White House Surprised by Lack of Support for Its Debt Stance: Report
By: Yuval Rosenberg (Yahoo/Finance)
While the distraction machine furiously chuffs away, a Biden created crisis looms on the horizon. Biden's 'no negotiation' approach has been widely rejected. Maybe Biden's song and dance is supposed to hide what's coming. But Biden's soft shoes aren't protecting his feet from the fire.
The media foisting every controversy and salacious allegation onto the news cycle won't prevent the looming crisis Biden created. Biden has painted Democrats into the corner. Democrats are going to have to do something other than relying upon distractions.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
As President Biden prepares to meet next week with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other congressional leaders to discuss raising the debt limit, The Washington Post’s Jeff Stein reports that the White House has been surprised that business groups and budget hawks that it thought would be in its corner in this fight are instead siding with Republicans.
The White House has insisted that Congress should raise the debt limit without conditions, as it has done before, and that the risk of a debt default should not be used as leverage to force spending cuts, which can be discussed as part of budget talks. Republicans insist they won’t raise the borrowing limit without some concessions to address the country’s fiscal outlook.
Stein cites a range of groups, from the Business Roundtable and Chamber of Commerce to the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, all of which have come out in favor of negotiations between the administration and House Republicans. None have pushed for the clean debt limit increase that Biden is seeking.
“Rather than join Biden in urging the GOP to simply raise the borrowing limit — as many administration officials had hoped — these groups have called for bipartisan budget negotiations, implicitly endorsing McCarthy’s position and rejecting Biden’s opposition to talks” about the debt limit, Stein writes.
He adds that administration officials were “stunned” by a statement from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget calling the House Republican debt limit bill a “realistic and extremely welcome first step.” Biden officials reportedly saw that as encouraging further brinkmanship over the debt limit. “We were livid,” one told the Post.
We should add here that much of the media is taking a similar approach to those outside groups. We’ve noticed television news anchors and reporters asking Democrats why they don’t just try to find a middle ground with Republicans, questioning whether Biden’s position is sustainable or asserting outright that it isn’t.
While business groups have urged the White House to negotiate, corporate leaders have largely stayed on the sidelines, as NBC News notes — and it’s not clear if pressure from companies would sway a House Republican conference that has empowered some of its most far-right members and seen relations with the Chamber of Commerce grow strained. “A battery of phone calls from the nation's executives may do little to persuade Republican stalwarts to get on board with the Biden administration to lift the debt limit – or to persuade the White House to agree to spending cuts demanded by the GOP,” NBC’s Kayla Tausche, Shannon Pettypiece and Kristen Welker write.
Republican strategist Liam Donovan told the Post that the White House made a bad bet on GOP dysfunction. “But with the passage of a GOP debt limit proposal, any industry group or think tank that is more interested in keeping the economy on the rails understands that the path of least resistance is for Biden to sit down with McCarthy and come to a deal that allows everyone to save face,” he said.
Lindsay Owens, the executive director of the liberal Groundwork Collaborative, was harsher: “The so-called ‘fiscally responsible’ adults in the room have actually been happy to participate in a reckless strategy of hostage-taking and trying to force the White House to accept MAGA cuts,” she told the Post.
What’s next: Biden faces increasing pressure to work out a deal, but the White House has stuck to its position, arguing that there’s an important principle at stake. We may get some indication next week whether the unexpected political dynamics, combined with time pressure, drives Biden to try to reach a face-saving deal.
“Mr. Biden could negotiate without ‘negotiating’ by trying to broker an early agreement on spending levels for the next fiscal year, before the X-date,” Jim Tankersley of The New York Times suggests as one of several possible options. “In exchange, Mr. McCarthy would commit to passing a clean extension of the debt limit.”`
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Democrats have already expended an enormous amount of political capital on vilifying Republicans. What more do Republicans have to lose?
It's time for Democrats to govern. And Democrats don't know what to do. So, crank up the old distraction machine and hope no one notices that Democrats aren't doing anything.
The Dems repeatedly resort to this tactic of trying to cast the blame for any potential default onto the Republicans.
Now the time has come for Biden and the Senate Democrats to do their jobs and team up with the House Republicans to find some bipartisan solutions to cut spending
Republicans control the house which means they passed the budget. Any default is absolutely their fault. If they want to cut costs they need to do it when they're making next years budget.
uh not how it works
Republicans passed a bill raising the debt limit and now the ball is in Chuckie's court.
Did the party of no responsibility put this talking point out? The republicans passed a bill! Period full stop. it is now in the Senate, so if there is a default it is absolutely the Senates fault, they have done nothing, Schumer is a scumbag who is failing to do his job.
The Inflation Reduction Act was off-budget legislation enacted by procedural maneuvers; not part of the budget process. Student loan relief was an off-budget expenditure that bypassed Congress altogether. Expenditures to address emergencies declared by cities over the influx of immigrants are all off-budget. Continued monetary support for Ukraine is an off-budget expenditure.
New Federal programs are not typically created during the budget process. And Federal obligations made before the next budget cycle are difficult to claw back. And Congress has adopted the practice of continuing resolutions to avoid impasses during the budget process. The use of omnibus budget legislation also turns negotiations over specific programs into an all or nothing proposition.
There are few opportunities to address questionable Federal spending. If the budget process actually worked as it should then the debt limit wouldn't be such an opportunity. The White House has adopted the practice of using the debt limit as new revenue that can be spent at the President's discretion. Biden has been creating Federal obligations paid for with the debt limit that circumvents the budget process.
Republicans passed a budget last year. They don't get another bite of the apple midyear just because they think they can hold America hostage over money they've already spent. If cutting spending is so important to them they can do it in next years budget.
Keep missing the point and moving the goalposts, the republicans passed a debt ceiling increase, the worthless dems are holding the full faith and credit of the US hostage.
The Inflation Reduction Act was passed by the House of Representatives on August 12 2022. It is in this years budget. The Republicans hate it because it's a good thing and Biden gets the credit for it. They cannot renegotiate the budget midyear just because they've decided to use the debt limit as a cudgel against the American people.
The House was controlled by Democrats in August of 2022. There really were negotiations between the Senate and House before the final legislation was enacted, too. The Inflation Reduction Act had to be passed by both the House and Senate before it could become part of the budget. The Inflation Reduction Act wasn't bipartisan legislation (as was the prior infrastructure legislation). Democrats don't want to talk about the infrastructure legislation because they have to share credit with Republicans.
Republicans control the House now. And Republicans have passed a bill to address the debt limit. But the House cannot raise the debt limit by itself just as the House could not enact the Inflation Reduction Act by itself. The Senate has to do its part.
Congress can revisit the budget anytime they choose. That Constitutional authority (and responsibility) is vested solely in Congress.
They're gonna be blamed if they shut down the government. They know it too. That's why they're still negotiating.
Well, of course. That's a given. So, what do Republicans have to lose?
You know, if everything the government does is driven by fear of Democrats then Republicans ain't the problem.
They are? Biden is the one who promised not to negotiate. You mean he was lying?
I just saw McCarthy on tv saying that he expects to reach an agreement so I assume they're negotiating.
Nice try.
This happened in APRIL. If the government shuts down, it is FULLY on the Democrats.
An absurd bill that they knew had no chance of senate approval so it's theirs and they own it.
So let the Senate come back with their own version and let's see what happens then. That's what is supposed to happen. As of now, they are throwing their hands in the air satisfied with the fact they THINK they can say it was the GOP's fault. Won't work on intelligent citizens.
Then the moronic piece of shit Schumer should amend it!
It appears Democrats lack the integrity to take responsibility for anything they are to stupid or lazy to do.
But will work with the media and democrat base.
Regardless of how you feel about it (of which nobody cares about), the bill was passed and it's all on the Democrats.
You'll let us know when Democrats do SOMEthing, eh?
Thus far, they have done even less than what you claim the Republicans have!
Yes, last year they passed this year's budget. Now Congress is working next year's.