Major cuts ahead - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

Major cuts ahead

By: CBS4 News, newsroom@cbs4qc.com

$85 billion in wide spread federal spending cuts went into effect at midnight on Friday.  The sequester will affect everything from unemployment insurance to shipbuilding. 

Friday night, President Obama signed the order, setting the drastic cuts into motion.  He and congress had a year and a half to find a way to compromise, but it became clear Friday that wasn't going to happen when lawmakers left Washington without reaching a deal. 

The President is blaming republicans, while republicans are looking on the bright side.

"Let's be clear.  None of this is necessary.  It's happening because of a choice that republicans in congress have made," said President Obama.

"We all agree it's not the best way to reduce spending but it's time we did that," said Sen. Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader.

But the bad news is, we haven't seen the last of the epic budget battles.  Government funding is set to run out at the end of the month.  If the two sides don't come to an agreement, we could be dealing with a government shutdown on top of spending cuts.