Posted on 11/04/2011 2:22:06 AM PDT by markomalley
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) made clear on Thursday that when it comes to a deficit reduction deal, his position hasn’t changed: Tax increases are out, but new revenues could be in.
The question of taxes and revenue has bedeviled congressional and administration negotiators for months, and they were at the center of the dispute between Boehner and President Obama when their talks for a possible “grand bargain” on the budget fell apart over the summer.
As the clock ticks down on the deficit supercommittee to find at least $1.2 trillion in savings, the size and scope of new revenues remains a chief sticking point.
“I think there’s room for revenues, but there clearly is a limit to the revenues that may be available,” Boehner told reporters Thursday during a roundtable discussion.
He added, however, that he was only open to new revenues if Democrats agreed to significant changes to mandatory spending programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. “Without real reform on the entitlement side, I don’t know how you put any revenue on the table,” he said.
Republicans have signaled a willingness to include new revenues, but distinguishing between what is merely additional federal revenue and what is a tax increase on individuals or businesses has been a difficult task. Boehner’s proposal to Obama over the summer would have generated up to $800 billion in added revenue over 10 years, as a result of predicted economic growth generated by an overhaul of the tax code.
When the White House demanded $400 billion more in revenues, Boehner said no, arguing that generating that much new revenue would have required a tax increase.
Boehner has become increasingly involved in the supercommittee’s deliberations and has met for three consecutive days with Republican members of the panel. The GOP members last week made a $2.2 trillion offer that included, by their calculations, $640 billion in new revenue from fees, insurance changes, increased economic growth and a change in the way inflation is calculated for government programs.
Democrats rejected their offer, while Republicans turned down a Democratic proposal that included $1.3 trillion in revenues, which the GOP dismissed as unacceptable tax increases.
“It’s the same conversation that’s been going on all year,” Boehner said Thursday. “They want more revenue than we’re willing to give, and they’re not willing to do as much entitlement reform as we’d like to do.”
He would not delve into specifics of what he would and would not accept, but he noted in exasperation: “I’ve seen more models than I can count about how you could do this. There are a lot of possibilities.”
The supercommittee has until Nov. 23 to reach a deal and send it to the full Congress, and its members have been pulled in every direction in recent days. On Wednesday, a group of 100 House members – 60 Democrats and 40 Republicans – sent a letter to the panel urging it to find at least $4 trillion in savings and to include entitlement reforms, discretionary spending cuts and new revenues. The next day, 33 Republican senators sent a missive warning the panel not to raise taxes.
The panel members themselves have shown little outward signs of progress. With the exception of a public hearing on Tuesday, the committee has not met in full in a week, and members have been shuttling through the Capitol to smaller off-shoot meetings.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) was spotted leaving the House floor Thursday evening and heading into the nearby office of a GOP member, Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.).
While the nation is not at risk of default as it was in August, Boehner said the current effort to strike a debt deal “is certainly as important if not more important” than it was over the summer.
“You don’t have a date driving this, but its pretty clear, having watched what’s going on in Europe, that if we don’t do what’s needed to get our debt down, you’re going to see a reaction in the markets, you could have another downgrade of our debt,” Boehner said.
At the same time, he brushed off the suggestion that if the committee could not break its stalemate, the party leaders would have to step in and take over the talks once again.
“It’s one thing to have discussions with the members, but I think it’s important for the committee to succeed,” the Speaker said, “and so I think you see leaders on both sides of the aisle, both sides of the Capitol, work with their members trying to get there.”
A failure by the supercommittee to reach a deal would trigger across-the-board spending cuts to the military and domestic programs.
The cuts would hit in 2013, and some lawmakers have suggested they would try to stop them from occurring, particularly those to the Pentagon. Boehner said on Thursday he would feel morally “bound” to accept the defense cuts if the supercommittee failed.
“Me personally, yes. I would feel bound by it,” he said. “It was part of the agreement. The sequester is ugly. Why? Because we don’t want anybody to go there. That’s why we have to succeed.”
"Excuse me, Dave, do you have any Grey Poupon?"
Who is trying to kid?
REvenues=Taxes
gop elites are so condescending, they may think they could get away with it
The establishment bums are so tone deaf they think that ticking sound is a countdown to their next healthy helping of our money instead of their impending political demise.
The entire political and media establishments are still incapable of grasping what it is that is stoking the fires of the Cain Train. Whether it is Cain or someone else with the same message, they just can’t get it just as they can’t get anything that resonates outside of the DC Beltway.
At one time I thought Bachmann would be a wonderful Speaker but it is just apparent she was observant enough to pick up the Tea Party lingo to articulate it. What is becoming apparent is she doesn’t have it as her core.
Still lots of work to do to drain the swamp.
Boehner seems to talk the talk but when its down to the wire he caves. I sure wish we had someone with a backbone leading the House.
Disband and stop funding EPA and Education. ow much does that save?
I would LOVE to see the 49% of people that pay NO FEDERAL income taxes, and some get money back from us, I would love to see them pay SOMETHING! I’m tired of these freeloaders.
Neither side has the courage to address reform on the entitlement side. Their fears are real given the demonstrations and riots that occurred in Wisconsin over excessive pension benefits, and asking workers to actually start paying their fair share.
Maybe we just need to wait and see how the socialists in Europe, especially Greece put themselves together after their economic collapse.
Of course, no one has been looking at how Russia is recovering after their economic collapse.
Economic collapse happens 100% of the time when socialism is tried. But nobody studies the recovery because it will not happen here, and therefor is not applicable to us! Socialism is great because everyone gets everything for free!
Oh they get it. They intend to derail the Cain train. It is the Republicrat party vs. the people.
Exactly so. Same with “fees”.
More of the same crap from boner.
Idiot.
Nope........that’s just what he thinks WE ARE!
Only in washington can savings be considered revenue
In other news, he also said he was pro-life but supported a woman’s right to choose./s
‘
They need to repeal Obamacare NOW!
He is distinguishing between not wanting to raise tax RATES, but is open to changes in the tax code (i.e. getting rid of loop holes/tax shelters) that would result in increased REVENUES. Remember, when JFK, Reagan and "W" cut tax "RATES", it resulted in increased "REVENUES". Tax RATES and tax REVENUES and two totally different animals, and Boehner is trying to maintain the difference between the two.
It is also simialr to the Obamacare debate. How many times did you hear about people that couldn't get health care. It was all BS. There is a huge difference between health CARE and health INSURANCE.
Sounds like double speak from a weenie politician.
Anyone out there have ANY confidence in Boehners conservative credentials??
Horse trading.
This setup was done for appearance purposes, to create another "Deadline" Crisis, and the Republicans will cave and go for Tax Increases, as planned all along.
All the Debt created by the Democrats in the 2008-2010 Period when they controlled the ENTIRE Federal Government now is being left in place, as none of the handouts they made to their friends is going to be cut off by this Congress.
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