House Republicans took action Monday to bolster national security after Obama signed a Sequester that gutted sectors of national security on March 1.
The Republican plan would reportedly shore up military readiness and restore necessary funding to the FBI and Homeland Security. The Democrat-led Senate has not produced a federal budget in four years however Republicans in the House and Mr. Obama have signaled that they will not allow the government to shut down when funding dries up on March 27.
The Obama administration orchestrated the Sequestration legislation to begin with.
The Republican plan would leave in place automatic cuts of 5 percent to domestic agencies and 7.8 percent to the Pentagon ordered by President Barack Obama Friday night, but shift funding to crucial agencies involved in keeping the U.S. safe from domestic and foreign attacks.
The new GOP funding measure is set for a vote in the House of Representatives Wednesday. The Republican legislation is aimed at preventing a government shutdown when a six-month spending bill passed last September expires March 27.
Democrats, including the president, have been content to blame Republicans for Obama signing the Sequestration measure created by a committee that he appointed after the Senate failed to produce a budget; however not one senator would vote on a sketchy budget plan submitted by the Obama administration.
The Republican plan would also provide about $2 billion more than the current level to increase security at U.S. embassies and diplomatic missions worldwide.
Last September, a terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
NASA would be protected from the harshest effects of the automatic cuts, known in Washington as a sequester, should Democrats in the Senate get on board.
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