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Pres. Obama could fix many of the problems in the sequester easily and quickly, but some believe he doesn't want to
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Chief political correspondent Byron York giants is good -- Byron and Byron can you tell me a little bit more about what this what the park Rangers were attempting to do released a memo as we understand it.
While there were trying.
Did they were suggesting that there are ways that they could cut the the park.
Service budget.
Without actually affecting visitors and so that would not you know it -- closing our opening hours or have fewer guides -- that sort of thing.
And according to this one park service employee.
They were told -- that's you know we're we're we're gonna make this these cuts very visible and people feel any kind of comports.
-- another email we've heard of earlier this week from the Agriculture Department in which another employee tried to come up with ways to have to enact the cuts it would be less disruptive less painful.
And they were told no we've got to stay in in line with the official line in the administration.
-- it's an -- in the its founding director jobs and Jarvis apparently is who wrote this memo.
Now all we don't know it is yeah -- weather command came from farther up the chain -- whatever it is but that.
-- William we don't know it is simply a whistle blower.
Is there any -- innocent explanation.
For what this what this director was it was same for the National Park Service.
There is a different opinion you know inside the executive branch -- well certainly with congress about how disruptive these cuts actually have to be there's a significant disagreement.
About whether they really need to touch the public that much whether there is enough ways sure enough and in essential spending.
In a lot of these agencies that it can be cut without terrible effect on the on the public so yeah there's that there's a substantial disagreement inside the government about this.
I -- you've also -- -- -- talking about this says in part.
The little secret of sequestration is -- you Bob administration could fix much of the problem very quickly.
But it doesn't want to first -- -- -- fix it quickly and why do you think that it doesn't want to.
Well we've heard a lot of complaints from cabinet officers and other people in the Obama administration saying these cuts.
Require across the board cuts that are gonna cut everything it's gonna hurt.
Everybody and the fact is congress actually.
Tells C executive branch agencies how much money they can spend how they should spend it sometimes the instructions -- -- sometimes they're very detailed and in the executive branch has to follow those instructions but.
If you have a situation where a cabinet agency wants to spend money in a different way that congress directed there's a way to do that you ask congress permission.
Congress gives -- the permission and then the money can be spent differently.
In the past week or two Republicans in congress have been begging members of the Obama administration please if you think -- cut to going to be very disruptive and painful.
Come to us with your suggestions.
For making these cuts in a different way we will work with you please come ask us.
They're -- -- the chairman of the government government oversight committee in the house.
Sent out a letter to all the cabinet agencies on February 28 he has not received a single response yet.
Is -- routine ask from the news agencies to ask congress for different way to spend the money so that you would expect the secretaries would be well aware of this.
Possibility.
Absolutely it's called reprogramming its done a lot and it's it's -- -- the -- to the discretion of congress but.
-- the officials -- not have a huge amount of flexibility.
In how they can spend congress a congress has specifically instructed them to spend this money on this -- this money on that.
But they can always go back to congress and say we need to do this differently.
And in this case with the obvious unique case of sequestration.
Lawmakers have been -- practically begging them to come do it you can make this easier doesn't have to be so hard will give you permission.
And they haven't gotten any response from the administration.
A lot of announced February 28 -- when they feel a bit more of the pinch found -- come back to congress but so far nobody has come back to congress for that flexibility -- thank you.
That this is thank you brought up today at ten.
