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The philly fed is a pretty noisy data series month to month, you really can't read too much into it. Even with that massive plunge last month, it's still a positive reading, meaning expansion, and is still above the median reading for expansion periods over the past 40 years. You can get a good run down on it  here if you are interested:

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2011/04/correct-reporting-and-philly-fed.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+CalculatedRisk+(Calculated+Risk)

In regards to the US having already used up it's "ammo" already, I don't really agree. America isn't Greece(or any of the other Euro countries that have given up control of their currencies and monetary policy). Their financial ammunition is essentially limitless.

Any austerity measures they undertake before the recovery is fully taken care of will be solely a political choice, not one that is forced on them as you seem to be implying.