White House, GOP near two-year budget deal

[brooklynite]

Source: The Hill

Senior White House officials and congressional leaders are nearing a deal to raise the debt limit and set the federal budget for the next two years, say sources familiar with the talks.

The agreement is not yet final, as negotiators still need to settle a dispute over controversial policy riders, but congressional leaders hope to announce something Monday evening, according to a Senate source. The deal would cover the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years.

White House budget director Shaun Donovan and legislative affairs director Katie Beirne Fallon are hammering out the package with staff representing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.).

House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is expected to be elected Speaker on Thursday, but he has not taken part in these budget negotiations, aides said. In recent weeks, Boehner has said he wants to "clean the barn up a little bit" before he leaves Congress at the end of the week.

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/finance/258091-white-house-gop-near-two-year-budget-deal

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Hmm, Ryan will be off to a rip-roaring start try to sell this.

[LonePirate]

1. This is Boehner's effort to save his party from the Tea Party before the 2016 election.

He knows that a Tea Party led shutdown in December or next fall has the potential to hurt his party so he may want to prevent that. This also gives him the opportunity to piss off the people who ousted him.

If the White House supports this deal, it might be the best one we will get without a lot of pain.

[djean111]

2. Can't wait to see the "controversial policy riders".

Hoping for the best, honestly expecting the worst.

[Stallion]

3. Can't Wait to see the Vote in the House of Representatives

gonna be some crow eaten I'm sure

[djean111]

4. Honestly, my only hope, at this point, is that crow does not show up in Chained CPI or the current

list of COLA items as a substitute for chicken.

[JDPriestly]

7. Bernie and all who support him would get a big upward poll push if the Chained CPI or higher

Medicare premiums or cuts in Social Security are on the menu.

I would not be surprised if they are.

[CharlotteVale]

9. That is exactly what I'm afraid of. I think federal employee benefits are on

the menu too.

[SammyWinstonJack]

19. Alan Grayson says the WH and republicans are in negotiations to cut SS and Medicare

There is a thread from him in GD about it.

[CatWoman]

16. .....

The deal isn’t fi­nal, but mul­tiple re­ports con­firm the talks are pick­ing up speed ahead of the Nov. 3 dead­line to raise the debt ceil­ing and a Dec. 11 dead­line to keep the gov­ern­ment run­ning. The New York Times re­ports that the deal in­cludes cuts in Medi­care and So­cial Se­cur­ity dis­ab­il­ity be­ne­fits, cit­ing an­onym­ous of­fi­cials.

http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2015/10/white-house-and-congressional-republicans-are-nearing-budget-deal/123131/?oref=top-story

[angrychair]

18. Yep

As predicted. Fuck the poor. I bet corporate welfare stays intact.
Who do we really think is going to actually try to fix this? Who do we think is only pay it lip service?

From Congress to the WH, answer those questions and VOTE.

[Myrina]

5. Oh so NOW Boehner wants to get something done?

Waits 'til his last week on the job. How fitting.

And am I the only one who finds it funny that the House GOP actually gets more done WITHOUT a leader than with?

[cstanleytech]

12. Probably because he fears that the majority of America will blame him and his party for

another shutdown and rightly so because it would be 100% the Republicans fault.

[Sunlei]

6. A miracle if nuttie republicans allow an actual clean "2 year budget" without their BS attached.

[cstanleytech]

14. The day the Republicans submit a budget without any BS is the day I will win the powerball. nt

[Sunlei]

15. Every fucking thanksgiving republicans start to hold Americans hostage about budget

[yallerdawg]

8. This would be a glorious Democratic win!

Back to "Regular Order" and the business of Congress - funding the government - off the table through the election cycle?

If they could get this done, we'd have one less thing hanging over our heads!

[SammyWinstonJack]

20. Cuts to Medicare and SSDI won't be good for Democrats

Rumor has it that the WH is negotiating with republicans for cuts to both.

[yallerdawg]

21. Rumors...

The deal was the result of weeks of negotiations between Boehner, McConnell, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).Leaders hoped to finalize the agreement as early as Monday night, setting up a vote in the House as early as Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.

It would include about $80 billion more in spending over two years for defense and domestic programs, which would be offset by savings from changes to the Social Security Disability Insurance fund and Medicare payments to doctors and other health care providers. It also includes an additional $16 billion in off-budget defense spending increases, which would not be offset, that Democrats previously opposed. In addition, a premium increase for Medicare Part B recipients would be prevented from going into effect.

The proposal being negotiated would set the top-line spending numbers and give the House and Senate Appropriations Committees until Dec. 11 to decide how it should be parceled out among federal agencies and programs.

In addition, the deal would extend the sequester budget caps through 2025, leaving lawmakers to renegotiate spending plans in 2017 if they hope to avoid deep cuts to mandatory spending programs in the future.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/congressional-leaders-and-white-house-closing-in-on-a-budget-deal/ar-BBmsgC3?li=BBgzzfc&OCID=HPDHP

[geek tragedy]

10. time for everyone to eat their peas.

Which, I guess, is better than a debt ceiling debacle.

[angrychair]

11. I have my doubts

As they say "the devil is in the details".
Cutting of social services
Chained CPI

Pay attention to the admendments and last minute changes.

[CatWoman]

17. see my comment above (#16)