Automatic Cuts Could Help Push Past a Health Hurdle

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s new call to impose automatic spending cuts if the health care overhaul adds “one dime” to federal budget deficits could help push his top domestic priority over one of the biggest hurdles in its path through Congress.

But once in law, such automatic triggers have not proved effective as a way to reduce federal spending. In the past, Congress and the White House have simply overridden or ignored them. This time, advocates insist, would be different.