Monday, July 25, 2011

Washington Post: "Sen. Reid took the bipartisan plan to the White House and the President said no.”

White House stokes debt-ceiling crisis - Jennifer Rubin Washington Post
Debt Negotiations Proceed Without an Adult in the Room; Update: A Reid Plan w/no Tax Increases?
As deadline looms, both parties craft debt plans - Coburn: Short-term deal the ‘only answer’ - Washington Times
Drudge headline: SENATE DEMS CAVE: REID TO OFFER $2.7 TRILLION IN SPENDING CUTS, NO TAX INCREASES...
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he is working on a plan to raise the debt limit by $2.7 trillion, coupled with an equal reduction in projected future spending. In a concession to Republicans, he said that plan would not include tax increases, but that the new debt level would last through the 2012 elections.

That date has become a critical marker for Democrats — so much so that President Obama’s advisers said he would veto any bill that doesn’t last that long.

Boehner preparing to move on debt limit - AP
Officials said Boehner's legislation would likely add about $1 trillion to the debt ceiling, enough to last about six months, accompanied by a slightly greater amount of spending cuts and the prospect of more savings later - in effect a dare to the Senate and Obama to reject it. Those elements were part of a plan that congressional and White House negotiators discussed over the weekend but never completed because of clashes over how the future, deeper spending cuts would take effect.

"I would prefer to have a bipartisan approach to solve this problem," Boehner said on Fox News Sunday. "If that is not possible, I and my Republican colleagues in the House are prepared to move on our own."
Boehner Weighs Balanced-Budget Amendment
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner told fellow Republicans on Sunday that he is considering a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution as part of a bill that would raise the debt ceiling, a source who heard his message said.
That could be a sign that the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate remain far apart in tense negotiations to avoid an Aug. 2 default.