economy to start running up the nation’s credit card again?” asked Cory Fritz, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Thursday declined to confirm the details of the president’s budget request, saying only that the administration would unveil the blueprint Feb. 2.
Federal budgeting is done by the House of Representatives, however, making presidential budget requests symbolic documents that amount to a White House wish list.
Although both parties sign off on new spending in virtually every budget, Republicans have pledged to rein in the national debt. Taken literally, that promise would mean passing a balanced budget, and elected Republicans, few of whom foresee balancing the federal budget during their own tenures in office, are sensitive to constituents’ objections about overt spending increases.
Obama counters that annual deficits, relative to the estimated size of the American economy, are on the decline. The White House says the president’s budget request will reflect improving economic conditions.
