Posted on 10/10/2013 3:52:52 PM PDT by Jean S
WASHINGTON — President Obama and House Republicans failed to reach agreement on a six-week extension of the nation’s borrowing authority during a meeting Thursday at the White House, but both sides agreed to keep talking and the Republican offer was seen as a first step toward ending the budget standoff.
Twenty Republicans, led by Speaker John A. Boehner, went to the White House at Mr. Obama’s invitation after a day of fine-tuning their offer to increase the Treasury Department’s authority to borrow money to pay existing obligations through Nov. 22. In exchange, they sought the president’s commitment to negotiate a deal for long-term deficit reduction and a tax overhaul.
Mr. Boehner and his colleagues left after about an hour and a half without speaking to waiting reporters.
The Republican proposal could come to a vote as soon as Friday. But the White House and Congressional Democrats remained skeptical that House Republican leaders could pass the proposal. A large faction of Tea Party conservatives campaigned on promises never to vote to increase the nation’s debt limit, and say they do not believe the warnings — including from Republican business allies — that failing to act could provoke a default and economic chaos globally. And House Democrats vowed not to support the proposal without a companion measure to fully fund a government now shuttered for 10 days.
Arriving back at the Capitol, the House Republicans huddled in Mr. Boehner’s office for further discussion.
“We had a very useful meeting, and we expect further conversations tonight,” said Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the majority leader.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I wonder if obama has lost it mentally. Somebody should ask that question.
Not much info, but it doesn't sound very useful. Maybe O is waiting for input from ValJar and the Saudis.
I wonder if obama has lost it mentally. Somebody should ask that question.
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Inquiring minds want to know whether he EVER had it mentally. I think that he never had anything to speak of on the intelligence front.
i knew it !
the repub’s weakness is only exceeded by zero’s hubris !
the rinos are going to win this thing, no matter how much they try to blow it !
Obama is such a Drama Queen. Disgusting.
I wonder if this we’ll teach Boehner not to cave in...
Of course it won’t!
This lot of Republican so-called “leadership” (in both Houses) is the worst we have ever seen.
Never cave in to Obamacare.
I’m new here and I thank Mr. Jim Robinson for registering me and, in addition, wish him the quickest recovery. God bless Jim.
The reality of a real debt limit:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3076090/posts?page=1
The Debt Ceiling is the Law of the Land
redstate.com ^ | 10/6/13 | Daniel Horowitz
Posted on Monday, October 07, 2013 6:07:28 PM by cotton1706
Over the past few weeks, Democrats have indicated that they have no intention of negotiating over Obamacare, opting instead to shut down the government. They are justifying their obstinacy by asserting that Obamacare is the law of the land. Well, if that is the game they want to play, we should return the favor with the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling, pursuant to the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917, is the law of the land. And it has been so for far longer than Obamacare.
Throughout this debate over funding Obamacare in the budget bill, House GOP leaders have stressed how the debt ceiling was the more appropriate means of fighting Obamacare. After all, it was “the next fight.” But as if on cue, some Republicans are already using the same Democrat talking points about the risk of default.
We are going to hear this erroneous talking point propagated by both parties over the next few weeks, so let’s put the myth to rest. The only way we default on the debt is if we fail to pay the interest on the public debt. According to the updated budget projection from the CBO, interest on the debt will be roughly $237 billion for 2014. Thanks to the short-term revenue benefits of the fiscal cliff and Obamacare tax hikes, the federal government is expected to rake in a record $3.042 trillion from the private economy this year.
Let’s engage in a simple math exercise. $3.042 trillion – $237 billion = $2.805 trillion. As long as the Treasury pays the first $237 billion in revenue to the shareholders of our debt, there will be no default, and we will have $2.805 trillion left to spend. Again, default is taken off the table. Discussion over.
What do you do with the remaining funds? You start funding core functions of government and those programs that people are already dependent on.
Social Security (retirement and disability) – $848 billion
Medicare – $505 billion
Medicaid – $298 billion
Defense – $582 billion
Veterans – $83 billion
Those expenditures account for roughly $2.3 trillion. The remaining half trillion can be prioritized as needed for other functions related to homeland security, national parks, or any other limited function.
Hence, the debt ceiling is a built-in balanced budget mechanism. If Democrats want to fund other functions of government, they need to commit to a balanced budget. If they want to fund the HHS and the IRS, they need to get rid of Obamacare. If they want to fund the EPA, they need to get rid of the war on coal.
The power of the purse manifest in the House of Representatives, in conjunction with the debt ceiling law, reflects democracy at work, especially with divided government. It’s time we stop peddling the myth of default, and start using our leverage to restore constitutional government and bring relief to those who are losing jobs and suffering from the high cost of living engendered by the harmful activities of the unconstitutional aspects of government.
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