Democratic Rep. Cleaver: Obama Budget 'Nervous Breakdown on Paper'

President Barack Obama’s budget plan goes too far to cut spending at a time when the country is still in the midst of an economic recovery, Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Emanuel Cleaver says.

“The budget is a nervous breakdown on paper,” the Democratic Missouri congressman told CNN’s “Starting Point” today.

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“We’re still in a recession, we’re still struggling, unemployment is still too high. In every major city in the country, people are struggling,” he said.

Cleaver said he accepts the fact that the nation and Congress suffer from an ailment he identified as “spendicitis.” But he said Obama inherited the condition when he got into the White House.

“It’s not going to be a pretty budget,” Cleaver predicted, saying it is almost certainly dead on arrival in the Republican-controlled House. “That’s because Congress is dysfunctional. The danger here is that we’re going to struggle around without addressing the major problems.”

Cleaver insisted that the country would be further damaged if the government “turned the spigot off completely,” saying such a move would push the country deeper into economic turmoil.