Obama Considers Republican Debt Proposal, Meets Lawmakers
WHITE HOUSE — President Barack Obama and Republican and Democratic congressional leaders are meeting in an attempt to resolve the U.S. government shutdown and debt limit stalemate. Obama cautiously welcomed a Republican proposal for a temporary increase in the U.S. debt limit.
Before the White House talks began, House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican leaders announced their proposal to extend the debt limit for six weeks until November 22.
They assert this would open the way for "good faith negotiations" on broader budget issues. And as Boehner put it in remarks on Capitol Hill, it would be an opportunity for movement, to discuss reopening the government, and set up a House-Senate negotiating process.
"It's time for leadership, it's time for these negotiations and this conversation to begin, and I would hope that the president would look at this as an opportunity and as a good faith effort on our part to move halfway, halfway to what he has demanded, in order to have these conversations begin," said Boehner.
The proposal could avert an unprecedented default. But Boehner would still have to win support from a sufficient number of fellow Republicans to bring the proposal to a vote in the House of Representatives.
And it remains to be seen if an agreement to temporarily increase the debt limit would also bring an end to the partial government shutdown, which passed its 10th day on Thursday.
Press secretary Jay Carney said Obama is happy that "cooler heads" seem to be prevailing and that there seems to be a recognition that government default is not an option.
Carney said Obama continues to prefer a longer debt extension with no conditions attached, but would sign a temporary extension to remove the threat of default.
The spokesman outlined the concerns the president has about Republican attitudes even if such an agreement is reached.
"He thinks that the implication of a willingness only to raise the debt ceiling for six weeks is that Republicans haven't gotten over their obsession with using the threat of default as a means to try to extract concessions from him to do harm to the world economy, the American economy and the American middle class in exchange for trying to achieve their political demands," said Carney.
In his news conference earlier this week, President Obama indicated he is willing to sign a short term solution, and reiterated his openness to new talks on a range of deficit reduction issues.
"I still think there are all kinds of issues that we should be talking about, and I don't expect to get 100 percent of my way, and I am still very open to having conversations with not just the Speaker but any Republican over there," said President Obama.
Obama has said repeatedly that he will not allow a precedent to be set where a faction of one party - a reference to conservative Tea Party Republicans - can hold the economy hostage to extreme political demands.
Obama's first meeting Thursday was with Senate Democratic leaders, followed by Boehner and House Republicans. Additional talks are scheduled with Senate Republican leaders on Friday.
The debt extension, if it happens, possibly would give Republicans a chance to negotiate spending cuts with Obama, who has called for reopening the government and an increase in the borrowing limit without conditions.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told a Senate panel that it would be a "grave mistake" to fail to increase the borrowing limit. By next Thursday, he said the Treasury would only have about $30 billion on hand and some incoming revenue, but not enough to pay all its bills.
He said the government should not have to make "perilous choices" whether it uses its available cash to pay government bond holders, pension and health benefits owed to older Americans, aid to military veterans or businesses that provide services to the government.
"The United States should not be put in a position of making such perilous choices for our economy and our citizens," Lew said. "There is no way of knowing the irrevocable damage such an approach would have on our economy and financial markets."
But Lew declined to say how much of an increase Obama wants in the debt ceiling, other than to say it should cover borrowing needs for a longer, rather than shorter period of time.
Senator Max Baucus, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said that while the government shutdown "has been disruptive, a default would be a financial heart attack."
Republican Orrin Hatch criticized the president for not negotiating over government spending issues while asking for an increase in the country's debt limit without conditions.
Hatch noted that in 2006, then-Senator Obama called a proposed increase in the debt ceiling at the time a "failure of leadership," when Republican President George W. Bush was in office. Hatch said the borrowing limit has since been increased seven times during Obama's term in the White House, from $11.3 trillion to the current $16.7 trillion.
The standoff over the government shutdown between Republicans and Obama is chiefly over the president's health care law that by January will require most Americans to buy health insurance or pay a fine, a mandatory provision that Republicans staunchly oppose.
fuente: La Voz de América, http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-encouraged-by-offer-of-debt-limit-deal/1767272.html
Before the White House talks began, House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican leaders announced their proposal to extend the debt limit for six weeks until November 22.
They assert this would open the way for "good faith negotiations" on broader budget issues. And as Boehner put it in remarks on Capitol Hill, it would be an opportunity for movement, to discuss reopening the government, and set up a House-Senate negotiating process.
"It's time for leadership, it's time for these negotiations and this conversation to begin, and I would hope that the president would look at this as an opportunity and as a good faith effort on our part to move halfway, halfway to what he has demanded, in order to have these conversations begin," said Boehner.
The proposal could avert an unprecedented default. But Boehner would still have to win support from a sufficient number of fellow Republicans to bring the proposal to a vote in the House of Representatives.
And it remains to be seen if an agreement to temporarily increase the debt limit would also bring an end to the partial government shutdown, which passed its 10th day on Thursday.
Press secretary Jay Carney said Obama is happy that "cooler heads" seem to be prevailing and that there seems to be a recognition that government default is not an option.
Carney said Obama continues to prefer a longer debt extension with no conditions attached, but would sign a temporary extension to remove the threat of default.
The spokesman outlined the concerns the president has about Republican attitudes even if such an agreement is reached.
"He thinks that the implication of a willingness only to raise the debt ceiling for six weeks is that Republicans haven't gotten over their obsession with using the threat of default as a means to try to extract concessions from him to do harm to the world economy, the American economy and the American middle class in exchange for trying to achieve their political demands," said Carney.
In his news conference earlier this week, President Obama indicated he is willing to sign a short term solution, and reiterated his openness to new talks on a range of deficit reduction issues.
"I still think there are all kinds of issues that we should be talking about, and I don't expect to get 100 percent of my way, and I am still very open to having conversations with not just the Speaker but any Republican over there," said President Obama.
Obama has said repeatedly that he will not allow a precedent to be set where a faction of one party - a reference to conservative Tea Party Republicans - can hold the economy hostage to extreme political demands.
Obama's first meeting Thursday was with Senate Democratic leaders, followed by Boehner and House Republicans. Additional talks are scheduled with Senate Republican leaders on Friday.
The debt extension, if it happens, possibly would give Republicans a chance to negotiate spending cuts with Obama, who has called for reopening the government and an increase in the borrowing limit without conditions.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told a Senate panel that it would be a "grave mistake" to fail to increase the borrowing limit. By next Thursday, he said the Treasury would only have about $30 billion on hand and some incoming revenue, but not enough to pay all its bills.
He said the government should not have to make "perilous choices" whether it uses its available cash to pay government bond holders, pension and health benefits owed to older Americans, aid to military veterans or businesses that provide services to the government.
"The United States should not be put in a position of making such perilous choices for our economy and our citizens," Lew said. "There is no way of knowing the irrevocable damage such an approach would have on our economy and financial markets."
But Lew declined to say how much of an increase Obama wants in the debt ceiling, other than to say it should cover borrowing needs for a longer, rather than shorter period of time.
Senator Max Baucus, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said that while the government shutdown "has been disruptive, a default would be a financial heart attack."
Republican Orrin Hatch criticized the president for not negotiating over government spending issues while asking for an increase in the country's debt limit without conditions.
Hatch noted that in 2006, then-Senator Obama called a proposed increase in the debt ceiling at the time a "failure of leadership," when Republican President George W. Bush was in office. Hatch said the borrowing limit has since been increased seven times during Obama's term in the White House, from $11.3 trillion to the current $16.7 trillion.
The standoff over the government shutdown between Republicans and Obama is chiefly over the president's health care law that by January will require most Americans to buy health insurance or pay a fine, a mandatory provision that Republicans staunchly oppose.
fuente: La Voz de América, http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-encouraged-by-offer-of-debt-limit-deal/1767272.html
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