Chuck Schumer

Schumer Trashes Conservatives For Defending Facebook Co-Founder's Tax-Dodging Move

Sahil Kapur | May 24, 2012, 12:31PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Sen. Chuck Schumer issued a fiery rebuke Thursday to conservatives who have criticized his legislation, inspired by Facebook's Eduardo Saverin, aimed at cracking down on Americans who renounce their citizenship to duck taxes.

The New York Democrat took to the Senate floor to declare he's "appalled" that conservatives would "rush to the defense of a man who is turning his back on America." He said he's seen a "torrent of vitriol" in response to his bill, calling the nature of the pushback "absurd," "off the deep end," "baffling" and "odious."

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John Boehner

Dems Twist Knife In Battle Over Forsaking Citizenship To Dodge Taxes

Sahil Kapur | May 22, 2012, 6:00AM

Sensing a political opportunity, Democrats are working to back Republicans into a corner on legislation designed to punish Americans who renounce their citizenship to avoid paying taxes, as Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin did.

The legislation, unveiled last Thursday by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Bob Casey (D-PA), provoked over-the-top conservative pushback, with Grover Norquist and the Wall Street Journal editorial board comparing it to the actions of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), conscious of not being portrayed as defending jet-setting elites who seek to avoid their legal obligations, said Sunday that Saverin's actions were "outrageous." He told ABC's "This Week" he may support the Schumer-Casey bill, but hedged that he wasn't sure it's necessary.

Now, with an apparent rift emerging, Democrats are twisting the knife.

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Obamacare

Why An Adverse Supreme Court 'Obamacare' Ruling Puts Republicans In A Tough Spot

Brian Beutler | May 17, 2012, 1:29PM

John Boehner

If the Supreme Court overturns part or all of President Obama's health care law, House Republicans will find themselves on the horns of a dilemma. They will be implicitly responsible not just for the demise of the individual insurance mandate and other unpopular parts of the Affordable Care Act, but also its popular provisions and the return of some of the insurance industry's harshest practices, like discriminating against people with pre-existing medical conditions.

Recent reporting by both the New York Times and Politico suggests the GOP congressional leadership might try to mitigate the political liabilities of HCR being overturned by introducing piecemeal legislation to reinstitute popular pieces of the law -- provisions banning discrimination, and allowing children to be covered by their parents' health benefits until they're 26. But that creates a host of new practical and political problems for the GOP.

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Ex-PATRIOT Act

Dems Unveil Bill To Crack Down On Tax Dodgers Like Facebook's Saverin

Sahil Kapur | May 17, 2012, 12:25PM

A large thumbs up sign marks the entrance to the Facebook campus on Willow Road in Menlo Park, California.

New legislation announced Thursday aims to crack down on Americans who renounce their citizenship in order to avoid paying taxes. It would force them to pay a 30 percent tax on all future U.S. investments and prohibit them from ever setting foot in the country again.

The "Ex-PATRIOT Act" was unveiled in the Capitol by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Bob Casey (D-PA), who made no secret that bill was inspired by Eduardo Saverin, the Facebook co-founder who is in the news after renouncing his U.S. citizenship just in time to avoid paying taxes on a large windfall, and relocating to Singapore, which does not levy capital gains taxes.

"Eduardo Saverin wants to de-friend the United States of America just to avoid paying taxes and we aren't going to let him get away with it," Schumer said. "This is a great American success story gone horribly wrong."

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Student loan reform

After Brief Detour, Senate GOP Returns To Obstruction

Sahil Kapur | May 9, 2012, 6:00AM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

Senate Republicans' Tuesday filibuster of a Democratic bill to avert a student loan interest rate hike signals a return to familiar territory for the party. The move comes after a brief detour that spurred speculation about whether, with the general election in full swing, Republicans were ready to ease up when it comes to blocking hot-button issues.

The context is an effort by the GOP -- and its presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney -- to save face with key voting constituencies that strongly favor Democrats and could swing the election: women, young voters and Hispanics.

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Chuck Schumer

Schumer On The Defense Of His Senate Majority In An Election About Obama

May 3, 2012, 4:21PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

By Reid Pillifant

| Capital New York

In 2006, by which time George W. Bush was extremely unpopular, Chuck Schumer guided six Democratic Senate candidates to victory over Republican incumbents as his party took control of the Senate. Now his party has to defend them.

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Chuck Schumer

Dems Squeeze GOP Over Taxing Wealthy To Pay For Affordable Student Loans

Brian Beutler | April 30, 2012, 5:56AM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Now that the GOP has dropped its politically untenable objection to extending low-interest student loans, the legislative battle has entered a familiar realm, just weeks ahead of a scheduled rate hike: How should Congress pay for keeping the loans cheap?

It's familiar terrain for observers of the payroll tax fight, which ended with both parties simply agreeing not to pay for the holiday at all. But before they reached that point, the parties bickered over various financing schemes, while pushing ideologically opposed offsets. Republicans wanted cuts to domestic support programs, Democrats wanted to raise income taxes on income over $1 million a year.

This time around, though, the Democrats' opening bid is different -- and they argue that it reflects their willingness to set politics aside and extend the loan rates, currently set to double at the end of June, without a fight, while Republicans try use the coming cliff to eat away at President Obama's health care law.

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Senate Judiciary Committee

Senate GOP Boycotts Hearing On Ariz. Immigration Law

Sahil Kapur | April 24, 2012, 12:36PM

Arizona SB 1070 boycott immigration

Arizona's controversial immigration measure has inspired numerous boycotts -- and on Tuesday, it provoked another, when Senate Republicans refused to show up at a hearing on the measure. The hearing took place one day before the Supreme Court begins to weigh its constitutionality, leaving Democrats to spar with the author of the measure and paint the GOP as "absent" -- literally -- on immigration reform.

The hearing comes ahead of an election in which the two parties are battling for Hispanic voters, who strongly oppose the S.B. 1070 law and who lean Democratic by a huge margin. The Democrats' hearing reflects an effort to highlight this divide, in part because they used the occasion to make an impassioned case for the DREAM Act.

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Buffett Rule

Republicans Block Buffett Rule As Dems Vow To Fight On

Sahil Kapur | April 16, 2012, 6:24PM

Senate Republicans defeated a motion to take up Buffett Rule legislation the day before taxes are due.

Democrats fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance the bill late Monday. The final party-line vote was 51 in favor, 45 against, with Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Mark Pryor (D-AR) breaking ranks with their leadership. The sharp contrast promises to be a defining issue in the presidential election this November.

The principle behind the rule -- that people making over $1 million a year should pay at least 30 percent in taxes -- was championed by President Obama in his State of the Union this year and subsequently written into legislation by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). The rule includes nuances and exceptions aimed at minimizing adverse incentives. It's expected to raise tax receipts by $47 billion over 10 years, although Democrats say that figure would be at least $160 billion if the Bush tax cuts are extended.

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Senate Democrats

Top Democrats Raise Expectations For Holding The Senate

Sahil Kapur | March 11, 2012, 10:36AM

Their Senate majority widely believed to be in peril this November, top Democrats are invoking favorable events of late to raise expectations for holding on to the chamber, expressing a bullishness about the prospect that has been previously unforeseen.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), asked Sunday if he believes his party will stay in control, responded, "I sure do."

"We feel really good," Reid said on CNN's State of the Union. "We've have some tremendous -- we've had some good fortune in North Dakota, in Massachusetts, in Nevada, in Arizona. We have good candidates all over. And I feel very comfortable about where we're going to wind up in November."

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Budget

Dems Irate As GOP Set To Break Debt Limit Deal

Sahil Kapur | March 8, 2012, 1:18PM

Signs mounted Thursday that House Republican leaders, under pressure from their conservative members, will submit a budget that calls for cutting federal programs beneath the levels they agreed to in the bipartisan August debt limit law. Democrats warned that violating the agreement could spark a government shutdown fight later this year.

Echoing Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD), the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, told TPM that the House GOP must not go down that road.

"Look, an agreement is agreement, and they should stick to the agreement," Van Hollen said in a brief interview. "And not otherwise risk ultimately messing up the entire process, with a worst case scenario of a government shutdown. They should recognize what the risks are in violating an agreement."

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Contraception

GOP Struggles To Contain Birth Control Fallout

Brian Beutler and Sahil Kapur | March 1, 2012, 5:45AM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) conducts a news conference along with fellow GOP members on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on November 30, 2011.

Top Republicans are working overtime to mask palpable concern within their party over a Thursday Senate vote to roll back an Obama administration rule requiring most employers to provide workers with contraceptive coverage in their health benefits.

Yet despite a growing sense that the GOP has veered into politically dangerous territory, a full-scale retreat would embarrass the party, and alienate a powerful segment of its conservative base. And that's left Republicans little choice but to press ahead, illustrating the dangers they'll face if election year politicking turns further from the economy toward culture war fights that voters thought were settled decades ago.

The measure in question was authored by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) -- a member of the GOP's leadership team -- and would allow employers who provide health benefits to deny coverage of particular services -- including contraception -- for reasons of conscience. Blunt introduced the legislation at the height of the contretemps over the Obama administration's contraception rule, and Republicans pushed hard to secure a vote for it as an amendment to an unrelated transportation bill. But according to a top Democratic aide briefed on negotiations between Republican and Democratic leaders, something changed in recent days -- and in the end Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) took it upon himself to force the issue.

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Chuck Schumer

Dems Salivate Over Coming GOP Birth Control Misstep

Brian Beutler | February 24, 2012, 12:44PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

The GOP's ongoing push to allow employers to deny contraceptive -- or any -- health care coverage has Democrats in an amusing position: outraged that the Republican party has reignited the culture wars, and simultaneously salivating over what they believe is a deadly GOP political misstep.

In the days ahead, Senate Republicans, led by Missouri's Roy Blunt, will vote on a controversial amendment to pending transportation legislation -- one that would enshrine employers' right to limit health care benefits for moral reasons.

On a conference call with reporters Friday morning, top Senate Democrats were of two minds: incensed that the GOP is pushing a non-germane issue so hard, and also ecstatic about it.

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Harry Reid

As Payroll Fight Wraps Up, Dems Prepare For Next Battle

Brian Beutler | February 14, 2012, 3:47PM

House Democrats will support a GOP bill to extend the expiring payroll tax cut through the end of the year, when Republicans bring it to a vote later this week. That basically puts to rest any remaining doubts that the provision will expire at the end of the month.

Now the fight is on between the parties over whether and how to renew two other expiring provisions -- extended unemployment benefits, and Medicare physician reimbursement rates (the "doc fix") -- before March. And the balance of power in this battle is much less clear.

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Chuck Schumer

Schumer: GOP Has Lost Its Obstructionist Mojo

Sahil Kapur | February 3, 2012, 3:16PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Does the Senate's passage of the STOCK bill suggest the Republicans have lost their obstructionist mojo? Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) seems to think so.

The third-ranked Senate Democrat made the taunt hours before the chamber's overwhelming 96-3 approval of the President Obama-backed STOCK Act Thursday, which aims to crack down on congressional insider trading. He accused GOP lawmakers of inelegantly dragging their feet on STOCK as well as the payroll tax cut in an effort to sink the measures.

"Haven't they learned the lesson?" Schumer told reporters. "Their obstruction, which they did more artfully last year, is now becoming clear to the public. Their idea of blocking bills with no fingerprints on them is gone. Everyone sees loud and clear what they're doing."

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Taxes

Senate Democrats Plan To Put Republicans On The Wrong Side Of The Middle Class

Brian Beutler | January 25, 2012, 3:11PM

Senate Democrats are preparing an aggressive legislative agenda to complement the vision President Obama outlined in his State of the Union Address. The goal is to test the idea that the public supports an agenda of aggressive federal action on behalf of the middle class, and that Republicans are locked in a pattern of reactionary opposition, even to popular policies.

The push is premised on the notion that the country has turned the corner on the fights over deficits and the size of government, and that keeping issues of equity and opportunity for the middle class at the center of the national debate will redound to Democrats' political benefit, either by breaking the GOP or by putting them on the wrong side of public opinion.

But in an extremely consequential election year, when consensus becomes an endangered species on Capitol Hill, it will take a groundswell of political pressure to force either party to work with the other on a substantive agenda. So expect the Dems to hawk these issues relentlessly.

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Payroll Tax Cut

Dems Redouble Efforts To Break House GOP Will On Payroll Tax Cut

Brian Beutler | December 21, 2011, 1:48PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

With Republicans so perilously on the ropes, Democrats aren't relenting in their push to break House GOP leaders' will, and force them to pass the Senate's payroll tax cut compromise. Not in the White House, not in the House, not in the Senate.

On a conference call with reporters this morning, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) -- joined by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) -- called on John Boehner to wave the white flag.

"This is the end of the road," Schumer said. "The first thing that they have to do to show their good faith is pass the two-month extension.... I feel for Speaker Boehner because I know he didn't choose this path. But they're pretty far down a dead-end path."

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Payroll Tax Cut

Dems To Boehner: Take It Or Leave It

Brian Beutler | December 19, 2011, 10:26AM

Democratic senators and their aides say House Speaker John Boehner must allow a bipartisan, two-month extension to the payroll tax cut to pass before they'll return to Washington to negotiate an extension through the rest of the year.

On MSNBC Monday morning, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the third ranking Dem in the Senate, left Boehner an unkind choice.

"Speaker Boehner has two choices and there are only two," Schumer said. "The first is to pass the bill, the bipartisan bill, that the Senate passed 89-10 -- vast majority of Republicans, lot of tea party guys voted for it. The second is the middle class tax cut will lapse and he will be responsible."

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Chuck Schumer

Schumer: GOP Message Machine Can't Save Them From Tax Debacle

Brian Beutler | December 7, 2011, 2:26PM

Elaborating on a premise that should be familiar to TPM readers, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told reporters Wednesday that the political terrain has shifted so much over the last several months that the GOP's playbook isn't working -- and it has them badly wrongfooted.

"You have to follow the broad movements underground that affect our politics," he said. "And it's happening. And they seem to be just stuck on the wrong side of issue after issue after issue. They're very good at messaging. They're very good, you know, they have some media people who just follow their line....but the weight of the issues and the place where America is at is so overwhelming that's no longer enough to sustain them."

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Barack Obama

Senate Dems To Boehner: Don't Even Think About Jamming Us On Payroll Tax Cut

Brian Beutler | December 7, 2011, 2:08PM

Senate Democrats are winning the political fight over the payroll tax cut. But Republicans still control the House and that gives them plenty of agency. Some reports suggest they might pass partisan legislation to extend the payroll tax cut, loaded full of GOP goodies, and then adjourn for the holidays, leaving Democrats holding the ball. (They've tried this before.)

Democratic leaders are fully aware of this and say they're not fazed. They're warning House Republicans not convince themselves they can get away with it.

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Super Committee

Schumer Predicts Super Committee Will Fail (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | November 7, 2011, 11:18AM

Senate Democrats' top messaging strategist predicted Monday that the deficit Super Committee will fail to meet its required minimum target of $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction.

"I don't think the Super Committee is going to succeed because our Republican colleagues have said 'no net revenues,'" said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on MSNBC. "When Democrats move too far left, we lose. We're now -- the basic mainstream of Democrats...we're willing to move to the middle," Schumer said. "They are not willing to do any revenues."

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Chuck Schumer

Schumer Brands GOP Agenda 'Tea Party Economics'

Brian Beutler | October 12, 2011, 3:37PM

Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Democrats' efforts to pass jobs legislation before the end of the year don't just rest on President Obama's bully pulpit and the hope that Republicans will demonstrate good will. They're actively trying to dismantle what's left of public support for the Republican economic agenda.

In a memo to party members and the media, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) -- the Dems' top strategist in the Senate -- argues that the GOP is intentionally blocking all measures that could improve the economy for political gain.

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Bush Tax Cuts

Schumer Adopts GOP Argument Against Obama Tax Plan

Brian Beutler | October 5, 2011, 2:00PM

Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

President Obama has made ending the Bush tax on incomes above $250,000 a year a top goal of his presidency. Republicans have predictably fought him at every turn, and used misleading statistics to characterize the plan as one that would cripple small businesses -- when in fact only sliver of the impact would fall on truly small businesses.

Wednesday, those Republicans got a big rhetorical assist from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) -- a member of Democratic leadership, who has been a leading advocate for setting the threshold at $1 million in income.

"There are people making 250, 300 [thousand dollars] in many of our states who are not rich; there are small businesses struggling," Schumer told reporters at a Capitol press conference about Obama's jobs bill. "So we prefer the million dollars."

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Jobs

Reid Casts Doubt On Unanimous Dem Support For Obama Jobs Bill

Brian Beutler | October 5, 2011, 1:27PM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)

At a Wednesday Capitol press conference, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) again couldn't confidently predict that President Obama's jobs bill has the support of the entire Democratic caucus -- even after leadership tweaked some of its controversial measures to broaden party support for the plan.

"I don't know what 'unanimity' means," Reid told reporters. "We'll get most all the Democrats."

Unanimity, of course, means all Democrats -- which will be important. If one or two Democrats defect from the bill, Republicans can (and will) say that the opposition to the plan is bipartisan.

There's a chance that he could unite the party, particularly after replacing Obama's proposed tax measures with a simpler five percent surtax on millionaires to pay for the jobs programs.

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Jobs

Dems Float Surtax On Millionaires To Pay For Jobs Bill

Brian Beutler | October 4, 2011, 6:07PM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

Seeking to consolidate party support for President Obama's jobs bill, Senate Democrats are considering a proposal to impose a five percent surtax on millionaires to pay for the legislation, according to two party aides.

As currently written, Obama wants the joint Super Committee to increase its deficit reduction target by enough to pay for the whole jobs bill. That way its cost could be offset by spending cuts and revenue measures and other reforms that have bipartisan support. But failing that, Obama's bill would trigger a series of new taxes on wealthy Americans, including oil and gas companies, hedge fund managers and others.

This enforcement mechanism caused some strife in the Democratic caucus. Now, driven by party leadership and Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), whose powerful Finance Committee has jurisdiction over the jobs bill, they're considering a simpler, less parochial, and thus less divisive measure.

A Senate Dem aide cautioned that nothing's final yet, and the party could ultimately settle on different measures. And there's a history of broad Democratic support for raising taxes on millionaires.

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China

Dems, GOP Divided Over Picking Major Economic Fight With China

Brian Beutler | October 3, 2011, 8:45AM

Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Public anger over the weak economy and populist resentment of the developing world's role in eliminating U.S. jobs will divide both parties on Capitol Hill this week, as a coalition of Democrats and Republicans make a major push to punish China for keeping its currency artificially weak.

Led by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Senate is expected Monday to advance long-standing legislation intended to stop Chinese currency manipulation by making it easier for companies and workers to take legal action against illegal Chinese trade practices, and by forcing the federal government to impose economic penalties on China until Beijing allows the exchange rate between the dollar and the yuan to fall.

Economists say the yuan is undervalued by up to 40 percent -- a distortion that likely explains the massive trade imbalance between the U.S. and China, and the loss of hundreds of thousands (or more) American jobs as manufacturers set up shop there to save money. Reversing this would act as a form of monetary stimulus in the United States, and the idea is that the threat of these penalties will force China to raise the value of its currency.

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Taxes

Schumer: We Want A Vote On The "Buffett Rule" To Tax Millionaires

Brian Beutler | September 19, 2011, 1:53PM

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)

Congressional Democrats will draw a sharp distinction between themselves and Republicans by pushing for a vote on the "Buffett Rule" -- that millionaires should, at the very least, pay taxes at the same overall rate as middle class workers.

In a sign that Democrats on the Hill see this as both effective politics and a significant step toward erasing medium term deficits, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) -- tasked with helping the party more effectively message its policies -- said members of Congress should have to go on the record on this issue.

"I'd find it very useful to make some proposal along the lines that fits within the confines of the Buffett rule and put it on the floor," Schumer told reporters in a Monday conference call. "When the President goes around the country and keeps talking about it, as I believe he will do, we are going to win this fight."

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Libya

Schumer: Cut Off Libya Aid If New Govt. Doesn't Turn Over Lockerbie Bomber

Eric Kleefeld | August 31, 2011, 12:26PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is calling for the United States to put a new condition on aid to the new government in Libya: Extradite convicted Pan-Am Flight 103 bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi.

"If the new Libyan government continues to shield this convicted terrorist from justice, then they should not get one more cent of support from the United States," said Schumer, NBC reports.

"We put American lives and money on the line to help the Libyan people secure their freedom. It's time the Libyan government lives up to its commitment to create a free and accountable society by handing over al-Megrahi so that justice can finally be done."

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Libya

Schumer Wants More Proof That Lockerbie Bomber is Near Death

Susan Crabtree | August 29, 2011, 4:27PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wants more proof from Libyan officials to back up their claims that Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi is too incapacitated to be turned over to the U.S. government.

The Libyan National Transitional Council, or NTC, last night said al-Megrahi is in a coma and they have no intention of turning over the convicted terrorist.

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FAA

Reid Letter To Boehner Urges Swift FAA Fix Despite Congressional Recess

Susan Crabtree | August 3, 2011, 6:20PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has fired off a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) offering an urgent compromise on Congress' latest impasse: the partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration.

The move comes just hours after President Barack Obama slammed the imbroglio for creating a "lose-lose-lose situation" and urged Congress to resolve the matter before the end of the week.

Complicating matters is the fact that many lawmakers are about to leave DC, or have left already, as this year's Congressional recess has now begun.

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Harry Reid

Debt Deathmatch? Reid And Boehner Introduce Incompatible Plans To Avoid Default

Brian Beutler | July 25, 2011, 3:56PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

As advertised, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) are pushing dueling plans to raise the debt limit on or before August 2, to avoid a catastrophic default. The plans are similar in key ways, but differ on perhaps the last sticking point in the debt limit debate: Whether the debt limit should be raised all the way into 2013, or whether Congress should replay this debt limit fight again early next year, to force Democrats and Republicans to pass entitlement and tax reforms.

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Democrats

Senate Democrats Declare "Cut, Cap, and Kill Medicare" Dead On Arrival

Igor Bobic | July 20, 2011, 1:15PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Senate Democrats today unleashed a torrent of criticism against the GOP's Cut, Cap, and Balance Act which passed the House late last night via a heavily partisan vote, re-branding it as a political scheme that would "kill medicare" and one that would never pass in the Senate.

"Let me make this as simple as I can: the Republican scheme to cap, cut, and kill medicare is dead on arrival in the senate," declared Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) at a press conference in Washington. "[It] would wreak havoc on our country's seniors, the middle class, military preparedness, and our country's standing in the world - their plan to cut, cap, and kill medicare is the Ryan plan on steroids."

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Eric Cantor

Cantor's Last Stand? GOP Leader Will Own Debt Talks Gridlock

Susan Crabtree | July 15, 2011, 5:55AM

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) has the weight of the world -- not to mention the full faith and credit of the United States -- on his shoulders these days.

The House Republicans' second in command has almost single-handedly stymied progress on a grand deal to produce $4 trillion in deficit reductions over the course of the next dozen years by flat-out rejecting any net tax increases be included, leaving no path for Democrats to negotiate a balanced bargain that allows some cuts to programs for seniors and the poor coupled with tax hikes on the wealthy.

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Debt Ceiling

White House: C'mon Guys, The Holy Grail Is Right In Front Of Us

Susan Crabtree | July 14, 2011, 4:02PM

President Barack Obama/PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS / POOL/EFE/Newscom

Seemingly undaunted by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's (R-VA) continued brickwall response to any deficit reduction deal involving net tax increases, the President plans to keep pressing Republicans to go for the "holy grail" and strike the biggest deal possible, according to White House spokesman Jay Carney.

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Debt Ceiling

Geithner On Debt Limit: 'No Way To Give Congress More Time To Solve This Problem'

Brian Beutler | July 14, 2011, 2:45PM

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the time is all but up, and Congress must raise the debt limit by August 2, or unleash financial hell.

"There is no way to give Congress more time to solve this problem," Geithner told reporters in brief remarks outside the Senate chamber after meeting with the Democratic caucus.

"We're a country that meets its obligations, we're a country that pays our bills, and that we will act and do what's necessary to make sure that we can maintain that commitment," he added.

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Debt Ceiling

Silver Bullet? Reid, McConnell Hatch Plan To Avoid Default

Brian Beutler | July 14, 2011, 12:06PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made clear that he wants to avoid a catastrophic debt default when he proposed a solution that would allow President Obama to raise the debt limit, but put a large political onus on the Democratic party.

Now, he and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) are privately crafting a modified version of that plan, which would ease up on the politics, but include some of the spending cuts bipartisan negotiators have identified.

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Eric Cantor

Top Dems: Eric Cantor Has To Go

Brian Beutler | July 14, 2011, 11:41AM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)

Behind the scenes, leading members of both parties have concluded that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) is an impediment to resolving the debt limit standoff, and should back down. Now, Democrats are publicly calling for him to get real or go home.

"House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has shown that he's shouldn't even be at the table," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in a blistering floor speech Thursday morning. "And Republicans agree."

In a press conference shortly after Reid's floor speech, one of his top deputies, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) explained the Dems' frustrations.

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Taxes

Under Growing Criticism, Republicans Show Signs Of Anti-Tax Fatigue

Brian Beutler | July 7, 2011, 9:53AM

The details are still extremely murky. But House Speaker John Boehner might well break the Republicans' no-new-tax-revenue pact in a grand bargain that would have President Obama agree to trillions of dollars in spending cuts.

How we got from "hell no!" to "maybe!" is a still-evolving story. But the fact that it's a story at all reflects a key dynamic in the political fight over raising the debt limit: As much as Republicans oppose tax increases -- even new tax revenues -- they're also feeling pinched by a growing line of criticism that their anti-tax zeal is unreasonable, particularly compared to Democrats' openness to major spending cuts.

We saw this in a couple different ways yesterday. At his weekly Capitol briefing on Wednesday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) made what sounded to many like a concession on taxes.

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Chuck Schumer

Is The GOP Sabotaging The Economy? Schumer: 'They Give Us No Choice But To Answer Yes'

Brian Beutler | July 1, 2011, 12:49PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

To a casual observer's eyes, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is flogging a dead horse. He keeps hinting that the GOP is intentionally try to damage the economy or forestall recovery because it will improve their election chances in 2012. But he also keeps inching closer to outright declaring it.

He took another step in that direction Friday. On a conference call Friday morning, another reporter asked Schumer whether he believes the GOP's committing sabotage (my words, not the reporter's). Here's his response.

"It's a thought you just don't want to believe in, because that would be [horrible]," Schumer said. "But every day they keep giving us more and more evidence that there's no choice but to answer the question 'yes.' They give us no choice but to come to that conclusion."

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Debt Ceiling

Schumer: Obama May Not Need Congress To Avoid Default -- But Congress Needs To Act

Brian Beutler | July 1, 2011, 12:10PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

On a conference call with reporters Friday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) acknowledged that President Obama may not need Congressional authorization to avoid a default on the national debt. But he noted, too, that the Constitutional debate on this question isn't ripe enough yet for Obama to take an end run around Congress, even if Republicans refuse to increase the national borrowing limit.

I asked Schumer, a lawyer, whether, in his view, the administration had the power to continue issuing new debt even if Congress fails to raise the debt limit. He acknowledged that the question's been discussed, but said the White House probably shouldn't go there just yet.

"It's certainly worth exploring," Schumer said. "I think it needs a little more exploration and study. It's probably not right to pursue at this point and you wouldn't want to go ahead and issue the debt and then have the courts reverse it."

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