The Senate confirmed Gary Locke as ambassador to China by unanimous consent. The Senate then resumed consideration of S. 1323, the vehicle for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) debt limit proposal. Reid filed his plan as an amendment to the bill and has filled the amendment tree, preventing further amendments.
Yesterday, the Senate voted 98-0 to confirm Paul A. Engelmayer to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York.
In he House Speaker Boehner is seeking to revise his debt ceiling bill. However he is facing opposition by various Republicans who want no compromise even if it means shutting down the government. A vote on the plan may be as early as tomorrow. More on this and Sen. Reid' plan later in this report.
Speaking on the floor this morning, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said, “Yesterday afternoon the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy which said that when the legislation Speaker Boehner is now revising reaches the President’s desk, unnamed senior advisors will recommend that the President veto it. I have a question for these senior advisors: what about this legislation is so offensive that you’d rather see the nation default on its obligations than have the President sign it into law? From what I can tell, the only thing in this bill the President hasn’t already expressed his support for either publicly or privately is that it doesn’t get him through his election without having to engage in another national discussion about the debt crisis that’s brought us to this point.”
The Wall Street Journal editors note, “Mr. Obama recognizes these stakes, threatening yesterday to veto the Boehner plan in a tactical move to block any Democratic support. The White House is afraid that it will pass the House and then become the only debt-ceiling vehicle if Mr. Reid can't get 60 votes for his own proposal in the Senate. This would short-circuit Mr. Obama's plan to blame the GOP for a U.S. credit downgrade, any market turmoil, a possible default, and the lousy economy too.”
As Leader McConnell said, “So I would ask these senior advisors whether that’s a position they want to put the President in. Do they really intend to suggest that he veto the nation into default for political reasons? That’s how I read the threat. And I think that’s how the rest of country would read it too.”
Indeed, Commentary’s Jonathan Tobin observes, “Despite his pose of moderation, President Obama has maintained an obstructionist attitude throughout the debt ceiling crisis. By demanding higher taxes and engaging in class warfare rhetoric, the White House demonstrated that what it wanted was not a solution to the problem of how to raise the debt ceiling but to avoid one.”
Contrasting the plan House Speaker John Boehner proposed with the lack of specifics from President Obama, Leader McConnell said, “Unlike the President, [the speaker] not only put forward actual legislation to prevent this crisis, he's keeping his promise to cut spending more than any increase in the debt limit – with no tax hikes. And what about the President’s plan? Well, when asked the President’s plan, his aides point to a speech and a veto threat. With all due respect, Congress can't vote on a speech, and a veto threat won't prevent default. The fact is, Republicans have offered the only proposal at this point that attempts to get at the root of the problem — and which actually has a chance of getting to the President’s desk. That’s why we’ll continue to press for the legislation Speaker Boehner has proposed.”
As reported last night, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is reworking his two-stage debt plan after the Congressional Budget Office revealed it bout $400 billion less than the advertised figure of $1.2 trillion. The House isn’t expected to vote until Thursday or Friday. Meanwhile, conservatives remain highly suspicious. Heritage Action has announced its opposition to the original Boehner plan and Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) doubted Boener's bill has enough support to pass.
Reid's Smoke and Mirrors plan:
Today, The CBO has finished scoring Sen. Reid's debt-limit plan which is euphemistically being called the Senate plan. Many see the CBO numbers as misleading and the bill being full of Reid's specialty: "smoke and mirrors." However, the CBO did identify that Reid's plan also comes up short of what has been promised. They reported that Reid's plan would raise the debt cap by $2.7 trillion, would reduce deficits by $2.2 trillion. This means the Reid's plan does not meet the demand by Republicans that spending cuts exceed any increase in the debt ceiling. Of course Reid normally does not give a damn as to what the Republicans want.
As for smoke and mirrors, Reid claims falsely something that is not true. As pointed out by the CBO, the Reid plan brazenly takes credit for cutting $1 trillion in war spending in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are already drawing down in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the CBO identified Reid's savings could only be claimed if we assumed as CNN Money identified that the war was projected to continue for the next ten years. And this is not going to happen. Besides, Mr. Reid and others do not know where or when we may be attacked next or even when President Obama may opt to commit or even waste military resources such as he has done with Libya.
When asked, Michael Steel, a spokesman for Speaker Boehner, responded, “This report shows the Senate plan for what it is: a grab-bag of gimmicks that gives the President a blank check. In contrast to the bill House Republicans have offered, the Senate Democratic bill counts as ‘savings’ a trillion dollars in war money that would never have been spent - and on top of that, slashes the defense budget in a manner that would hurt our men and women in uniform in a time of war. It relies on smoke and mirrors for half of its ‘savings,’ yet still cuts $500 billion less than promised. In reality, the Reid plan would only save taxpayers about $1 trillion while giving the President the largest debt limit increase in history. Despite previous claims, it significantly falls short of the requirement that we cut more than we increase in the debt limit.
“For too long Washington has pulled the wool over the eyes of the American people – but those days are over. We have made a promise to cut spending more than we increase the debt limit, and we are revising our legislation to ensure this pledge is met. This debate boils down to two choices: we can continue business as usual in Washington, dressing up legislation with gimmicks and giving a blank check to the President; or we can start making some tough choices to bring down the deficit and hold the President accountable. Today’s report makes clear the House plan is the only one with a pathway to the President’s desk, and we would urge him to sign it.”
Warning About Polls:
Bobby Eberle warns today to "Watch Out for the Spin." With all the chatter about the debt, the debt ceiling, federal spending and maybe a potential government shutdown. Eberle says, "Does anybody really know what's happening in Washington? Are legislators moving closer to a solution (note I didn't say "deal") on our massive debt and spending? Most of you have opinions on what should be done, but what do other people think? That is the question, and the media are trying to provide the answer. But beware... in poll after poll, the devil is in the details.
There is no doubt our liberal media will try to influence the American people on the direction Washington should take in dealing with the debt and spending. They are clearly in Obama's corner, and more spending and higher taxes are their only solutions. What they will try to do is convince you that that is what everyone else believes too. But just because their information comes from a poll doesn't mean it's a fact. . . .
"The problem is that you can't weight what questions are asked and how they are asked. Questions can easily be worded to steer respondents to a particular outcome.
Please check out the poll results yourself. Did you find anything else that hints of spin or bias? It's all around, but most people won't even realize it until they are already drinking the kool-aid."
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