Lamar Alexander
Bob Corker
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on Thursday said the automatic federal spending cuts going into effect today demonstrate a failure of presidential leadership.
The senator also said he would like to minimize the impact of the cuts on important government institutions such as the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, student loans, and the proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 Security Complex.
Congress and the White House approved the automatic, across-the-board cuts in discretionary and defense spending— known as sequestration—about 18 months ago in the Budget Control Act of 2011. Considered unpalatable by many, the cuts were meant to encourage Democrats and Republicans to compromise on deficit reduction efforts.
That hasn’t worked.
