–President Obama To Meet With Senate Republicans At 11 AM ET
–Vice President Biden Reconvenes Budget Talks At 3:30 PM
–Senate Minority Leader McConnell: Need ‘Major Spending Cuts Now’
–Sen. McConnell: Better To Block Debt Hike Than Pass Without Spend Cuts
By John Shaw
WASHINGTON (MNI) – About an hour before President Obama is set to
meet all Senate Republicans at the Old Executive Office Building, Senate
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered a stern warning saying that
there will be no increase in the debt ceiling unless it is linked to
substantial spending cuts.
In remarks Thursday on the Senate floor, McConnell said it would be
“far worse” to pass a debt ceiling increase without fiscal reforms than
to block the debt ceiling increase.
“The window is closing,” McConnell said, arguing that Congress and
the White House need to agree soon on “major spending cuts.”
He said aggressive steps are needed to drive down deficits and
control rising debt.”
“We need to face this problem now,” he said.
When they meet with Obama, Senate Republicans are likely to blast a
draft fiscal-year 2012 budget proposal by Senate Budget Committee
Chairman Kent Conrad.
Conrad’s plan, which he has described as a tentative draft that
could change in the coming weeks, would cut the deficit by about $4
trillion over a decade.
It would do so by raising taxes by about $2 trillion and cutting
spending by $1.5 trillion.
The broad elements of Conrad’s plan would be to secure about $900
billion from defense programs and $300 billion in non-security spending
over a decade. It would also secure about $300 billion in entitlement
savings over the decade. He said there would also be about $600 billion
in savings from lower debt service costs.
Conrad is expected to formally unveil his FY’12 budget next week
and present it to the Senate Budget Committee.
Leading Republicans have already assailed the Conrad draft.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget
Committee, said in a statement that it is far too heavy on tax increases
and doesn’t cut spending sufficiently.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance
Committee, said Conrad’s plan would be a “recipe for economic disaster.”
The plan, he said in a statement, does not go after “runaway Washington
spending.”
Later in the day, Vice President Biden will hold the third meeting
of his budget working group of senior congressional leaders who are
exploring a deficit reduction framework that could be considered in
tandem with debt limit legislation this summer.
Biden will meet at 3:30 p.m. with House Majority Leader Eric
Cantor, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, Senate Appropriations Committee
Chairman Dan Inouye, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus,
Assistant House Minority Leader Jim Clyburn and Rep. Chris Van Hollen,
the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.
The administration will be represented by Biden, Treasury Secretary
Tim Geithner, White House budget director Jack Lew and the director of
the National Economic Council Gene Sperling.
Biden said Tuesday evening after the second round of talks that the
negotiators made “real progress,” but added “whether we get to the
finish line with this group is another thing.”
Biden said Tuesday evening that during the talks the focus has been
to determine “what we agree on, what we disagree on. And then we’re
going to go back after that is all over and figure out what the big
chunks (that are) left and whether we can make any compromises.”
McConnell has said the talks hosted by Biden are critical.
“With all due respect to the Gang of Six or any other bipartisan
discussions going on on this issue, the discussions that can lead to a
result between now and August are the talks being led by Vice President
Biden,” he said Tuesday.
“That’s a process that could lead to a result, a measurable result
in the short term,” he said.
While participants in the Biden talks have said the focus has been
to search for common ground, both parties have been busy staking out
familiar territory.
Republican leaders have said repeatedly in recent weeks that tax
increases are off the table in budget talks while Democratic leaders
have said that Social Security should not be part of the fiscal
deliberations.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **
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