Obama puts Social Security, Medicare cuts on the table

By Reuters
Thursday, July 7th, 2011 -- 8:26 am

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After weeks of impasse, President Barack Obama and top congressional leaders are aiming for "something big" as they resume budget talks on Thursday to avert an imminent default.
With Republicans showing new flexibility on taxes, Democrats say Obama will push negotiators to double their target to $4 trillion (2.5 trillion pounds) in budget savings over 10 years.
That would be an ambitious goal, but there have been a few hints of progress since talks hit a brick wall two weeks ago.
The meeting, which takes place at the White House, is due to start at 11 a.m. EDT (4 p.m. British time) and last about an hour.
Obama will propose cuts in Social Security and major reductions in Medicare, which mark a major shift for the White House, The Washington Post reported late on Wednesday, citing people in both parties with knowledge of the proposal.
In exchange, Obama would seek Republican support for increasing tax revenues, the Post reported.
Negotiators are trying to craft a deal that would allow lawmakers to say they are taking steps to keep the national debt under control even as they sign off on further borrowing.

Failure to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by August 2 could force the country to default on debt service and other obligations, a move that could push the country back into recession and send shock waves through financial markets across the globe.
A small team of U.S. Treasury officials are discussing options to stave off default if Congress fails to raise the debt limit by the August 2 deadline, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Senior officials, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, have repeatedly said there are no contingency plans if lawmakers do not give the U.S. government the authority to borrow more money.
But the sources said the Treasury was looking at a number of options, including whether the administration can delay payments to try and manage cash flows after August 2.
"SOMETHING BIG"
By the end of last week, lawmakers were weighing a scaled-back deal that would cover the country's borrowing needs in the short term but force Congress to confront the issue again in a few months, when the 2012 election season will make politically painful decisions even more difficult.
Obama dismissed that idea on Tuesday, two days after he met secretly with the top Republican in Washington, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner.
"We've got a unique opportunity to do something big," he said at a news conference, where he invited top congressional leaders to Thursday's White House meeting.
Obama's goal of $4 trillion in savings matches the figure that budget experts say is needed to keep the debt at a sustainable level. It is not clear how he would get there when the two sides have had trouble reaching half of that goal.
Obama's proposal to restrain Social Security spending could include adjusting the measure of inflation used to determine payouts for the retirement program, the Post reported.
In earlier sessions, negotiators identified roughly $2 trillion in spending cuts that could form the basis of a deal. Republicans walked out of those talks after Democrats called for an additional $400 billion in budget savings by ending a range of tax breaks that benefit wealthy people and certain businesses, like the oil and gas industry.
On Wednesday, the two Republicans who were involved in those talks indicated that they could accept some "revenue raisers" in a deal.
Senator Jon Kyl, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said his side had backed measures that would generate between $150 billion and $200 billion in new revenue generated by selling assets such as broadband spectrum and raising user fees.
His counterpart in the House, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, said Republicans could support ending some of the tax breaks that Democrats have proposed in return for tax cuts elsewhere.
Obama has proposed extending a payroll-tax cut that expires at the end of this year, which would add about $100 billion to budget deficits over the next 10 years. That cost could be offset by repealing tax breaks for ethanol producers, hedge-fund managers and oil and gas companies, or other elements Democrats have proposed.
"This would allow Democrats to get some tax hikes in the deal and extend the payroll tax cut, but Republicans could say they didn't vote for a net tax increase," analysts at International Strategy & Investment wrote in a research note.
Aside from Cantor and Kyl, the meeting will include Boehner, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Democrats believe a deal needs to be in place by July 22 in order to ensure that Congress can raise the debt limit by August 2. Thursday's meeting could determine whether that is possible.
"We're going to have a really good indication by the end of this week, early next week as to whether they're actually bearing fruit or not," Republican Senator Bob Corker told Reuters Insider.
(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, Rachelle Younglai, Tim Reid and Caren Bohan; Editing by Eric Beech)

Views: 43

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Jeff is now a member of 12160 Social Network
5 hours ago
Doc Vega posted blog posts
yesterday
tjdavis posted a video

How Corporations Are Secretly Poisoning Our Food Supply

Dupont and 3M have been secretly poisoning America for decades. PFAs — also known as forever chemicals—are now in our food, water, clothes, and our blood. Th...
Friday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

They Won’t Stop

 The demonically driven left will not stop. Makes no difference how much violence they call for or…See More
Wednesday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

What US Scientist unwittingly helped the Nazis devise the V-2 Missile?

  In the early 1920’s and leading up to World War II German technology outpaces the peace time…See More
Monday
tjdavis favorited Sandy's video
Oct 19
tjdavis posted a photo
Oct 19
Christopher Walker is now a member of 12160 Social Network
Oct 19
tjdavis posted videos
Oct 19
Burbia commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

Reflection

"Let's see if this goes past indictment."
Oct 18
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Something Watches From Out there in the Wilderness
"cheeki kea That's very interesting history. So many things about history that go ignored or…"
Oct 18
Burbia commented on Burbia's video
Oct 18
Burbia posted a video

Programmed To Kill/Satanic Cover-Up Part 433 (The Charlie Kirk Conspiracy Show)

https://www.programmedtokill.net/projects---- DISCLAIMER! ----Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair u...
Oct 18
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

American werewolf- 2018

"Yip I've looked again and this is what the creature looks like, even has stripes just like…"
Oct 18
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

American werewolf- 2018

"The mystery continues I guess. ( reminds me of something out of the under world )"
Oct 18
cheeki kea posted a photo
Oct 18
cheeki kea commented on Doc Vega's blog post Something Watches From Out there in the Wilderness
"Another fine story Doc V. I think it's Dogman the werewolf out there roaming around in high…"
Oct 18
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Oct 18
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post What Four UFO Whistle Blowers All Suffered in Common?
"Less Prone Thanks for you comment Buddy! Dabbling in government kept secrets can cost you dearly. I…"
Oct 18
Burbia posted a blog post

Sebastion Piñera and 5G

 Sebastion Piñera “The start of the bidding process for the 5G network. Let’s listen to the threats…See More
Oct 18

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted