Himes Finds Strong Opposition to Spending Cuts

No one ever said getting Congress to tighten its belt would be easy.

Last Thursday, Congressman Jim Himes (D-CT4) tried to offer an amendment to cut housing and transportation programs by $1.6 billion. His offer was rejected, according to Politico.com. The cuts represented less than 2 percent of the overall budget, and targeted items President Barack Obama had already said were over-funded.

"It wasn't like we were throwing things at a dartboard," Himes said in a telephone interview with Patch.

The amount of opposition to the suggested cuts surprised Himes.

 "I tell you it was very interesting. It highlights what the four of us are doing," said Himes. "We'll need to show a lot of backbone in the next 10 years if we're going to get our fiscal house in order."

Himes recently.

The four junior Congressmen want to shrink a variety of programs that are currently being funded at even higher levels than the White House calls for. The programs include high-speed rail, low-income and veterans housing initiatives, and redevelopment of old industrial sites.

"Everyone pays lip service to getting our fiscal house in order," Himes said, "but when we actually start talking about specifics everyone says 'not my program.'"

According to Politico, the House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey told the Democratic Caucus that the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development spending bill's bottom line of $67.4 billion is less than the $68.7 billion proposed by the president.

Read more: Budget-cutting Democrats are undercut.