House GOP May Reduce Budget Cut Target by $50 Billion

House Republicans vowed in their “Pledge to America” campaign to cut $100 billion from the government budget in their first year in office. But that goal may be shaved in half, because fiscal year 2011, which began Oct. 1, may be half over before any cuts are implemented, Politico reports.

House Republicans suggest they may have to cut only $50 billion to $60 billion at the outset, the news service says. The $100 billion goal was based on President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2011 spending request, which the Democratic-controlled Congress never considered seriously, much less approved.

Instead, Democrats agreed to continue current spending levels until March through a continuing resolution, which puts the actual required cuts in the lower range, a senior Appropriations Committee aide tells Politico.