Dim sequestration outlook: Cuts before compromise

Dim sequestration outlook: Cuts before compromise-politico: Congress returns Monday with all eyes on a last Senate attempt to forestall across-the-board spending cuts March 1 that threaten to cripple government services this spring and roll back the clock to before Barack Obama’s presidency. Discretionary spending is slated to fall below 2008 levels for the first time in Obama’s tenure, even allowing for the recent Hurricane Sandy emergency aid bill. When adjusted for inflation, POLITICO’s calculations show that Obama will have billions less than former President George W. Bush in nondefense appropriations — so important to his second-term agenda.