White House seeks to calm storm after Social Security comments

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney sought to assuage concerns on Wednesday about the possibility that Social Security checks might be delayed as a result of stalled debt ceiling negotiations, telling reporters that "we will not get to that point."

President Obama caused a stir Tuesday when he told the CBS Evening News he "cannot guarantee" the 27 million Social Security checks due out on August 3rd would be mailed as scheduled if Congress did not first reach a deal on raising the amount of money Congress is legally allowed to borrow from the current $14.3 trillion by Aug. 2.

Obama: No guarantee for Social Security checks

Carney expressed confidence on behalf of the White House that "we will get an agreement" - and that concerns about Social Security checks would be null.

"Our position, the president's position, has always been that we will not get to that point because Congress will do the right thing," he said.

Carney also said that Mr. Obama was still hopeful of reaching a comprehensive bipartisan bill that would significantly reduce the deficit "in a balanced way."

"We remain confident that we will get an agreement that reduces spending, that cuts the deficit," Carney told reporters. "What is at issue here is... how significant an agreement [is possible]? And he is absolutely confident that it is the right position to take to push this process forward to get the biggest possible deal."

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Carney maintained that Republicans, despite having made "a lot of declarative statements about what's acceptable and not acceptable," had not ruled out a comprehensive deal.

He also said that Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's recent proposal for a debt limit solution - which would authorize President Obama to raise the ceiling three times before the end of 2012 with the contingency that he submit (but not necessarily enact) a list of commensurate spending cuts - was "not a preferred option."

"We have not discussed or analyzed the components of the plan or endorsed it in its particulars," Carney said, of the McConnell plan. "There is no plan B...We believe the American people expect us to do something about reducing spending, getting our deficits and debts under control."

Still, the press secretary said the administration appreciated the acknowledgement, implicit in McConnell's proposal, that "we cannot play a game of chicken with the full faith and credit of the United States government."

"There has to be some mechanism -- no matter what happens -- to make sure that Congress takes action to do that," he added.

[joyis34]

I really think that everybody is very wrong on behalf of all these people that only have a once of month check maybe people would have more then just of once of month check if everybody get up that's in the white house and help everybody with what ever that they need like more jobs and this is just so sad my mom is very sick already and getting more sick worrying about how she is going to pay her bills and her medical bills and her rent as well as buying the things that she need to try and to stay well. so i think that if every body that's in the white house that is down for they self should get up out and just leave and give everybody they money and for you obama you said that thing's would change well everybody i shall say that this is the change messing with everybody money if that's the case then let everybody move in the white house or give everybody of million dollars then everybody that's part of it should drop down and give in to all these people that is out here in this messed up world trying very hard to make it work with they bills as well as with they self.

[shepae]

i truly think that obama is wrong because people are struggling won,t be able to survive people already lost thier jobs withuot a clue what to do and how to provide for thier familys when he got in office things really went down he need to fix it or leave office and give his seat to some one better because it is sad and cruel people need to survive in this world obama do your job...

[GrannyCares]

Believe the only way they are going to keep the storms out of the neighborhoods is to get their boss to SHUT UP! He is the most over-exposed guy I have ever seen, other than the late pitch man for OXI-CLEAN!

[noloyalisti]

Can't blame Obama, the billionaires have seized the government and run it for their own benefit and profit. At the expense of the rest of America. The sooner we go to war against the giant corporations who are killing the planet, the less painful if will be for all of us.

[cattiej]

The Democrats had better have another candidate than Obama to run for President..I don't think any Democrat can be elected after Obama shot off his big mouth about Social Security checks may be delayed on August 3rd. How many seniors are unable to sleep tonight because they are worried sick about this? How many seniors may take their own lives because they think they won't have their Social Security checks to be able to buy food, pay rent, buy their medicine? This statement by Obama was a very dangerous statement and has put fear in the heart of many senior's...People who paid into this program for years...senior people who were raised in a period of our history that have pride in themselves that they worked for many years...many of them at slave wages while the owners of companies got rich off their sweat, blood and tears. Many of these companies who have not taken their manufacturing plants to other countries like China, Mexico, India, etc..Everything we see in the stores have Made in China..China is probably having a great time and celebrating that our senior citizen's are very afraid that they won't have money to live if they don't get there Social Security Checks...There isn't any security to being a local citizen in America anymore. America isn't the land of the the free but the home of many illegals who have taken the jobs of our legal citizens. To all you truckers who are or may lose your trucking job to a Mexican who can now drive their trucks on any highway in our country...it's time to have a national shut down..stop your trucks in the middle of the highways of our country and protest this action by Obama and the originator of this NAFTA agreement, Bill Clinton...Boehner should also be run out of Washington on a rail.. he is just as dangerous and playing this game of chicken as Obama..they both need to be impeached immediately..

[alethya123]

Obama had no right to terrorize the most fragile and needy citizens of America THE ELDERLY; who will be living wrapped in a dark cloud of anxiety waiting to see if they will be lucky to receive their Social Security check on the 3rd of next month. This was cruel and inhuman. Mr. Obama should not
have opened his mouth, by doing so, all he did was create fear.

[Bojax39]

You are absolutely correct, alethya!

Don't know why the President resorted to fear mongering.

Perhaps he did it to get the public excited enough to contact their congressmen with orders to stop the circle-jerking and shirking and start working.

Could be he did it as an opening blame-game jab against the republicans as a prelude to the 2012 elections.

Maybe he saw it as a chance to scare hell out of the public then come off as the hero who saves social programs when the deal comes through.

But no matter why he said what he did, it was ill advised and should never have been done. On the bright side, too much of such antics usually leads to a one term administration. :-)

[Coyote1952]

If this happens there will not me any party that is in office that will have a chance of keeping there job. Everyone will be voted out

[donnalee64]

Question/Scenario
The social security and disability checks don't go out.
A person that needs life sustaining meds can't raise the
money for the co-pay. No drugs. Consequently that person dies.
Would this be considered Murder?
Or perhaps an acceptable loss.
My dear president Obama and Not so dear republicans (lower case) just raise the debt ceiling and quit messing with peoples lives.
Maybe Ron Paul IS an alternative after all. He is republican and white. Pleasing to the republicans--yes?

[RobAla]

There is nothing the President can do to clam this. He purposefully attempted to scare the crap out of old people by threatening to take Social Security from them. Democrats always resort to this crap. Anytime anyone mentions spending less on government, they threaten to fire policemen and fire fighters, close schools, and throw grandma out in the street. They are determined not to cut the waste and huge fluff in government.

President Obama hates the idea of making cuts to the federal government so much that he intends to make cuts as painful as possible for the American people. Is he planning to cut the worthless Dept of Education, Dept of Energy, the bloated EPA, grants to the arts, politician's benefits and freebies, or the idiotic health care law that costs taxpayers an additional $105 billion per year in new spending? - NO! He plans to make the cuts in Social Security or Medicare.

The federal government spends $billions in fluff programs and discretionary spending each year - but instead of that, he plans to make the cuts where it hurts the American people the worst. He makes me sick.

No additional taxes! The irresponsible expansion of the federal government must stop. There is no way private sector job growth should be stifled by additional taxes, just because Washington refuses to make the needed adjustments and sacrifices. There is plenty of waste and fluff that must be dropped before anyone should consider taxes.

[brnfream]

No more spending. No more debt. No more taxes. Leave SS out of your shenigans, you inept bunch of hypocrits.
I can not believe that America has come to this. It is time to throw out the foreigners, including the one in the WH, and get back to our Constitution, the way it was intended. Ron Paul is looking pretty good to me, right now. Take SS out of all equations. It is funded by the people who it is intended for and not to be touched ever again by the over reaching government.