Murray: Debt Panel Democrats Waiting On GOP Compromise

Dow Jones ^ | Nov 17, 2011 | Kristina Peterson

[mdittmar]

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Democrats on the congressional deficit-reduction committee delved into another round of meetings Thursday, insisting that the next step toward compromise must come from Republicans. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the Democratic leader of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, said that Democrats made a significant concession in their latest proposal. "We have made it clear that we are willing to meet their offer, but it has to be in a way that's fair to working families and puts our country back to work," she told reporters as she entered a meeting of the supercommittee's six Democratic lawmakers. Democrats last Friday accepted many elements of a proposal by Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) for about $400 billion in tax hikes and other revenues and $876 billion in spending cuts, in details of the meeting that emerged this week, according to Democratic aides. Republicans rejected the proposal because Democrats did not want to extend the Bush-era tax cuts. GOP lawmakers had maintained Wednesday that they were waiting for a Democratic response to Toomey's $1.2 trillion deficit-reduction proposal. "The productive conversation has to be on their side now to resolve the difference of where they are on whether or not to put real revenue on the table, " Murray said Thursday. "Once they've resolved that and are willing to compromise--as we have--then we can reach a deal." The bipartisan, 12-lawmaker panel has less than a week to reach agreement on how to reduce the federal budget deficit by at least $1.2 trillion over 10 years. If the supercommittee can't find a deal before Nov. 23, or Congress doesn't approve it by late December, automatic spending cuts of the same size will be triggered, starting in 2013.

[DJ MacWoW]

Day 48 Of The FReepathon
Do you Know Why?

There are loyal posters that donate every FReepathon. Some donate several times during every 'thon. But others never donate. Why?

1 My enemies haven't been zotted.
2 The owner doesn't support my candidate.
3 FR won't "upgrade" to "Like" buttons and blinky crap.
4 Someone else will donate.
5 My friend was zotted.
6 I lost my job and have no income.

Only one of those is a legitimate reason.

Support It Or Lose It

[Lancey Howard]

It astonishes me to imagine that the Republicans would agree to tax hikes (any at all would be suicidal) even as they bend over and, by default, take the blame for “cuts” in medicare, social security, education, etc. The scumbag Democrats are home free no matter what the outcome of this laughingstock “Super Committee”.

This is one of the most baffling exercises in political self-immolation by Republicans I have ever witnessed.

/headshaking disgust