Posted on 12/01/2010 5:44:59 PM PST by onyx
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said Wednesday that President Obama must reach a deal on extending the Bush tax cuts by Monday if a nuclear arms treaty has a chance of passing the Senate by the end of the year.
“The deal on taxes has to be done very early next week, like Monday,” Kyl said.
Kyl said if negotiators don’t reach a deal on the Bush taxes within a week “then you’re not going to have time to do START,” making a reference to the pending Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia. The Senate must ratify it with a two-thirds vote of the chamber.
The emerging conventional wisdom has been that Senate Republicans would agree to ratify START if Obama and Democratic leaders agreed to a temporary extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.
This legislative horse trade might not be possible because of the highly politicized debate surrounding the tax rates and the little time left in the lame-duck session.
“If the taxes all can’t be resolved and voted on and completed and spending for the government for the next 10 months completed by, like, next Monday, I don’t know how there’s enough time to complete START," Kyl said.
The continuing resolution to fund the government expires Friday, Dec. 3. Congress would have to pass a budget or another continuing resolution in order to keep the government running.
And Senate Republicans sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), saying they will block controversial legislation during the lame-duck Congress until a deal on tax cuts is worked out. Every GOP senator signed the letter.
Kyl, the Senate Republican whip, has emerged as the lead GOP negotiator with the Obama administration over the treaty’s ratification.
He is also representing the Senate Republican conference in high-level talks with the administration about extending the Bush-era tax cuts, which are due to expire at the end of December.
Kyl met for nearly an hour and forty-five minutes Wednesday morning with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Office of Management and Budget director Jacob Lew. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Rep. Dave Camp (Mich.), the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, also attended the meeting.
The negotiators emerged from meeting in the offices of the Senate Finance Committee at about noon and declined to reveal any details of the talks.
“We had a very civil, constructive discussion, very much in the spirit of the meeting at the White House yesterday,” Geithner told reporters. “No surprises. We went through everything on the table and we agreed we’re going to come back this afternoon late in the day and continue the conversations.”
Geithner declined to say what items are “on the table for discussion.”
“We also agreed that it’s very important that we’re not going to characterize the discussions in the room,” Geithner said.
The negotiators plan to return to the talks at 5:30 Wednesday afternoon.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said earlier Wednesday the nuclear treaty would get ratified before the end of the year.
“The START Treaty will be done by Christmas," Gibbs said on CBS's "Early Show."
Kyl caved.
Call his office.
I think the START treaty was delivered to the Senate in late April and hearings were held throughout the summer, but all of a sudden there’s a rush to pass it during the lameduck....
Likely because close scrutiny in the new Senate would kill it.
I’m furious, too.
The very thought of making a deal.
No shocks here. The establishment Republicans are still large and in charge in the Senate. This should serve to remind everyone that the last election was just the start of the work that needs to be done. The establishment is counting on us just going away so that they can get back to business as usual, you know, having no real problem with statism as long as THEY are the state.
I agree. This sux big time. I don’t get it.
I hope Kyl is quoted out of context.
Yes, all of us have to call his office.
I sure will in the morning.
Kyl is in a position to play chess with Obama.
Dear Leader said earlier he is willing to spend Christmas/New Year's in Washington instead of Hawaii to get tax cuts done by the end of the year.
In other words, he wants to diddle around for the next few weeks to see how much mileage he can get out of the Repubs and put them under pressure to do some last-minute Dec. 31 tax deals.
Kyl basically said no way. Get tax cuts done now how we want them then MAYBE we'll work on START. Maybe.
After everything that the Dems have done to this country over the last two years, WHY do the Repubs feel like they HAVE TO DO ANYTHING in this lame duck session. Their job right now is to obstruct any and all bills proposed by the Dems. It’s as if they feel like compromising with the Dems to pass a piece of cr#p is preferable to the American people, as opposed to just holding firm to keep the Dems from continuing to ruin this great country.
It is back to the same old tactics. They need to remember the midterms. If this treaty is so good for America it can wait till January.
What the F do these things have to do with each other.. are the Republicrats saying we can trade national security for something? This is a bad treaty and should be rejected on the merits.... Economics is an argument all its own..... anyone who trust a republicrat is a fool
You dumb SOB Kyl. Drag the tax debate out so THERE IS NO TIME TO DO ANYTHING ELSE.
I just think it's so funny that Kyl has turned the tables on him, using his own words against him and the dimmocrats!
It bother me, too. A lot.
Our saving grace may the the House. I've been able to listen to Rush and Hannity off and on the last couple of days and haven't heard them say anything about the Food Police bill. That's surprising. But I may have missed it.
If you are on FR reading this and live in Arizona, please call your senator, Sen. Jon Kyl, and tell him no deals, no START, no DREAM and the only extension of the Bush tax cuts is for all, as is and no carve out to punish the so-called rich. Give us a two year extension at least and longer if possible.
You gotta call as senators don’t listen to any person not of their state, unless it’s a lobbyist with a bag of cash. We little guys need you to call and save our economy and nation from these weasels.
NO OBAMA VANITY DEALS. NO START TREATY THIS YEAR OR WHILE OBAMA IS PRESIDENT.
All GOP senators have to be called, not just Kyl.
None of them have any business voting for START.
Exactly right. Never while the Marxist is _resident.
Kyl cannot cave or “deal.” Please call him. And McCain too.
You seem to get it. No one else on this thread does.
They’re idiots. Run out the clock.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.