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Dems, GOP still at debt impasse as clock ticks
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., right, followed by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., leave a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, July 29, 2011. / AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
WASHINGTON - The GOP-controlled House and the Democratic Senate remain at loggerheads over debt legislation required to avoid a first-ever default on U.S. financial obligations as lawmakers and the White House head into a pressure-packed weekend in search of compromise.
A week of extraordinary partisanship was capped by a power play by Senate Democrats, who killed a House-passed debt limit increase and budget-cutting bill Friday night less than two hours after it squeaked through the House. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., set up a test vote for the wee hours of Sunday morning to break a GOP filibuster.
Before then, however, the House was set to even the score by voting Saturday to reject an alternative measure by Reid even before the Senate has taken it up.
Special report: America's debt battle
Nation on brink, GOP debt plan dies in Senate
Democrats, Republicans and the White House, meanwhile, are expected to be deep in conversation in hopes of a potential compromise. Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is likely to play a pivotal role.
"There is very little time" President Barack Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address. He called for an end to political gamesmanship, saying "the time for compromise on behalf of the American people is now."
Despite the gridlock, at least one Democratic senator says there is enough common ground to reach a compromise.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., appeared on "The Early Show" Saturday and said that the gridlock over debt legislation required to avoid a first-ever default is fraught with "political posturing" but the gap between the GOP and Democrat plans is not too wide to overcome.
Senator: Ninth inning debt deal will get done
The outcome of the weekend endgame was anything but clear as Democrats and Republicans remain at odds over how to force lawmakers to come up with additional budget savings later this year beyond the almost $1 trillion in agency budget cuts over the coming decade that they basically agree on.
The House measure squeaked through on a 218-210 vote, with 22 Republicans joining united Democrats in opposing the GOP measure, which pairs an immediate $900 billion increase in U.S. borrowing authority along with $917 billion in spending cuts spread over the coming decade.
Friday's roll call came after House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, had been forced to call off a vote slated for Thursday in the face of tea party opposition to the measure. He added a provision requiring that a second, up to $1.6 trillion debt increase be conditioned on House and Senate passage of a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution, which would require an unrealistic two-thirds vote by each chamber to send it to the states for ratification.
Boehner's move only cemented Democratic opposition to the measure and complicated prospects for a weekend compromise that could clear both houses and win Obama's signature by next Tuesday's deadline. And by appeasing the tea party by adding the balanced-budget amendment poison pill, Boehner seemed to hand endgame leverage to Reid and Obama.
Boehner said the House bill — before the addition of the balanced-budget amendment — mirrored an agreement worked out with Reid last weekend.
"Now the bill before us still isn't perfect," Boehner said as he closed debate. "It's imperfect because it reflects an honest and sincere effort to end this crisis by sending a bill over to the Senate that at one time was agreed to by the bipartisan leadership of the United States Senate."
Still, as soon as the measure reached the Senate side of the Capitol, Senate Democrats scuttled the measure without so much as a debate on its merits. The vote was 59-41, with all Democrats, two independents and six Republicans joining in opposition.
Reid alternative measure would raise the debt limit by up to $2.4 trillion, enough to a demand by Obama that the increase be sufficient that Congress doesn't have to wrestle with it again until 2013.
Administration officials say that without legislation in place by the end of Tuesday, the Treasury will no longer be able to pay all its bills. The result could inflict significant damage on the economy, they add, causing interest rates to rise and financial markets to sink.
Executives from the country's biggest banks met with U.S. Treasury officials to discuss how debt auctions will be handled if Congress fails to raise the borrowing limit before Tuesday's deadline.
But White House press secretary Jay Carney said the administration did not plan to provide the public with details Friday on how the government would prioritize payments.
The day's economic news wasn't very upbeat to begin with — an economy that grew at an annual rate of only 1.3 percent in the second quarter of the year.
At the White House, Obama cited the potential toll on the economy as he urged lawmakers to find a way out of gridlock.
He said that for all the partisanship, the two sides were not that far apart. Both agree on initial spending cuts to take effect in exchange for an increase in the debt limit, he said, as well as on a way to consider additional reductions in government benefit programs in the coming months.
"And if we need to put in place some kind of enforcement mechanism to hold us all accountable for making these reforms, I'll support that, too, if it's done in a smart and balanced way," Obama said.
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The answer is to stop creating so much debt. The Democrats have no plan to address this huge issue.
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The Democrats back plans 71% of voters according to polling want -- you are in the 29% that have to lie to attempt you unpopular and ineffective outcome, Rob.
Rob does not face facts twice this years Republicans have approved $1 Trillion dollar plus additions to the debt and Rob still believes that they will quit increasing the debt. He believed the lies when Newt told him Republicans would end the deficit spending and he believed it when the Tea Party promised to do so in 2010 and after the two trillion dollar increases to the debt in 2011 he believes they learned their lesson in APRIL and wont do it again (until the 2012 appropriations start anyway (they must be partially passed by October when the 2012 fiscal year starts). The facts of recent actions are clear -- the TEA PARTY REPUBLICANS are the same BIG SPENDERS the BUSH REPUBLICANS WERE.
As I understand it the House writes the budget, sends it to the Senate to pass and then the President signs it.
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The president submits a proposed budget in February, both houses of congress amend it and agree on a common version and pass it. THe president can choose whether or not to sign it. Does the budget authorize a single dime to be spent NO. Does the budget constrain spending congress can pass or revenue congress can collect - NO. THe Federal Budget us a non functional document that occasionally more by random chance reflects the CONGRESSIONAL approved spending and Revenues (one or more pieces of separate legislation that actually control revenue and spending for the country. The Debt ceiling is currently an archaic construct that when the president had the power to impound appropriations (before 1974) could have restrained borrowing and forced the president to prioritize spending appropriations. Since 1974 the only entity that can be legally constrained by the DEBT CEILING is congress as only Congress has the power to appropriate (SPEND), rescind appropriations (repeal spending that has not happened) or alter revenue collection. Strangely enough the debt ceiling is set by the only people that can make changes to cause the debt ceiling to be exceeded (the US CONGRESS so in effect it constrains no one -- depending in your interpretation of the 14th Amendment) as such it is a meaningless and archaic construct.
Let's see, they were according to you, charged under Bush, so shouldn't they be paid already? Bush hasn't been able to charge anything since 2008. Tell me how these creditors have waited this long to be paid.
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We already bought the house - we cannot just walk away from the mortgage without consequences.
Bush's trainwreck didn't just disappear when he left office after having spent $6 trillion with nothing to show for it. The problem is that he never paid for that, and now we have to.
Understand yet?
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Michael Garee
Slappy and paid4 it's not illegal top make stuff overseas. What is your point?
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I never said it was.
The point I made is that the "high cost of taxes" which almost no business actually fully pays is not what ran corporations to seek foreign manufacturing - the cheap cost of labor did.
So again - you have railed against GE. GE managed to pay no taxes in the same way that individuals pay no taxes: tax credits.
If you are against tax credits for individuals, you should also be against them for corporations.
Unless, of course, you're a fiscal liberal - which is what the Repub party has become.
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No equal import taxes on foreign made goods. We are only allowed to export so much to foreign countries. They have limits to protect their economy, we don't. They can export as much as they want. American business and the politicians made sure that, there is no level playing field for the U.S.
Cutting spending over 10 years (of another President), but handing President Obama $2.4 trillion to spend is not a balanced approach at all. Saying that the cuts will come from troop draw downs, which will happen anyway, is not addressing anything in a way that actually cuts federal spending. It is based on bogus figures, and it basically gives President Obama $2.4 trillion of new spending.
There are NO CUTS in this bogus Senate bill. It is a load of crap. No wonder some Democrats in the House voted against this crap legislation. When will Democrats put out a serious plan to address the problems this nation faces? They just want to continue with business as usual - the same crap that has put us $14.4 trillion in the hole. What a load of crap!
The Cut, Cap, and Balance Act passed by the House is a real plan, with real CBO scored numbers. The bill would cut total spending by $111 billion in FY 2012 and caps total federal spending by creating a "glide path" that limits spending at 22.5 percent of GDP next year and gradually decreases spending levels over 10 years levels until locking in at 19.9 percent of GDP in 2021. Cutting the bloated $3.6 trillion federal spending by $111 billion is in no way EXTREME.
Finally, the legislation would require that Congress pass a Balanced Budget Amendment and it would need to be sent to the states for ratification before the president's request for a $2.4 trillion debt limit increase is granted. Progressives, who complain that it would lead to trimming entitlements, ignore the fact that the CBO has warned that entitlements are projected to grow beyond the ability of the US government to pay for them. We will eventually have to trim entitlements, whether by delaying the retirement age or actual cuts. This has to happen.
This impacts me, because I plan to retire in the next 8 years. However, we can not ignore this problem any longer. We have to begin to bring reason and practical solutions to huge fiscal problems facing the United States. This is not going to go away by conducting business as usual.
Rob's spammed whine is back claiming he wants to dine and dash like his Republican representatives Voting for a debt of $1.5 TRILLION in APRIL and REFUSING TO PAY THE BILL in July. Face up to fact rob - SUPERMAJORITIES of Republicans proved revenues are inadequate when they passed theuir lean and mean appropriations for 2011 with those massive cuts they told us about and they still had $1.5 TRILLION IN RED INK. Whers is the proposal to raise revenues if this was the best they could do at cutting spending and the REALLY WANT TO BALANCE APPROPRIATIONS (spending) AND REVENUES? Or is this you and the Republicans spreading more of your smoke and mirrors lies?
But, let's get back to the subject at hand. How much are these debts? Let's see, they were according to you, charged under Bush, so shouldn't they be paid already? Bush hasn't been able to charge anything since 2008. Tell me how these creditors have waited this long to be paid.
Most government money is appropriated. So, I'm waiting for someone to tell me what bills are due where the money is not already "out there", in that programs/entities accounts, waiting for the bill to come. When I get someone to tell me what bill needs to be paid, I'll find money to pay it, without raising the debt ceiling.