CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS – CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS
Sept. 25, 2012 – 6:26 a.m.
Reid Points to Serious Bipartisan Talks Under Way to Reach Deficit Deal
By Alan K. Ota, CQ Staff
Bipartisan negotiations among a group of eight senators represent a “serious” effort to forge a compromise to deal with expiring tax cuts and avert automatic spending reductions at year’s end, says Majority Leader
The Nevada Democrat pointed to those talks to explain why he has no plans, for now, to open discussions before the Nov. 6 elections with House Speaker
Instead, Reid said the group, which includes Democratic Sens.
“There are meetings going on. Sens. Warner and Durbin and others are meeting,” Reid said Monday. “There’s some serious stuff going on.”
Reid said the group is developing various scenarios and potential plans to address the tax and spending issues and stressed the importance of the meetings, noting that they involve pivotal Republicans as well as Durbin, his top lieutenant and majority whip.
The group has been trying to put together an agreement similar to $4 trillion deficit reduction plan developed by the Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform led by former Sen. Alan K. Simpson, R-Wyo., and Erskine Bowles, former chief of staff for President Bill Clinton.
While the senators have focused on finding a compromise that will address both the expiring tax cuts and the spending cuts this year, Durbin recently floated the idea of reaching a shorter-term, six-month agreement to buy time to allow lawmakers to reach a bigger deal. But that proposal has gained little traction.
Participants in the talks include several members of the 2010 fiscal commission: Durbin, retiring Budget Chairman
In addition to private negotiations among the group of eight, the senators also have held larger meetings to discuss their ideas with more than 30 other senators who have expressed interest in coming up with a grand deficit reduction compromise similar to the one outlined by the Simpson-Bowles commission.
Each party has accused the other of failing to work toward an agreement to reconfigure the automatic spending cuts or consider extending all of the expiring tax cuts, as the Republicans want, or extending the tax cuts for those with household incomes below $250,000 year, as Democrats want.
House Republican leaders acknowledge they are not engaged in talks with Democrats and do not plan to begin them until after the elections, a senior House Republican aide said Monday.
“The House has acted on a responsible bill,” he said, referring to a measure (
Multiple Groups Tackle the Cliff
Reid Points to Serious Bipartisan Talks Under Way to Reach Deficit Deal
Reid made no mention of other groups, including one led by Finance Chairman
In a joint letter to Reid and Minority Leader
Other signatories of the letter were Democrat
“We face a critical challenge in the next few months: balancing the need to reduce the deficit with the need to safeguard important priorities, particularly protecting our national security, vital domestic programs and our economic recovery,” the senators wrote in the Sept. 21 letter.
They said any deficit reduction package should be “long term” and “provide as much certainty as possible for businesses and consumers.” And the senators said they were “committed to working together to help forge a balanced bipartisan deficit reduction package to avoid damage to our national security, important domestic priorities and the nation’s economy.”
Senior aides in both parties agreed on one point: The outcome of the multiple closed-door talks depends on the outcome of the elections.
Both sides said a post-election effort is unlikely to reach a resolution if one party or the other wins a solid majority in each chamber and has control of the White House. Such a sweep would leave the victorious party well positioned to win a deficit reduction and tax plan of its own design in the new Congress.
Still, Democratic and Republican aides say a post-election deal remains under serious consideration because it is likely the election could leave in place roughly the current balance of power, with President Obama in the White House, Democrats in control of the Senate and Republicans holding the House.
Reid has expressed confidence in recent days that the two parties will cut a post-election deal, while McConnell has said Democrats are overplaying their hand in trying to use the expiration of the tax cuts as a bargaining tactic to pressure Republicans. “Democrats are saying we shouldn’t do anything about it, just go off the cliff . . . and let’s see what happens,” McConnell said Sept. 20.