White House :Statement by the Press Secretary

[cal04]

Source: White House

The bill passed today in the House with exclusively Republican votes would have us face another debt ceiling crisis in just a few months by demanding the Constitution be amended or America defaults. This bill has been declared dead on arrival in the Senate. Now that yet another political exercise is behind us, with time dwindling, leaders need to start working together immediately to reach a compromise that avoids default and lays the basis for balanced deficit reduction.

Senator Reid’s proposal is a basis for that compromise. It not only achieves more deficit reduction than the bill passed in the House today and puts a process in place to achieve even more savings, it also removes the uncertainty surrounding the risk of default. The President urges Democrats and Republicans in the Senate to find common ground on a plan that can get support from both parties in the House – a plan the President can sign by Tuesday.

Read more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/07/29/statement-press-secretary

[DJ13]

1. ....and puts a process in place to achieve even more savings

Thats the money shot.

If the elites cant slash social programs with the phony debt ceiling 'crisis', they want a mechanism in place to do it later.

[creeksneakers2]

2. They've already compromised

No way they should do it again and again. What has the GOP sacrificed, other than entitlement cuts that they were afraid to vote for anyway?

[tishaLA]

6. + 8 brazillion

[alp227]

3. It's so damn obvious that Reid's bill saves so much more than Boehner's

but the Republicans are too dumb or stubborn to realize that.

[Igel]

9. The last scoring I saw said not so much..

It was before Boehner retooled his to save more; I haven't heard that Reid altered his.

The CBO commented on this. Boehner's came in at $850 billion, prior to retooling. Reid's, $890 billion. The CBO even commented on the rather cynical ploy that Reid used: The projections assume no drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan, them's the assumptions even though everybody, including the CBO, knows they're false; Reid said, in effect, "No, we are going to draw them down and credit this bill with the savings." Then there's the knock-on savings: Less spending --> less debt --> lower interest payments, assuming that rates don't increase. Boehner didn't claim the interest savings from his bill's spending reduction; Reid's claimed not only interest savings from reduction in actual expenses, but also from interest savings in not funding the wars that we weren't going to fund.

Reid's good at this. The HCRA included savings from reclassifying some biofuels as non-biofuels, it included savings from the student loan reorganization. All of these are "savings" due to the Health Care bill. Reid and Pelosi actively fought the reclassification of some biofuels because they needed that money for the HCRA. The student loan bill was trumpeted as saving a lot of money, but the bill itself was revenue neutral because its savings had been "transferred" to the HCRA--so that student loan bill *had* to pass since its savings were already spent elsewhere.

[IamK]

15. Reid's bill won't pass the house so the "cuts" are irrelevent...

[bowens43]

4. Reid's plan is not a comprimise

it's surrender......

[msongs]

5. just because reid and obama are demanding the republicans' desired out come? nt

[swilton]

7. Reid's plan is capitulation!

[cstanleytech]

11. No, its called compromising

which means they give a little and in turn the other side gives a little.
Capitulation would have been if reid and the dems had voted yes to the republican bill, they didnt vote yes thus they didnt capitulate.

[No Elephants]

12. It's not compromise if it's what you wanted to begin with.

Obama wants cuts, just like he did not want to raise taxes on anyone in December 2010.

You don't hire a Republican as your Secretary of Treasury if you're planning on a populist Democratic economic agenda, just as you don't hire Gates as your Secretary of Defense if being a peace time President is your agenda.

It would healthy to stop claiming that he is weak or helpless to otherwise or compromising like some great statesman or chess player, when he is simply pursuing pretty much the agenda that he wants to pursue.

Sometimes, occam's razor actually works.

From a WAPO article published shortly before Inauguration.

"President-elect Barack Obama pledged yesterday to shape a new Social Security and Medicare "bargain" with the American people, saying that the nation's long-term economic recovery cannot be attained unless the government finally gets control over its most costly entitlement programs. "

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/15/AR2009011504114.html

"Entitlement programs." We know what people who choose that term intend.

[cstanleytech]

13. You did know that this is 2011

the dems dont control congress atm and barely control the senate right? Until that changes or unless you rewrite the constitution he and the dems will have to make some compromises at times.
As for his nominees to some positions, I have enough on my plate in reallife without worrying about them so i am just going to trust in his choices and hope they do a good job but if it makes you happy then you can continue to obsess about them.

[bitchkitty]

17. Yep that's right! Congress must approve!

Just like they approved that business with Libya...oh, wait...

[cstanleytech]

18. Two different issues

but hey, nice try still.

[bitchkitty]

20. Different issues, same lawyers. n/t

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[swilton]

16. You've got it

Another 'bi-partisan' commission to discuss SS/medicare/medicaid cuts - 2.7 trillion cuts in government programs (EPA, et. al - deregulation cum laude) + no revenues!

[NCarolinawoman]

8. "puts a process in place"= bi-partisan gang of 12.

There REALLY has to be more transparency on this.:mad:

[left on green only]

10. I'll bet the news of Boners' epic failure reached him before he

ever arrived home. That is, if the outcome wasn't already a foregone conclusion to him. I hope he can get some therapy over the weekend. I mean it's not that I mean to wish him well, but it's just that I am concerned about the welfare of the family dog. :argh:

If it has orange fur on Monday morning, then we'll know he cried on it.

[loyalsister]

19. Favorite "Devil May Care" congressman on board.....

Dunno if this is meaningful to anyone, but Kucinich always stands firm on progressive issues. I disagree with him a lot, but I have always thought he has a lot of integrity and that his voice in the debate has value.

Kucinich: Why I Voted for Senator Reid’s Revised Plan

http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=254580