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- WASHINGTON POST 6-17
- O’Donell 7/28/11
- Bull 5/23/11
AT: Debt Ceiling ThumperNo Thumper and Top of the Docket- Debt Ceiling isn’t delaying and government focusing on SKFTA- Drucker and Ackley 7/25, Roll Call (David D. Kate A. 7/25 "Supporters See Path to Pass Trade Pacts Soon" Lexus )PHS Supporters of pending free-trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea are holding out hope that Congress might pass the measures before adjourning for the August recess, even as Capitol Hill remains fixated on the looming Aug. 2 deadline when the government bumps against its debt limit. Sens. Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Rob Portman (Ohio) told reporters Friday that they have satisfied President Barack Obama's demand for assurance that the Senate would approve federal assistance for workers whose jobs disappear as a result of the trade deals. The two Republicans produced a letter with the names of a dozen GOP Senators who have committed to voting with the Democrats to kill any filibuster of such legislation. Passage of the free-trade agreements has been stymied by a disagreement between Obama and Congressional Republicans over the appropriation of money to assist displaced workers, called Trade Adjustment Assistance. But the White House confirmed that discussions with GOP leaders in the House and Senate continue and suggested that passage of the free-trade agreements before the August recess was still possible. "The announcement by a number of Senate Republicans supporting passage of trade adjustment assistance is a welcome development in our discussions with Congress. "What's needed now is a commitment on specifics from the leadership of both Houses for a viable process for the passage of the three [free-trade agreements] and TAA," an administration official told Roll Call in an email Friday afternoon. The Obama administration previously requested that TAA be attached to one of the free-trade deals to ensure its approval, a procedure Senate Democrats have referred to as historically routine and noncontroversial. But Senate Republicans argue the move would be unusual and set a bad precedent for future trade agreements, encouraging lawmakers to lard up such deals with extraneous amendments that would impede their approval. Some Republicans also have opposed TAA on the grounds that it is too costly, particularly given Washington's ongoing fiscal crisis. But Blunt and Portman believe they have engineered a compromise acceptable to all sides with their plan to clear TAA as a stand-alone bill while guaranteeing enough votes to overcome any GOP filibuster that might be lodged against it. The Senators said they had yet to hear back from the administration about their proposal. "Instead of putting it together with the trade agreement, the idea was to say, 'OK, this is the new requirement, the hurdle that we need to reach. We will separate it out and ensure that there is a pathway forward,'" Portman said. "That's what we were asked to do. We have done that. As Sen. Blunt has indicated, we have done that and more." One possible outstanding concern on the part of the White House is that the Senate's TAA legislation might be amended in such a way that it could sink the bill. Blunt and Portman did not dispute that possibility, but they noted that just because an amendment vote is held, it does not mean such legislation would achieve the votes needed to win attachment to the underlying TAA bill. Blunt, citing comments made on the floor Thursday by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) regarding his commitment to moving the Colombia, Panama and South Korea deals through the Senate as quickly as possible, expressed confidence that this concern could be adequately addressed. McConnell had said he would like there to be an amendment process, but he indicated he would not expect any amendment to pass if "the administration can generate the votes it needs." "My sense on where Sen. McConnell is, is that the outcome here is increasingly certain," Blunt said. "Surely there's a way that [Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)], Sen. McConnell and the White House can accommodate a process that produces a result the White House wants." The Republicans who have joined Blunt and Portman on TAA include Sens. John Boozman (Ark.), Scott Brown (Mass.), Dan Coats (Ind.), Thad Cochran (Miss.), Susan Collins (Maine), John Hoeven (N.D.), Johnny Isakson (Ga.), Mike Johanns (Neb.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Roger Wicker (Miss.). Meanwhile, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) have told the Obama administration their plan was to similarly move TAA as stand-alone legislation, unattached to any of the three free-trade bills. The business community, which praised the efforts of Blunt and Portman, has planned several lobbying activities this week - both far from the Beltway and inside the halls of Congress, although K Street sources said they do not expect the Obama administration to submit the free-trade pacts to Congress for approval until September. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will continue a nationwide grass-roots lobbying tour today with Korean Ambassador Han Duk-soo with a stop in New Hampshire that includes a meeting with Rep. Charles Bass (R-N.H.) and a visit to the Pease International Tradeport. On Tuesday, the chamber delegation will head to Maine to meet with the state's governor and state legislators and to tour a facility of retailer L.L.Bean. Back in D.C., the chamber-run Latin America Trade Coalition and the U.S.-Korea FTA Business Coalition are planning a large-scale, bipartisan lobbying spree. "We're organizing a House-side door knock where we visit as many offices as possible," said John Murphy, vice president of international affairs for the chamber. "We are reaching out to Members of Congress in the states," Murphy added. "It's useful to get the business community there fired up and engaged so that they're weighing in with their Members of Congress. "While a deal hasn't been reached on a clear path forward, it's clear they're making progress," Murphy continued. "We're heartened that it appears there have been regular talks all week long." Bipart debt solution now WASHINGTON POST 6-17-11. (“Debate over raising U.S. debt ceiling high on civility, low on anger” http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/debate-over-raising-us-debt-ceiling-high-on-civility-low-on-anger/2011/06/17/AGseYXZH_story.html?wprss=rss_whitehouse ) Something’s missing in the debate over raising the country’s debt ceiling: anger. The highest-stakes political battle to date in the 112th Congress has been surprisingly absent the partisan rancor, name-calling and – for lack of a better term — blamesmanship that typically mark most spending fights in Washington. The civil tone that’s emerged in the battle over raising the $14.3 trillion debt limit this summer appears to be a product of the cordial working relationships that have developed among the principals in the White House-led talks, particularly between Vice President Biden and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.). Deal inevitable and Obama delegated to Biden – no pc loss. WASHINGTON POST 6-17-11. The civil tone that’s emerged in the battle over raising the $14.3 trillion debt limit this summer appears to be a product of the cordial working relationships that have developed among the principals in the White House-led talks, particularly between Vice President Biden and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.). But it also might stem from the tacit acknowledgment among all sides that even raising the specter of a federal default could have a catastrophic effect on the global economy. Joining in the bipartisan goodwill this weekend are President Obama, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), who are slated to hold their first “golf summit” Saturday. No policy details are likely to be engaged on the links, but goodwill toward reaching a real deal might be enhanced. The bonhomie is a far cry from the loud and personal attacks that have characterized most big Washington debates in recent years. Consider recent statements made by some of the group’s principals as the debt-limit negotiators wrapped up their eighth meeting Thursday evening. “I think the success of these talks thus far is due to the vice president and the way that he has conducted the meetings,” Cantor told reporters Monday. Debt Ceiling Won’t Cost Obama PC- Biden Negotiating For Him O’Donell 7/28/11 (Norah, CBS News: Political Hotsheet, Joe Biden could be key to debt limit compromise, http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20085147-503544.html, Accessed 7/28/11) Speaking of the debt limit fight Thursday evening, a White House official said, "this thing is a mess." Sources tell CBS News that the president is going to be relying on his vice president, Joe Biden, to leverage his longstanding Senate relationships to try and forge a compromise out of it. I'm told the vice president - who has been involved in these negotiations for the past three months - is still very much engaged. With the House GOP bill faltering, the key to any deal may be the Republican leader in the Senate: Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Sources say the vice president and Sen. McConnell have discussed multiple scenarios in the past about how to solve this deficit debacle. The two have a very good relationship. They have served a quarter of a century together, and they were the ones who negotiated in secret last December to work out that compromise on the extension of the bush tax cuts for another two years. However, I'm told the vice president has not offered any specific compromise at this point. And that they are waiting for that final vote on House GOP bill, expected Thursday evening. So what happens next? White house officials believe there is an easy compromise here. The bill that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has put forward, like Boehner's bill, cuts spending and doesn't raise revenues. No matter the fate of either bill, the White House points to elements of both that could be salvaged. For example: Both bills set up a committee in Congress that would address the issues of tax reform and entitlement reform. The big difference is that the Boehner bill calls second vote in six months to raise the debt ceiling again. But, as one Democratic official involved in the negotiations said today, "who wants to go through this three ring circus again right before Christmas?" No PC Loss on Debt Ceiling- Biden Group Leading Talks, Will Reach Compromise Bull 5/23/11 (Alister, Biden talks seen last hope for debt ceiling deal, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/23/us-usa-debt-biden-idUSTRE74L31620110523, Accessed 7/28/11) Biden has increasingly been playing the role of emissary for the White House to Capitol Hill on the budget battle that threatens to lead the United States to the verge of default. Republicans are demanding deep spending cuts in return for raising the $14.3 trillion U.S. borrowing ceiling, which needs to happen by early August. Biden will gather together senior lawmakers from both parties on Tuesday afternoon for a third set of talks to hammer out a compromise on reducing budget deficits. The vice president's group made a better start than most observers had expected when it began to meet this month. But few expect an agreement to come quickly or easily. "It is a virtual certainty that this process will go to the absolute last minute, and then for five minutes longer," said Alex Brill, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who worked in President George W Bush's White House. Attention has shifted to the Biden group after talks among a separate negotiating panel -- the "Gang of Six" senators -- stalled last week with the departure of Republican Senator Tom Coburn, a fiscal conservative from Oklahoma. Some analysts saw the breakdown of the Gang of Six talks as a bleak harbinger for the prospect of a long-term budget deal. That group, comprised of fiscal experts from both parties, had been working behind the scenes since early this year. Biden's panel includes four Democratic lawmakers and two Republicans who are known more for the clout they wield within their parties than for their budgetary expertise. Among the members are Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives and James Clyburn, the No. 3 House Democrat. Biden has been a point person within the administration for relationships on Capitol Hill because of the 36 years he spent as a Delaware senator. ELECTION ISSUE The budget debate already looms over the 2012 election. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, wants to shield programs cherished by his party like Medicare, and wants wealthier Americans to pay more in taxes to help control the deficit. Republicans vow to fight higher taxes and want to curb the spiraling U.S. debt by shrinking government spending. The United States reached the congressionally mandated limit on its borrowing on May 16. Administration officials are using special accounting measures to avoid a default for now but they warn their leeway to do that will run out on August 2. Many think a deal will ultimately be reached. But they also see a risk of a bargaining miscalculation by one side or the other that scuppers discussions and pushes the country toward default. "The whole situation is very prone to accident and you could see bad things happen due to misjudgment," said Rudolph Penner, a former Congressional Budget Office chief now at the Urban Institute in Washington. The battle over the debt and deficits is being fought along hard ideological lines. That said, Biden's group has made some progress by focusing on areas like farm subsidies that both parties have targeted for reduction before taking on divisive areas like taxes and health care. One participant, Republican Senator Jon Kyl, says the seven-member panel has so far identified about $150 billion in savings. That still falls far short of what is needed. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, says cuts must exceed any increase in the debt ceiling, setting a high bar for his support. The U.S. Treasury sees a $2 trillion increase in the debt ceiling needed to last through the November 2012 elections. In any case, Biden's talks are now the only visible discussions still taking place in Washington to craft steps to cut the deficit and win enough votes to lift the debt limit. On Thursday, the Democratic-led U.S. Senate put its annual budget process on hold to allow the Biden talks to take the lead in seeking a compromise. Secret discussions could also be underway between the administration and lawmakers, as happened last year when Obama struck a compromise over extending Bush-era tax cuts. But the White House said on Friday that Biden's group was now the main vehicle for reaching a deal on the debt limit. "I hope that they are successful, because at the moment there is no other game in town," said Bill Frenzel, a scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington. Directory: file -> view view -> Western Europe after wwii view -> Author study: paul fleischman view -> Qpa1 7ela study Guide view -> Arctic Oil/Gas Neg view -> November 1970 Approximately 150,000-500,000 deaths Bhola Cyclone Bangladesh view -> Grade Level: 6 Unit of Study: Caribbean glce view -> Citation: Duffield, Katy view -> Table of Contents Lesson # view -> Chinese Wind Energy Disad Download 0.85 Mb. Share with your friends:
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