Posted on 07/11/2011 4:35:32 PM PDT by MissesBush
Officials familiar with the negotiations say today’s meeting began with President Obama asking House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., to lay out what was agreed upon in the deficit reduction talks led by Vice President Biden.
Cantor outlined around $2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade: $1–1.1 trillion in discretionary spending; $200 billion in mandatory discretionary spending (such as civilian military retirement and farm subsidies); $200 billion in Medicare and Medicaid; and roughly $200-300 billion in saved interest on the debt.
After Cantor’s presentation, the President said the two sides might be able to reach consensus on roughly $1.7 trillion, though there were still some issues to resolve.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has said the amount they agree to in deficit reduction needs to be equal to – if not more than – the amount they agree to raise the debt ceiling.
How much is that? There seemed to be consensus in the room that the amount by which they need to raise the debt ceiling is $2.4 trillion.
That would get the government to February or March 2013. Why that date? No one thinks a lame duck Congress should take this on from November-January 2012/2013 and that would allow the new Congress and maybe a new President to get his or her sea legs before addressing this again.
So tomorrow’s homework assignment, the president said, is for the congressional leaders to figure out how to get from $1.7 trillion to $2.4 trillion.
Republicans are still insisting on no new taxes. Democrats say they need some revenues – a “balanced approach” – to get Democratic votes. As House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, said today, “Republicans must be prepared to make concessions of their own and not put the entire burden on seniors, the middle class and the most vulnerable among us."
Congressional leaders will need Democratic votes not only in the Senate but the House as well. “You’ve got the (Michele) Bachmann Caucus that has made it clear they won’t vote for anything,” one Democratic official said.
Boehner said at one point that “it’s clear to all of us how big this spending problem is. Congress keeps voting for programs we can’t pay for. But look, entitlement cuts aren’t easy for us to vote for either. Our guys aren’t cheerleading about cutting entitlements.”
“Your guys already voted for them,” the president said, referring to the budget offered by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisc.
“Excuse us for trying to lead,” Boehner said.
The president today continued to make the case for a big deal, arguing that if they’re going to draw heat for the deal, they should at least do more than make a down payment on the deficit – they should get the country on sounder financial footing and begin to seriously bend the deficit cost curve.
During another exchange, Republicans were going through proposed tax increases as bad for jobs.
"C’mon, man!” Vice President Biden exclaimed, “let’s get real!"
The Vice President argued that their opposition isn't economic, it's ideological, that no real economist thinks they're "job killers."
In terms of the big deal President Obama and Speaker Boehner discussed in the past – for around $4 trillion in deficit reduction --, Democrats say the Republicans walked away from major spending cuts, entitlement reform, and tax reform, all because part of the trigger mechanism if the tax reform was not achieved by the end of 2012 was the risk that the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans would have expired. Democrats insisted that one commitment for tax reform needed to be that the new code needed to be “at least as progressive” as the current tax code.
“Ronald Reagan would have accepted this plan,” one of the Democratic officials said.
The meeting broke after about an hour and a half.
“We’ll meet tomorrow at the White House at 3:45,” the president said.
“A.M. or P.M.?” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., joked.
“It may come to that,” the president said.
-Jake Tapper
If you cut the spending, why increase the debt limit?
Furthermore, Obama spent $3.5 trillion in two years. What's up with a cut over 10 years?
Boehner is an idiot. Then again, he's speaker of The Stupid Party.
Yup.
If the idiots had any clue about those Shared sacrifice words they blather around they would be talking about tax reform to incldue the Fair Tax, Medicare reform to include vouchers and social security reform by letting people keep their FICA tax to invest in their own personal retirement accounts.
Any one of these things would be a boon to the economy, all three would release such drastic growth in America we could right our ticket for the next 200 years.....
The President is involved because Harry Reid passed, asking Obama to lead the negotiations.
Harry doesn't want his Senate Democrats to have any part of the trainwreck which is coming down the road.
He may have no choice, however. Because, even if there is no agreement, Boehner's House will pass a bill before the deadline...and leave it on the Senate's doorstep.
This is Biden's starting point.
Well, that was a balanced report.
Repubs second mistake: The dumb-ass republicans actually think democrats act in good faith.
Hey Stenny:
“and not put the entire burden on seniors, the middle class and the most vulnerable among us.”
Those people do not pay income taxes. Your voters, at least the vast majority of them (47% of all income earners) do not pay ANY income taxes. Sure they pay plenty of other taxes, but we are not discussing that.
You keep talking about freakin’ Millionaires and billionaires, but you want to increase taxes on individuals who make $200K. They are not billionaires, idiot.
Sure he can.
Whether he should or not, well, that’s a different question.
Boehner should be saying that the proper place for these discussions is the the House-Senate Budget Reconciliation process -- you know, the one they used to force ObamaCare on us.
Where's that budget reconciliation now, Harry?
-PJ
Then let's start acting like they're the problem. "Being reasonable" now will only get us hosed later.
What is this? Interest that would have been if no cuts are made??? How can they count that as a cut??
I am beyond speechless.
Lets get real Joe ! These budget cuts don’t add up to squat.
The article says Cantor agreed to it.
Here is a post of mine from 2009 showing Harry Reid's history of reneging on deals.
Specter suggests Reid reneged on word.-PJ
Newly-turned Democrat Arlen Specter today hinted that that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reneged on his word to allow Specter to keep his seniority on committees on which he sits. "Sen. Reid assured me that I would keep my committee assignments, and that I would have the same seniority as if I had been elected as a Democrat in 1980," Specter said in a written statement today.Reid Bows to Far Left as Rs Rank Judges Issue #1.
And they undoubtedly have the Rasmussen survey results in the back of their minds as they consider their reaction to Majority Leader Reid’s broken promise to confirm three appeals court nominees before the Memorial Day recess, as well as Reid’s sure-to-be-broken earlier promises to meet the historical average (17) for appeals court confirmations in a president’s final two years. With just a couple of months left in the confirmation window, Reid is less than halfway to meeting that average.[snip]
“A good GOP Senate source reports today that Minority Leader Mitch McConnell addressed the entire Republican Conference … about the judge-fight issue. McConnell is said to have been very insistent that he would not let Majority Leader Reid's broken promise go unpunished … He would not tell the Conference exactly what action he was planning, but he did say it would be very firm, and that all concerned would know it when we see it.” – Quin Hillyer (5/21/08)
[snip]
While Sen. Lott overcame numerous obstacles to get Paez and Berzon confirmed, Sen. Reid has looked for excuses to renege on his pledge.
[snip]
GOP senators are understandably angry that Sen. Reid broke the golden rule of senatorial honor by reneging on his commitment.
[snip]
Democrats Target Coburn’s Holds
To ease passage of the public lands measure, Reid promised Coburn the chance to offer a limited number of amendments.Reid: No Vote On Lifting Drug Import Ban Before Health-Care BillBut after the majority leader objected to a Coburn proposal that would have eased restrictions on firearms in national parks, the package stalled for months, prompting Coburn to charge that Reid reneged on their agreement.
Coburn eventually got to offer four amendments — all of which were defeated — but not the guns measure.
Republicans accused U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., of reneging Tuesday on a pledge to allow a Senate vote on a measure lifting an import ban on pharmaceutical drugs before lawmakers take up health-care legislation.The development, supported by major drug makers, comes as the Senate is moving to craft the politically delicate compromises needed for the broader health care overhaul bill.
In a letter to a bipartisan group of senators that have been pushing for the import ban to be scrapped, Reid said there wouldn't be time in the busy legislative calendar for full consideration of legislation lifting the long-standing prohibition now.
"He did commit to us and obviously that commitment is not going to be kept," Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., said Tuesday evening.
Republicans might as well fold right now.
Their demands are laughable.
$2 trillion over ten years is chicken feed.
The expnditures are already approaching $5 trillion a year. At the current rate the ten year budget total will no doubt be far more than $50 trillion.
What will a cut of $2 trillion off that accomplish?
Obama will give more than that to the muslims in half that time.
The republicans minimum demand should be $1.5 trillion per year.
No true Scotsman is an intentional logical fallacy, an ad hoc attempt to retain an unreasoned assertion Alice: All Scotsmen enjoy haggis. Bob: My uncle is a Scotsman, and he doesn't like haggis! Alice: Well, all true Scotsmen like haggis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman
Great leaders rise to the occasion to inspire millions with a courage and defiance than transcends the passage of time.
German: General McAuliffe, we demand your surrender.
General McAuliffe: "C'mon man, let's get real."
Persians: Spartans, lay down your arms!
Spartans: "C'mon man, let's get real."
British: Do you have any last words Mr. Hale?
Nathan Hale: "C'mon man, let's get real."
British: Surrender your ship Captain Jones!
Captain John Paul Jones: "C'mon man, let's get real."
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