President Obama has called for an end to across-the-board budget cuts that were triggered two years ago when Congress and the White House were unable to reach a budget deal.  The "sequester" has been a limited success in putting a brake on out-of-control federal spending.  Total cuts amounted to around $80 billion over the last 2 years, most of that from national defense, despite the fact that the sequester was supposed to cut a dollar of domestic spending for every defense dollar cut. Getting rid of sequester is necessary if the president wants to implement his plan to increase federal spending by 7% next fiscal year. Washington Examiner: At the House Democratic Caucus retreat in Philadelphia, the president “will propose to end the across-the-board sequester cuts that threaten our economy and our military,” said a White House official. “The president’s budget will fully reverse those cuts for domestic priorities and match...(Read Full Post)