Late flurry, new ire on a debt deal

Democrats say plan should add revenue

July 22, 2011|By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

From left, Representative Reid Ribble of Wisconsin, Senator Roy Blunt… (Susan Walsh/Associated…)

WASHINGTON - President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner raced to nail down a last-minute deal yesterday that would deeply cut government programs and possibly restructure the nation’s tax code, but anxious Senate Democrats insisted any plan must contain some immediate revenue increases.

Details of a plan to cut roughly $3 trillion from the deficit’s growth over the next decade were still being negotiated. Such a deal would be tied to a vote to raise the nation’s debt limit before the government defaults on some of its obligations in 11 days.

Initial responses to some elements of the plan, however, were worrisome for negotiators. Senate Democrats emerged from a combative hourlong meeting with Jacob Lew, the White House budget director, angry over the possibility that a final plan would be tilted too far toward budget cuts and not include enough new revenues.

“The president always talked about balance; there had to be some fairness in this, this can’t be all cuts,’’ Senate majority leader Harry Reid told reporters as he emerged from the meeting. “The caucus agrees with that. I hope the president agrees with that, and I’m confident he will.’’

Senators also expressed frustration that they’ve been kept in the dark as Obama and Boehner negotiated. “You can’t ask us to vote when we haven’t been part of the deal,’’ said Senator Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat, saying the anger during parts of the meeting “was like Mount Vesuvius.’’

After news of his talks with Boehner leaked out, Obama met for two hours at the White House last night with top House and Senate Democrats. Boehner plans to huddle this morning with House Republicans.

Obama is also taking his approach directly to the public today, with a town hall meeting on the deficit at the University of Maryland. He also wrote an opinion piece that was published last night on the website of USA Today. “I’m willing to cut historic amounts of spending in order to reduce our long-term deficits,’’ he wrote. “I’m willing to cut spending on domestic programs to the lowest level in half a century.’’

News of the Democrats’ dissent further complicates the mission for negotiators, who face a Herculean task to forge a deal on politically dicey issues before the nation’s debt clock runs out. It was thought that the critical vote on any such deal would be in the House, given the hardened position against revenue increases among conservative Republicans. Yet, any united opposition by Democrats in the Senate could also scuttle a deal, which would need the support of 60 senators to break filibusters.

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