In yet another example of searching for sinister intentions of the Obama administration that don't exist, the Associated Press reports this morning that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) plans to delay the release of the annual mid-year update of the budget - called the Mid-Session Review - until mid-August.

The administration's annual midsummer budget update is sure to show higher deficits and unemployment and slower growth than projected in President Barack Obama's budget in February and update in May, and that could complicate his efforts to get his signature health care and global-warming proposals through Congress.

The release of the update - usually scheduled for mid-July - has been put off until the middle of next month, giving rise to speculation the White House is delaying the bad news at least until Congress leaves town Aug. 7 on its summer recess.

This really isn't news and the reason the AP speculates for the delay probably isn't true. The Mid-Session Review is typically released later during the first year of a new administration, as the AP article itself points out:

White House budget office spokesman Tom Gavin disagreed, noting the delay was "really not something out of the norm" and is typical for a president's first year. Gavin noted that President George W. Bush's budget office did not release the mid-session review in his first year until August 22; in President Bill Clinton's first year, it did not come out until Sept. 1.

AP: White House putting off budget update

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