Republicans: listening to the people, cutting spending (except when polls show otherwise)

Republican Lawmakers Call for Deeper Spending Cuts

A prominent Republican congressional group is urging party leaders to impose far greater non-military spending cuts than already proposed. On Thursday, the far-right Republican Study Committee called for an immediate cut of $100 billion from non-military programs. According to theWashington Post, meeting the demand would entail reducing funding for most federal agencies by one-third over the next seven months. The Study Committee also says the government should make even deeper non-military cuts of $2.5 trillion over the next decade. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, that would mean cutting funding for most government agencies by 40 percent. With 165 members, the Study Committee represents over two-thirds of House Republicans.

Poll: Majority Support Cutting Military Spending over Medicare, Social Security

The House spending cut proposal comes as a new poll shows a large majority of Americans favor cutting the military budget over cutting Medicare or Social Security. The New York Times-CBS News survey also found that nearly two-thirds of Americans would prefer higher payroll taxes instead of reduced benefits in either of the two programs.