Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich told The Daily Caller that President Barack Obama is “really off the deep end” on the sequester, and argued that a federal agency like The Department of Transportation does not really need to lay off “a single” air traffic controller.
“I think Bob Woodward has it right. Obama’s really off the deep end on this. He clearly has a strategy of maximum pain for political gain. They’ve been hysterical about it,” Gingrich told TheDC on Capitol Hill on Thursday. (RELATED BLOG: How Woodward played conservatives like fools)
“As you know, the secretary of education has had to admit that the layoffs he was citing had nothing to do with the sequester. The fact that they’re willing to mess up air travel for 2 million Americans a day when they don’t have to — they could clearly find money without laying off a single air traffic controller.”
Journalist Bob Woodward has said President Obama owns the sequester and is now “moving the goal posts” by calling for more tax revenue. Gingrich told TheDC he agrees with Woodward. (RELATED: Latest White House sequester scare highlights state programs)
“Obama already got $600 billion in tax increases and turns right around and says ‘well, what I really want are tax increases’ and I think it’s clear that what the Republicans have said is, ‘look, show us better, smarter, spending cuts,’” Gingrich said.
Gingrich, a former 2012 presidential candidate, recommended a Republican proposal to deal with the sequester.
“The Republicans should propose a bill that says if you are about to be furloughed and you can find the same number of dollars in savings in your agency, e-mail the suggestion here and if we adopt your idea, you won’t get furloughed and you would then have thousands of people who know the agencies finding the savings,” Gingrich suggested.
The former Georgia congressman said President Obama’s recent golf outing with Tiger Woods was “the equivalent of 123 people being furloughed” at over $900,000 in taxpayer funds.
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh said the Obama adminsitration’s decision to release thousands of illegal immigrants into U.S. communities ahead of the sequester was an “impeachable” offense. TheDC asked Gingrich if he agrees.
“Their proposed plan to release 10,000 people makes no sense and again, I just want to point out, you can go right out here and you can film the size of the Department of Homeland Security headquarters ,and you have to say to yourself, why aren’t you cutting spending in Washington rather than cutting spending either on the border or with places where you’re securing people who are supposed to be protecting us in a public safety sense?”