Senate Republicans Gird For Fresh Debt Ceiling Fight By Jennifer Nendery | HuffPost | 05/15/2012 7:49 pm Excerpts: WASHINGTON Despite the risk of economic and political fallout, Senate Republicans Tuesday said they're standing with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in picking another fight with Democrats over tying spending cuts to a debt ceiling increase this year. During remarks at a fiscal summit in Washington, Boehner warned he will require that matching spending cuts be tied to raising the debt limit when it hits its cap late this year. "When the time comes, I will again insist on my simple principle of cuts and reforms greater than the debt limit increase," Boehner said. "This is the only avenue I see right now to force the elected leadership of this country to solve our structural fiscal imbalance." The last time Republicans made the demand in the spring of 2011, the U.S. nearly defaulted on its debt for the first time and the country's sterling Standard & Poor's credit rating got downgraded. Thousands of federal workers were kept on edge for months, waiting to learn if a default meant they wouldn't get paid. Congress ultimately avoided a default and settled on a deal in August 2011 that raised the debt ceiling and reduced the deficit by $2.1 trillion. The agreement included no new revenues, which Democrats sought, and only cuts, which Republicans wanted. Congress has historically raised the debt ceiling with little fanfare and without tying it to trillions in spending cuts. But top GOP senators said Tuesday that they agree with Boehner that, because of the country's skyrocketing debt, deep cuts should be part of the discussion now. The nation's debt currently stands at $15.7 trillion. More moderate Republicans avoided saying whether they supported another fight on the issue of cost offsets, though they hoped the tenor of this year's debate would be less toxic than last year's. "I think that was unsettling to the American people, the markets and made it very difficult for essential federal government programs to operate efficiently," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who announced that she is retiring this year in part because of her frustration with the partisan gridlock in Congress, said last year's debt fight is still having negative repercussions. "Policy-induced uncertainty is at historic levels because of the fiasco surrounding that debate on the debt ceiling," Snowe said. The real solution to the nation's debt is tax reform, Snowe said, though she cast doubt on Congress' ability to do anything on that front until at least after the elections. "We're in a state of diversionary tactics here to avoid the big questions because of the election," Snowe said. "We haven't dealt with any of the mighty questions. That's why things haven't really demonstrably changed in the economic environment to create jobs ... because of what is happening here." "We all remember the very, very ugly process that this confrontational approach that we had during the last period of time we were trying to get a budget," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters. Republicans can "grandstand all they want" on the issue, he said, but any debt ceiling deal tied to spending cuts will also have to include new revenues, such as tax hikes on the rich and guarantees that Medicare and Social Security are preserved. "There is simply no way to do this, to support economic recovery, without using both sides of the ledger. So, of course that means some revenues," Reid said. "The American people agree with us." Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), also in Senate Democratic leadership, slammed Boehner for walking away from the "sequester" portion of last year's debt deal. Under that agreement, $1.2 trillion in across-the-board cuts would take effect in January 2013 if a special bipartisan committee failed to come up with cuts on its own. That committee ultimately did fail, and now Republicans want to rework the sequester to strip out defense cuts. "Republicans have spent the last year running away from the deal we made to avoid the last artificial crisis they created, so I don't know why the speaker is already laying the groundwork for another one," Murray said. "Apparently one tea party credit downgrade isnt enough for House Republicans." "The whole country experienced the downside of the kind of brinksmanship the Republicans were willing to engage in and the economy suffered accordingly," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said during Tuesday's briefing. "The president is not going to do that again. It's not good for the economy, it's not good for the American people, and it's not necessary," Carney said. The full faith and credit of the United States government should not be held hostage to the political ideology of one segment of one party. " read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/15/senate-republicans-debt-ceiling-fight_n_1519561.html ..... It seems like a bad Grade B movie...you know the kind you walk out on, but the republicans plan to replay their last years debt ceiling fiasco with a bill loaded down with stupid amendments attached that would be severely detrimental to the American people and favor the wealthy, but President Obama has thrown down the gauntlet: He will not have bills held hostage again by these tpublican bag party members that nearly brought down the government with their crazy antics; antics that showed how they felt about the American people, and the government. Of course it makes going to the polls a lot easier for Democrats because the first inkling of schoolyard thuggery will be met with counting legislators that will fall in the November elections. The republicans are already on notice that their careers hang in the balance and if they cannot do their jobs in an adult, civil way, then they will find themselves in the unemployment line...exactly like average Americans, whose lives and prosperity republicans have held in their hands since 2010.
It's not surprising. The Tea Party Republicans were able to wreak havoc with confidence and stocks last year with their debt extortion game. The thinking would be that they can do it again this year, figuring that any bad news is more likely to rub off on Obama than Romney.
For those liberals choosing not to educate themselves.... we know who you are. Obama budget defeated 99-0 in Senate Nice Post RP12 - rep given!
Here's Obama in his own words on debt and the debt ceiling. [video=youtube;ydZTHPkOnvE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydZTHPkOnvE[/video] He seems to forget his words stick around for a while. Has he changed his mind? Will Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats fall in lock step and further use the Bank of China Credit card to further in-debt your children?
Hey genius, the debt ceiling won't even be reached before the November elections, but I'm sure you already knew that.
Granny says let Obama pay it - she still ain't got her 2nd stimulus check... $2,001,093,000,000: Feds Ownership of U.S. Debt Breaks $2T for First Time August 19, 2013 -- The Federal Reserves holdings of publicly traded U.S. Treasury securitiesfederal government debtpushed above $2 trillion for the first time last week, hitting approximately $2,001,093,000,000 as of Aug. 14, according to the Feds latest weekly accounting.
Debt limit bill flown out to Calif. for Obama's signature... Obama signs debt limit measure into law, restores military benefits February 15, 2014 — President Barack Obama on Saturday signed separate measures into law to lift the federal debt limit and restore benefits that had been cut for younger military retirees. See also: Figures on government spending and debt Feb 14,`14 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated). The government's fiscal year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
Granny still wantin' to know when dey gonna send her 2nd stimulus check?... Figures on government spending and debt Apr 18,`14 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated). The government's fiscal year runs Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
Obama almost doubles nat'l. debt on his watch... $20 trillion man: National debt nearly doubles during Obama presidency November 1, 2015 - President Obama took office when the total national debt stood at $10.6 trillion. That number will nearly double by the time he leaves.
Granny says if she had a couple million dollars - she'd keep it... Anonymous donor gives $2.2 million to pay down national debt, Treasury says November 22, 2015 | WASHINGTON The Treasury Department received a record contribution of $2.2 million toward reducing the national debt in September, even as the government was running out of borrowed money as it approached the debt limit. See also: As national debt soars, gifts to pay it off decline December 20, 2013 - The Treasury gladly accepts tax-deductible donations to reduce the national debt.
Granny says, "Dat's right - the bill's `bout to come due an' we ain't got the money to pay it... Foreigners Are Dumping U.S. Debt At A Record Pace And Our $20 Trillion National Debt Is Poised To Become A Major Crisis January 22nd, 2017
Why bother with the Democrats at all. They blew their load when they thought they were going to win and pushed the nuclear option button. They are entirely irrelevant.
