With only weeks to go before the country hits the debt ceiling, bipartisan negotiations were on the verge of collapsing as one of two Congressional Republicans walked away from the talks, and the other was unclear about future discussions.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor withdrew from the negotiations Thursday, saying they had reached an impasse with Democrats over tax issues and it was time for President Obama to get involved to broker a deal that would pave the way for a vote to raise the debt ceiling this summer. Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl said that it would be difficult to continue negotiations with only one Republican at the table.
Talks planned for Thursday afternoon were scrapped after Vice President Joe Biden decided not to attend in light of Cantor’s announcement.
Cantor, who represented the House GOP in the discussions, said “there is not support in the House for a tax increase, and I don’t believe now is the time to raise taxes in light of our current economic situation. Regardless of the progress that has been made, the tax issue must be resolved before discussions can continue.”
Cantor called on President Barack Obama to step in. “I believe it is time for the President to speak clearly and resolve the tax issue,” he said.
An aide to Kyl told CNN that he also feels that the talks have gone as far as they can go with the players involved and the President now needs to personally get involved.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen, one of the House Democrats involved in the meetings, said there was no indication at yesterday’s session that the Republicans would stop participating.
Van Hollen said he learned the news as he was leaving a meeting with the President Thursday morning and was “disappointed.”
“They had been proceeding well although there is no doubt that there were some very difficult issues that needed to be decided,“ Van Hollen told reporters.
The bipartisan group, led by Vice President Biden, has been meeting for weeks behind closed doors to discuss various proposals to cut spending, from both discretionary programs and entitlement programs, such as Medicare. They have released very few details about areas of agreement, but Cantor said the group made significant progress agreeing to trillions in spending cuts, and noted “we have established a blueprint that could institute the fiscal reforms needed to start getting our fiscal house in order.” They had originally hoped to reach some sort of tentative agreement by July 1.
The group was working toward an agreement that would raise the debt ceiling by more than $2 trillion with an equivalent amount of spending cuts over the next ten years. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he expects the country to reach the debt ceiling by August 2, effectively halting the nation’s ability to borrow money and forcing the government into default on its obligations.
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
3 Responses
How does saving $2 trillion over 10 years when the debt ceiling increase is going to last a lot shorter than that help anybody.
I am tired of we will save $2 trillion of 10 years. Why not talk like what is going to happen currently or within the next 3 years. You see how obamacare is going to cost and cost and cost and cost. New loop hole adds another 1/2 trillion dollars. Keep spending until America becomes a 3rd world country. Change you can count on.
A word to the YNS censure enough of my posting have been block and it is not right.
Everyone has been tightening their belts except our Yankee Doodle Dandy, Uncle Sam. We think twice before eating out, buying a second pair of shoes, or filling up the tank. The government is still decorating offices, buying new equipment when the old one are barely used, and so on. Lower taxes and decrease government spending. Then we’ll see some real change . . . And it will be in our pockets . . . For a change.