The House on Thursday is expected to vote on its latest iteration of a debt ceiling increase matched with spending cuts. With less than a week left before the government starts suspending services to avoid default, the Senate has …
debt ceiling
The GOP’s Debt Test: Can the ‘Hell No’ Caucus Get to Yes?
The first thing to know about the group of House Republicans who will determine the fate of Speaker John Boehner’s bill to cut the deficit and raise the debt ceiling is that many of them came to Congress to say no. This Tea …
The White House Flirts with a Debt Ceiling Veto Threat
When President Obama addressed the nation on Monday night about the stumbling effort to raise the federal borrowing limit, he notably chose not to issue any explicit threat to veto Speaker Boehner’s proposal, which is expected to …
2012 Candidates Bash Obama on Debt, but They’re No Profiles in Courage
On CNN this past weekend, Tim Pawlenty–apparently in his new, unplugged let-Tim-be-Tim mode–more or less taunted the President, saying that Obama’s been “hiding in the basement” and being “chicken” in the debt limit debate, and needs to act more “courageously.” (Any similarity here to Michele Bachmann’s recent television ad denouncing …
Six Possible Paths in the Debt-Ceiling Debate
According to President Obama, Congress has become mired in negotiations to raise the debt ceiling and trim federal deficits. The way ahead is unclear — every path has hurdles, if not roadblocks, obstructing the way. As Congress …
Mixed Response from GOP as Boehner Pushes Unilateral Debt Plan
Clarification appended, 11:15 AM Tuesday:
House Speaker John Boehner hawked his new proposal to raise the federal debt limit on Monday afternoon, imploring House Republicans in a closed-door meeting to back a plan that meets …
Eight Days Till Debt Armageddon: Democrats and Republicans Forge Ahead on Divergent Paths
With the prospect of a drastic suspension of government services to avoid default looming eight days away, Congressional leaders were unable to reach a deal to raise the federal debt limit despite a weekend of fevered …
Reid Yanks Senate Contingency Plan as House Takes Lead in Debt Talks
Moments after the Senate voted to kill House Republicans’ Cut, Cap & Balance plan by a vote of 51-46, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took the floor and made a surprise announcement: He will not move to pass legislation to …
Obama and Boehner Close to a Debt Deal, Sources Say
President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner are close to a deal to cut the deficit and raise the federal borrowing limit, congressional sources say.
Though both sides deny a deal is imminent, congressional Democrats who …
Debt Talks’ Dire Hour: Why the Failsafe Plan Could Still Fail
Less than two weeks before Congress hits its deadline to raise the debt ceiling, the path toward an agreement on deficit reduction remains murky. White House negotiations have slowed. House Republicans have coalesced behind a …
As Prospects for a Grand Debt Deal Fade, Gang of Six Shapes Plan B
At a White House meeting on July 7 when President Obama told congressional leaders he wanted a grand bargain on deficit reduction, Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat and a member of the bipartisan so-called Gang of Six, began …
The Fact Gap: Can Republicans Overcome Their Alternate Reality to Strike A Debt Deal?
There are plenty of reasons Congress is playing a high-speed game of chicken with the debt-limit negotiations, but one of the main ones is that the two parties can’t agree on what would happen if they crash. On one side, the …
Still Stalled: Debt Talks Splinter as Negotiators Go Their Own Ways
Washington’s debt-ceiling talks have entered a new and desperate phase. With two weeks to go until the U.S. begins to cut government services to avoid defaulting on its credit obligations, negotiators are further apart on a plan …