Senator Jon Kyl thinks cutting .00625 of the deficit is a good day's work

"`In just five weeks, we will have cut $10 billion

from this year's spending," said Mr. Kyl.

"All in all, a good day's work."

Jon's idea of a good day's work equates to .00625 of

our $1.6 trillion deficit. Jon would likely deem running

330 feet of a 10 mile run a good days work.

Can you imagine  golfing with Senator Kyl,

given he would deem a 7.5 foot tee shot

a good days work on a 400 yard Par 4 hole?

It was such a good day's work, the Senate will

be in recess from March 21st through March 27th

and again from APril 18th through May 1st.

By Janet Hook
The Wall Street Journal
March 17, 2011

WASHINGTON—The Senate on Thursday approved legislation to fund the government for three additional weeks, amid bipartisan hopes that it would be the last short-term spending bill approved by Congress for the current fiscal year.

The measure, approved 87-13, extends funding until April 8. It now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature.

Congress will have to pass a new funding mechanism by April 8 to avert a partial government shutdown.

The legislation approved Thursday cuts $6 billion from current spending levels but, to blunt Democratic opposition, draws the cuts mostly from programs targeted by both parties. They include earmarks for individual lawmakers' pet projects.

Other cuts in the bill include $200 million from wildfire-suppression efforts and $200 million in technology funds for the Social Security Administration.

Democrats and Republicans now have another three weeks to negotiate a funding plan for the remaining months of the fiscal year. The two parties are $50 billion apart on the amount they want to cut from the $1.08 trillion spent last year on discretionary programs.

Congress is in recess next week, but private talks are expected to continue among White House and congressional officials who are working to reach agreement on funding levels and on how to handle GOP-backed policy proposals. Those proposals include measures to block implementation of the health-care law, clean-air regulations and other Obama administration priorities.

The proposals, known as riders, are important to many GOP conservatives but are likely to provoke a presidential veto. They weren't included in the short-term bill that cleared the Senate.

The stopgap spending bill is needed because Congress still hasn't approved appropriations for the full 2011 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. The House has approved a bill to set 2011 spending at $61 billion less than 2010 levels. Between the bill passed by the Senate and an earlier short-term bill, Congress already has cut $10.5 billion.

Despite conservatives' complaints that the spending reductions weren't sufficient, Sen. Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.) said the cuts so far were a significant accomplishment.

"`In just five weeks, we will have cut $10 billion from this year's spending," said Mr. Kyl. "All in all, a good day's work."

Conservatives derided the cuts as paling in the shadow of a $1.6 trillion deficit.

"We need to do more than just trim a little bit around the edges," said Rep. Mike Lee (R., Utah), who voted against the stopgap bill, along with eight other Republicans and four Democrats.

But Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D, Hawaii) warned that federal agencies will be hard-pressed to absorb such cuts halfway through their budget year. "Agreeing to a cut of this size this late in the fiscal year will be challenging for our agencies to manage," he said.