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The US Congress has slashed $85bn (£56bn) from the federal budget through the end of September. Now, foreign aid groups that rely on US support fear the cuts will devastate the people in the most desperate need. snip The US is the world's largest provider of humanitarian aid, according to the London-based Overseas Development Institute. The US also offers military assistance to countries in the Middle East and other regions and funds programmes for global health, refugee aid and more. The March law writing the cuts into the budget slashed funding for these and other programmes by roughly 5%. More...

We're certainly hearing plenty of excuses about today's jobs report coming from Obama administration apologists. Almost immediately, some --- including former Obama adviser Austan Goolsbee --- blame it on sequester cuts that have barely had time to take effect, and that mostly impact government operations. A quick check of BLS data (Table B-1, seasonally adjusted) after today's update shows that the entire government sector lost only 7,000 jobs, after growing by 14,000 in February. In January, long before the sequester took place, the public sector lost 16,000 jobs, as well as losing 5,000 in December, 9,000 in November, and 57,000...

Washington (CNN) -- Recent announcements of American military deployments in response to belligerent statements by North Korea may have contributed to escalating tensions between the two countries, Pentagon officials told CNN on Thursday in explaining an effort to reduce U.S. rhetoric about the reclusive state. "We accused the North Koreans of amping things up, now we are worried we did the same thing," one Defense Department official said. They spoke on the same day a U.S. official first told CNN that communications intercepts indicated North Korea may be planning to launch a mobile ballistic missile in the coming days or...

Tens of thousands of health care professionals, union workers and community activists hired as "navigators" to help Americans choose Obamacare options starting Oct. 1 could earn $20 an hour or more, according to new regulations issued Wednesday. The 63-page rule covering navigators, drawn up by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, also said the government will provide free translators for those not fluent in English -- no matter what their native language is. "The proposed requirements would also include that such entities and individuals provide consumers with information and assistance in the consumer's preferred language, at no cost to...

John Kerry, who is worth an estimated $198.65 million, will donate $9,175 because of the so-called sequestration. "A day after Obama and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said they'd return 5 percent of their paycheck to the Treasury, Secretary of State John Kerry followed in somewhat similar fashion," the Huffington Post reports. "State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says Kerry, however, will give his 5 percent to a charity for department employees. She says he already makes significant charitable donations. Kerry makes $183,500 this year. His donation is worth $9,175." Based on Senate disclosure forms, Roll Call estimated Kerry to be worth...

(Reuters) - The White House budget office on Thursday urged federal agencies to be aware of ways they may be able to shield their long-term projects while implementing the sharp budget cuts that went into effect March 1. Agencies should avoid cuts that would harm needed upkeep or unduly disrupt programs "essential to support the long-term execution of the agency's mission," White House budget office controller Danny Werfel wrote in a memo. The budget office has already counseled flexibility, but Werfel has now provided agencies more detailed guidance about how to minimize long-term effects of the $85 billion in across-the-board...

Cancer clinics across the country have begun turning away thousands of Medicare patients, blaming the sequester budget cuts. Oncologists say the reduced funding, which took effect for Medicare on April 1, makes it impossible to administer expensive chemotherapy drugs while staying afloat financially. Patients at these clinics would need to seek treatment elsewhere, such as at hospitals that might not have the capacity to accommodate them. “If we treated the patients receiving the most expensive drugs, we’d be out of business in six months to a year,” said Jeff Vacirca, chief executive of North Shore Hematology Oncology Associates in New...

Gee, neato. President Obama plans to return 5 percent of his salary to the Treasury in solidarity with federal workers who are going to be furloughed as part of the automatic budget cuts known as the sequester, an administration official said Wednesday.The voluntary move would be retroactive to March 1, the official said, and apply through the rest of the fiscal year, which ends in September. The White House came up with the 5 percent figure to approximate the level of spending cuts to nondefense federal agencies that took effect that day. Â…Word of the presidentÂ’s decision came a day...

There was a heated exchange today between White House press secretary Jay Carney and Fox News' Ed Henry about Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s claims that America was going to be less safe because of the Administrations claims the sequester cuts could not be changed.

The New York Times reports: President Obama plans to return 5 percent of his salary to the Treasury in solidarity with federal workers who are going to be furloughed as part of the budget cutting process known as sequester, an administration official said Wednesday. The voluntary move would be retroactive to March 1 and apply through the rest of the calendar year, the official said. The White House came up with the 5 percent figure to approximate the level of automatic spending cuts to non-defense federal agencies that took effect that day. Politico adds: "The salary for the president, as...

Cancer clinics across the country have begun turning away thousands of Medicare patients, blaming the sequester budget cuts. Oncologists say the reduced funding, which took effect for Medicare on April 1, makes it impossible to administer expensive chemotherapy drugs while staying afloat financially. Patients at these clinics would need to seek treatment elsewhere, such as at hospitals that might not have the capacity to accommodate them. “If we treated the patients receiving the most expensive drugs, we’d be out of business in six months to a year,” said Jeff Vacirca, chief executive of North Shore Hematology Oncology Associates in New...

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called for the Defense Department to be organized more efficiently than it was under Ronald Reagan after raising the possibility of cuts in pay and benefits for military members. Hagel blamed the prospective cuts on sequestration. “[F]iscal realities demand another hard look at personnel – how many people we have both military and civilian, how many we need, what these people do, and how we compensate them for their work, service, and loyalty with pay, benefits and health care,” Hagel said at the National Defense University today. He also hinted at cutting jobs for military brass....

President Obama will write checks back to the Treasury equal to five percent of his full annual salary in a sign of solidarity with government employees facing furloughs because of sequestration, an administration official said. "The salary for the president, as with members of Congress, is set by law and cannot be changed," the official said. "However, the president has decided that to share in the sacrifice being made by public servants across the federal government that are affected by the sequester, he will contribute a portion of his salary back to the Treasury." The announcement that the president send...

President Obama will return 5 percent of his salary to the Treasury Department, a senior White House official tells ABC News, a sign of solidarity with the federal workers who face furloughs due to the sequester cuts. “The president has decided that to share in the sacrifice being made by public servants across the federal government that are affected by the sequester, he will contribute a portion of his salary back to the Treasury,” a White House aide said.

Despite the fearmongering over sequestration, it is only the deicisions of the Obama administration as to what they cut and what they don’t that are troubling. One of the biggest issues to come out of the administration was the Department of Homeland Security releasing hundreds of illegals who were also convicted felons. They later admitted they didn’t have to do that. However, according to a detailed quarterly report, issued by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the U.S. government is giving away $288 million of our tax dollars to supply the Afghan National Police (ANP), the ones who...

For the first time since 1971, there will be no air show at Offutt Air Force Base this year. Base officials announced Wednesday that because of operating budget uncertainties tied to the federal budget sequestration, the show and open house scheduled for Aug. 24-25 have been canceled. “The Department of Defense and the Air Force are facing difficult fiscal challenges, which requires us to make some tough decisions here at Offutt,'' said Col. John Rauch, commander of Offutt's 55th Wing. “One of these tough decisions includes cancelling this year's air show.''

The tours for the public may be canceled, but the fun continues at the White House, where President Obama and First Lady Michelle are indulging in exclusive entertainment even as furloughs begin to hit the White House itself. Tuesday evening, the Obamas were treated to a viewing of the movie “42,” which chronicles the life of Jackie Robinson, watching it in the White House theater with the film’s cast and crew in attendance. Earlier, in the day, the White House added an official gloss to the event by throwing in a “42 Film Workshop” for kids in the State Dining...

At a "workshop" for the film 42 in the State Dining Room of the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama told the assembled guests that "this is your house, too." "I want to make sure that you all know how welcome you are here in this house, because the truth is we do these things -- we make sure that we do these workshops so that you all know that this is your house, too," Obama told the guests. "So we want you to make yourselves at home. We want you to feel good and relaxed and learn and ask...

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle will host a star-studded roster of music legends April 9 for another glitzy installment in the “In Performance at the White House” concert series, according to a White House press released issued Tuesday. The concert comes as the White House is emphasizing cuts caused by sequestration and criticizing reporters for not paying enough attention to the hardship caused by the mandatory slowdown in the rate of spending increases. Though the White House notably canceled all visitor tours in March, ostensibly due to sequestration, the First Couple’s series of White House concerts — billed...

A testy exchange broke out today between Fox News' Ed Henry and White House press secretary Jay Carney over border patrol furloughs. Henry challenged Carney on Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s claims that America was going to be less safe due to the sequester furloughing border patrol agents. The border agency announced yesterday that it would be postponing the furloughs.