The start of the new fiscal year today for the federal government also brings with it a familiar story of lawmakers and an administration unwilling to make the truly difficult choices on the US budget in terms of cutting spending and earmarks.

Once again the tired rhetoric of budget cuts has been trotted out, and pretty much ignored.

For example, only one of twelve spending bills has been approved on time, and that was the budget for the Legislative Branch, as in the Congress.

"It sends the wrong message," said Sen. Tom Coburn, who with Sen. John McCain, again waged a futile war on the Senate floor against extra spending in recent days.

Coburn was especially aggravated that the budget for the Congress was up over 5 percent from a year ago, during a time when many businesses and Americans are tightening their own belts.

"We can't even hold our expenses flat when the rest of the country is making the most difficult choices," Coburn said on the Senate floor.

The budget bill for Congress also contained a one month stop gap budget for the rest of the federal government, so that it keeps operating while lawmakers finish up the other 11 spending bills, which also feature billions in extra spending.

Meanwhile, on the subject of spending, the Senate beat back an attempt by President Obama to stamp out unrequested spending for new military cargo jets.

The vote was 64-34 against a move by McCain to strip out $2.5 billion for ten new C-17 cargo planes, and it left McCain spitting mad, saying it sent a message to every lobbyist in Washington, D.C. that this White House can be rolled.

"Isn't this a time when we would be well served to listen carefully to our Secretary of Defense and military leaders?" McCain asked, reminding Senators that the Pentagon didn't ask for the cargo jets.

But McCain could only muster 34 votes, with an odd coalition of liberal Democrats and budget conscious Republicans.

In fact, only 15 Republicans voted with him, again reminding us how Senators in both parties detest McCain for his efforts to cut their budget plans.

As for earmarks, the bills that will be moving to the President's desk in coming weeks will be chock full of them.

At this point, there is no reason to believe there will be any vetoes because of extra items stuffed in lawmakers.

All of the talk about budget earmarks and cracking down on them will be firmly exposed as being just a lot of political talk.

But will the President and Democrats pay a political price?  It sure doesn't seem like it.

And so, the beat goes on in the halls of Congress.

The Democrats aren't cutting the budget.   The Republicans didn't cut the budget when they ran the show for six years under the last Administration.

And the deficits keep going up.