'We have a deal'
With their backs to the wall, the White House and congressional leaders reached a landmark debt ceiling deal Sunday night after weeks of confrontation that pushed the nation to the brink of default and dramatized the huge divide between the Republican House and President Barack Obama.
Obama won greater certainty in managing the Treasury’s borrowing needs and committed himself to at least $2.4 trillion in new deficit reduction but without ever getting any concession from the GOP on accepting new tax revenues as part of the debt equation.
Continue ReadingPOLITICO 44
Much still depends on the success of a new joint committee charged with reporting back major savings to Congress before Thanksgiving. But for the second time this year, the president has had to yield ground on domestic appropriations, and the result is a real change in the direction and ambitions of government.
“Is this the deal I would have preferred? No,” Obama said candidly in announcing the agreement. “We could have made the tough choices required on entitlement reform and tax reform right now rather than through a special congressional committee process. But this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need … and ensures that will we not face this same crisis in six months or eight months or twelve months.”
Nothing was easy about the debt fight, and even after awaking early to the promise of a deal, Washington seemed to wait until the last hour of Sunday to come together — just hours before financial markets opened Monday.
“We have a deal,” said an administration official after a phone call between the White House and four House and Senate leaders. And a relieved Obama made the announcement minutes later in a hastily arranged appearance in the White House briefing room.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a central player together with Vice President Joe Biden in the final talks, had been confident all of Sunday that a resolution was possible. But Speaker John Boehner’s silence was a worry for the administration, having twice seen the Ohio Republican walk away from negotiations with the president.
In a multitrillion-dollar deal, a stubborn dispute over less than $17 billion in defense spending for 2012 was a final issue for Boehner. And to bridge the gap, the administration ultimately agreed to soften the lines by going back to an old, broader definition of “security funding” that bundles the Pentagon together with appropriations for Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, the State Department and foreign aid.
McConnell’s imprint is very evident in the contours of the agreement which reflects a more practical approach by Republicans to achieve many of the party’s goals without pushing Obama and the nation into default.
Get reporter alerts
-
David Rogers
Readers' Comments (686)
velvet steel Party: Independent
Reply #1
Jul. 31, 2011 - 7:51 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
capntax Party: Independent
Reply #2
Jul. 31, 2011 - 7:51 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
mitsom Party: Independent
Reply #3
Jul. 31, 2011 - 7:54 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
velvet steel Party: Independent
Reply #4
Jul. 31, 2011 - 7:55 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
Flapper Party: Conservative
Reply #5
Jul. 31, 2011 - 7:56 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
mitsom Party: Independent
Reply #6
Jul. 31, 2011 - 7:57 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
Norma Ward Party: NA
Reply #7
Jul. 31, 2011 - 7:59 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
wrlong Party: Democrat
Reply #8
Jul. 31, 2011 - 8:01 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
mitsom Party: Independent
Reply #9
Jul. 31, 2011 - 8:03 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
Oscar de la Grouch Party: Conservative
Reply #10
Jul. 31, 2011 - 8:03 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
mitsom Party: Independent
Reply #11
Jul. 31, 2011 - 8:06 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
marperl Party: N/A
Reply #12
Jul. 31, 2011 - 8:08 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
R+L50 Party: Conservative
Reply #13
Jul. 31, 2011 - 8:08 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
R+L50 Party: Conservative
Reply #14
Jul. 31, 2011 - 8:10 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
fedupinLA Party: Independent
Reply #15
Jul. 31, 2011 - 8:11 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
tanarg Party: Republican
Reply #16
Jul. 31, 2011 - 8:12 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
tjpeterson Party: Independent
Reply #17
Jul. 31, 2011 - 8:15 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
Oscar de la Grouch Party: Conservative
Reply #18
Jul. 31, 2011 - 8:17 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
CherMoe Party: Democrat
Reply #19
Jul. 31, 2011 - 8:20 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
dawgie Party: Democrat
Reply #20
Jul. 31, 2011 - 8:21 PM EST
- Reply
- Quote
- Report Abuse
Read all 686 comments in our forumThe Pigressive Democrat Domestic Terrorist "Taliban", refused to compromise, refused to pass the house bill, and could not pass a bill of their own in the Senate. Like Pelosi says - Dems own the failed economy and lack of jobs that they promised while squandering the earnings of taxpayers.
Obama does not get tax increases and he has to cut spending. My my..what a change from his first two years of spending..spending...now he has to grow up and be a leader and get this government under control.
The republicans only control 1/3 of elected govenment but now they are in charge.
I see, so after all this the deal is to do nothing. Nothing on entitlements. Nothing on new revenue. Genius.
Obama hasn't passed a deal in years then allowed it to become a crisis and attempted the same "Christmas Eve Midnight Vote" in another attempt to ram their agenda down the throat of broke taxpayers. This is the height of incompetence and failed Presidential leadership.
The Democrats have recklessly risked America's debt rating and are now risking destroying the American economy. They would rather burn down America than stop their theft of earnings from hard working Americans and it's never enough money for the money-crack addicted Democrats. They want ALL of our earnings. Every cent.
Now the Democrats are squealing as they have been exposed to the world for the corrupt, incompetent, greedy, selfish scum that they are.
If the Dems want to cut defense spending, then they sure need to bring our boys home. I do believe that was a campaign promise. Oh, wait there is talk of entering another war.
In fact in the really, real world the criticism of Obama over this is that he caved. Let us here in the really, real world know if you ever plan on visiting.
Three trillion in cuts over the next 10 years will not even pay for the interest on the current debt. As this posting shows, the interest owing on the federal debt will exceed $450 billion this year, setting a new record:
http://viableopposition.blo...
If interest rates increase to historically normal levels as seen in the early 2000s, interest owed on the debt could well rise to $960 billion annually, more than what is spent on Social Security and Medicaid in a year.
The privileged class wins again. Our president is a DINO.
That's why this whole issue is rediculous. The fact of the matter is that the only solution on the deficit is to strengthen the economy and put people back to work. In fact if anything needs to be seriously addressed it's entitlements and defense spending, if you aren't going to have an honest discussion about those then what's the point?
Across the board 1% cuts would help a lot .. or just NO increases .. instead of the baseline budgeting that has been used.
Please, to call Libya another war is just rediculous. And I really feel that Obama is drawing things down responsibly in Iraq and now Afghanistan. In fact one criticism of Obama was that apparently one of the dem proposals to cut spending included estimated savings from a draw down, and for whatever reason that was considered unethical to do by republicans.
Last-minute debt ceiling solutions:
--Washington, DC--In a last-second decision, Apple Inc has reportedly offered to buy the United States. "Jobs knows it's an iffy investment, but with money to burn, and the potential tax write-offs, it's a smart move,"said Joseph Adams, Wall Street investment guru. In fact, with a market value of approximately a zillion dollars, Apple does have the financial strength to purchase the debt-heavy country. President Obama is said to be weighing the offer as the clock ticks toward the impending debt ceiling implosion. Key Republican power brokers and Tea Partiers are intrigued by the offer as well. "It's Capitalism in action," said a second cousin to an aide for House Majority leader Eric Cantor.
Time is running out to raise the debt ceiling. Why not sell the country to the highest bidder? See Thinking Out Loud, http://marperl.blogspot.com/20...
Agreed
But none of them are willing to siick their necks out .
Make it 5% with no increases , and I'm in .
Obama tried with all his might to cause a panic in the financial markets. When that failed, he said his 'bottom line' was to get a deal that went past the election into 2013! Ironically, all of his yapping about increased 'revenues', aka taxes, turned out to be a pie in the sky. Dingy Harry told him in no uncertain terms that there would be no new taxes because at least 20 Senate seats were in jeopardy. This, after Tweety Bird had already slipped an extra $400B in increased 'revenues' to the Boehner plan! And...after he had made an azz of himself telling us that 80% of the public agreed with his tax increase plan!
Obama ended up getting the only thing he wanted - a free ride through the 2012 election! However, if he thinks we are going to forget the 800 lb. gorilla in the room at election time - he has another thought coming! He can run from it, but he can't hide from the unprecedented mess he has made!
No copyeditors at Politico? I'm available, so contact me, Politico, if you want great copyediting. Even if written by AP and AP's responsible for the error, it should be corrected.
Photo caption reads:
Reid has signoff off on a new plan hashed out by Obama, McConnell and other GOP leaders. | AP Photo
Mindful of this, perhaps, the administration has already made a concession to the House by accepting its version — and not the Democratic Senate’s — for appropriations caps over the next 10 years. As passed by the House, those numbers also allow for an up to 3 percent increase for defense in 2012, while the Senate proposed a firewall that is closer to a freeze at 2011 spending levels. This appears to be where the battle was Sunday night.
WTF??????
So they will increase it 3% then turn around and cut it by 4%!!!!!!!!!!!!
Obama is the biggest wimp I have ever seen !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Penny Plan is real a would work, IMO ..
The "Penny Plan:" A 1% Cut In Real Spending (Not the Rate of Growth) For Six YearsOne snag: It includes 1% cuts, per year, to SS and Medicare too, which is probably unworkable right now.
Velvet Steel: ---- I think you've confused the parties and where the nation's economy stood in January of 2009. I also think you haven't been separating the wheat from the chaff here in the last 2+ years. The "Party of NO" has consistently prevented this country from moving ahead and vowed to make Obama a 1-term president. That was their main and ONLY goal, in order to make him look like a failure and regain control. They succeeded in causing many Democrats to stay home from the voting booths in 2010 which has helped cause the problem to become worse. Obama has not kept promises and has CAVED IN repeatedly to Republicans in order to keep the country running. I don't admire him for this weakness. REPUBLICANS campaigned on CREATING JOBS. They have yet to even TOUCH ON THE SUBJECT except for busting unions, getting RID of jobs, decreasing wages and benefits and every other type of damage possible to our country and Americans.
Whether it passes or not will depend on the first 15 minutes of limbaughs show tommorrow .
You must be logged in to comment
Not yet a member?
Register Now