Speaker Boehner abandons comprehensive debt deal

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio listens at left as President Barack Obama speaks during a meeting with Congressional leadership to discuss the debt, Thursday, July 7, 2011, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington.

/ AP Photo

The White House and Republican leaders had been negotiating recently over a comprehensive deal that would have produced $4 trillion in savings, hoping to avoid any possibility of defaulting on the nation's debt ahead of an Aug. 2 deadline to raise the debt ceiling.

On Saturday night, House Speaker John Boehner abandoned the deal, saying a mid-size package of reforms that do not include any kind of increase in taxes on anyone is the only politically viable solution, The Washington Post reports.

The White House responded by releasing a statement decrying the move, saying that "congressional leaders...must reject the politics of least resistance and take on this critical challenge."

In a statement, Boehner said: "Despite good-faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes. I believe the best approach may be to focus on producing a smaller measure, based on the cuts identified in the Biden-led negotiations, that still meets our call for spending reforms and cuts greater than the amount of any debt limit increase."

In response, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said: "We cannot ask the middle-class and seniors to bear all the burden of higher costs and budget cuts. We need a balanced approach that asks the very wealthiest and special interests to pay their fair share as well. Both parties have made real progress thus far, and to back off now will not only fail to solve our fiscal challenge, it will confirm the cynicism people have about politics in Washington."

The move by Boehner means the negotiations will likely fall back on the smaller reform package that Vice President Joe Biden and GOP leaders had been negotiating, which would amount to as much as $2.4 trillion in savings, the Post reports. That package includes only cuts to federal agency budgets and modest reforms to entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicaid.

If approved by all parties, the smaller savings plan would allow for Congress to approve an extension of the federal debt ceiling into the spring of 2013, the Post reports.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor had indicated the GOP would not give in on any tax adjustments on Friday, saying: "It just does not make sense for Americans to suffer under higher taxes in an economy like this. There is no way the House of Representatives will support a tax increase."

Democrats had been pushing for alternative forms of tax hikes that would close loopholes creating tax breaks for certain kinds of industries like corporate jets, as well as raising taxes on only the highest-earning Americans.

President Obama will be hosting an important meeting with political leaders on debt negotiations on Sunday.

[surubaid]

I'm not so sure those politicians really listen to one another when tney aren't in the party. I truly believe that those who have been on Capitol Hill for more than 3 terms have lost touch with the real cruxt of the American public when it comes to jobs and facing simple day to day issues that are drastically affected by actions taken by politicians. It's easy to talk about what they think "the american people want" in comparison to actually have asked what we want and then take the responses they receive and work with them. After one term in office they receive a pension. Where else in America can an individual qualify for a pension after just 4 years of employment? They have a very well setup healthcare plan that they pay nothing into. Even some of the best paying jobs in America don't have no pay healthcare plans. That would be a wonderful luxury. One suggestion that would work well towards balancing the budget would be to take by the humanitarian and military aid given to some of the more undeserving countries. Those that have done atrociously inhumane acts towards their countrymen, suppressed the ability to assert basic human rights, and or attacked their neighboring countries for no justifiable reasons are ones I would include in this lot. No one is perfect. All of these individuals have to be shown that they can be as easily removed as they were brought in. Congress and the Senate need to be held to two consecutive terms just like the President and Vice President. They need to get out and face the world just like the rest of America does. Then they will have a better understanding of what politicians are really doing to the American public.

[NotPartyControlled]

It's a shame that neither side can compromize. Stop the media blitz and cut spending. Stop politicing and cut all non-american aid and focus on the United States.

[noloyalisti]

Lets' call this anti-Constitution knucklehead who wants America to fail Exxon Boner or Halliburton Boner of GE Boner or something. He wants to void the agreement (contract) for WHAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS ALREADY AGREED TO DO. This must be alien inbred behavior. How else would you explain this level of demonic evil?

[bilrobi1]

I clearly don't fall into the tax bracket of the privileged . I'm middle class and have always payed my taxes. These are hard economic times and my country needs help. So not only do I think the corporation and the rich need to pay up but, I'm willing to pay a little more in taxes over a defined period of time to help my country.

[netjunkie1]

I am also middle class, however, the value of my home has dropped to 1/2 it was before the great recession.
I don't believe the middle class should suffer any of the tax burden
The richest taxpayers have evaded paying, this is why our government is in the red.
The government is not run by and for the people of America, it is run by the elite, corporates, and lawyers.
It is called a plutocracy which an internal Citi. memo clearly admitted. It also said the end is no where in sight. Along with their only fear...the power of the vote.

[realist51]

The Title should read " THE REPUBLICANT'S ABANDON 90% OF AMERICANS FOR THE TOP 10% OF AMERICANS!

[williamjd2011]

speaker boehner is a guy who comes from a poor family and he knows that the issues his party is forcing him to stand for are wrong. you can see it in his face during the talks. He looks like a little kid that just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

[simpleconservative]

The simple reality is that the government Ponzi schemes are about to deconstruct. Many Americans believe with childlike simplicity of thought, that a politician or a group of politicians can guarantee a free ride. The number of Americans pulling the wagon compared to the number riding in the wagon has reached critical mass and without serious reforms, that wagon is going over the cliff. The interesting thing is that the productive class will not be riding in the wagon when this happens and as self sufficient people will survive the crash. The folks who will be hurt are the ones insisting that nothing needs to be done to correct the course charted by a liberal ship of fools!

[Guitfiddel]

The "Norquest Oath" will not allow the Tea Party Republicans to do go back on their sacred obligations to their campaign money$$ PIMPS. NEVER! I tell you! NEVER! Tea Party Republicans are GOOD HO'S, No Matter happens just for their PIMP DADDY'S!!!

[RobAla]

No additional taxes! The debt talks hinge on whether President Obama is willing to admit that he has been moving the nation in the wrong direction. I doubt his egotistical arrogance will allow him to move away from his failed policies and adopt the proven polices that worked for President Reagan. We know what works, and we know what doesn't. Taxing a nation more when it is down is a disaster in the making.

It is time for the bloated federal government to make the sacrifice, instead of struggling private sector jobs and taxpayers. President Obama has tried doing things his way for the last 2.5 years and the economy is a real mess. From the beginning of the country to the end of President Bush's last term, the United States compiled a terrible $9 trillion national debt. In just 2.5 years President Obama has managed to add another $5 trillion to that.

We can not afford his unproven policies another year. We have to reverse course and reduce the size and scope of the federal government to a level that the American people and business can afford. The policies of President Obama are drowning the nation, and if the Republicans and other rational representatives can bring about a plan to reduce the government and establish a plan to seriously move toward a balanced budget the nation may have hope.

President Obama's record breaking deficit spending devalued the US dollar and it invites inflation. Inflation hits the poor and those on fixed incomes (the elderly) the hardest. You can speculate or make wild claims about who is hurting the poor and middle income workers, but the facts point to President Obama. Think about the "cash for clunkers" program. The poor don't buy new cars, and if you take the old ones out of the market by that stupid program, then the poor are screwed. It resulted in the prices of used cars going up, and it hurt the poor. Cash for clunkers was nothing more than political payback from President Obama to the auto unions that got him elected. It was all a political payback, at the expense of the poor.

Washington is in chaos; from defense contracts to NASA to the idiotic "shovel ready jobs" that never materialized. It is time to do what we know works. President Reagan's actions dropped the unemployment rate from just over 10% to just over 7% in 20 months.

When the nation is in crisis it is no time to experiment with unproven progressive policy, it is time to act on proven actions that have worked in the past. We have to reverse course and move away from the failed policies of President Obama. We have to reduce the federal government in size and scope to a level that the American people and businesses can afford. No additional taxes!

[ky7474]

The gop looks totally sold out to corporate america and the dems look so weak. We need total gov reform which shifts power back to the people and restores personal freedoms and choices. Anything else is an imitation of a great nation and doomed for failure.