Rogers Proposes $45.7 Billion in Federal Spending Cuts

Setting up another budget battle for the coming fiscal year, U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, has offered a bill that proposes cutting another $45.7 billion from domestic spending and foreign aid.The plan would slash almost every area of the federal government except for defense spending, which would give the Pentagon an additional $17 billion from current levels.“Many of these cuts will not win any popularity contests, but these types of reductions are imperative to overcoming our unparalleled fiscal crisis so that we can get our economy moving, create jobs and provide future financial security,” Rogers told the New York Times.Democratic lawmakers have already criticized the cuts to domestic programs such as college aid, food safety and public health as "draconian" measures. The federal government's fiscal 2012 begins on Oct. 1.