February 22, 2011 11:37AM # $61 Billion in Cuts in Perspective By [Tad DeHaven](https://www.cato.org/people/tad-dehaven) --- SHARE Talk of a government shutdown is heating up. The current continuing resolution funding the government is set to expire on March 4th. Last week, House Republicans passed a bill that would fund the remainder of fiscal 2011 at $61 billion below fiscal 2010 levels. Senate Democrats are balking at the $61 billion in cuts and the president has issued a veto threat. The following chart measures $61 billion in cuts against the president’s fiscal 2011 estimates for total federal spending, the deficit, and interest on the debt: ![Media Name: cutsinperspective.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/download-remote-images/www.downsizinggovernment.org/155835193655/cutsinperspective.jpg?itok=YqE_7hLQ) As the chart shows, the proposed cuts amount to less than a third of what taxpayers will pay in interest on the debt alone this year. The $61 billion in cuts, which are woefully insufficient, would come from a relatively small category of government spending (non-defense, discretionary spending). However, that merely indicates the need to tackle defense spending and budget-busting “mandatory” programs. Unfortunately, the president’s latest budget proposal punted on these critical areas, and the Republicans have yet to put forth a plan let alone a coherent message. ##### Related Tags [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).