House Republicans rolled out a $21.3 billion financial services bill Tuesday that cuts more than $2 billion from President Barack Obama’s budget requests — chiefly at the expense of the Internal Revenue Service and Securities and Exchange Commission. The IRS is promised $10.9 billion, about $341 million below current funding and $1.5 billion less than what Obama has asked for in the new fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The SEC is essentially frozen in place at $1.4 billion, $300 million below the president’s request. At one level, the 148-page measure defines a new realism and measure of moderation for the GOP which sought much more dramatic cuts in the same bill a year ago. But it also keeps up what’s become an almost relentless war of attrition aimed at slowing the implementation of the president’s most prized initiatives: health care and Wall Street reforms. More on Politico here.
