White House

White House Disputes Report That Boehner-Obama Debt Deal Still On Table

Brian Beutler | March 20, 2012, 4:30PM

A senior White House official is disputing a key, but vague, detail in a weekend Washington Post article, which provided a number of new details about the final days of President Obama's unsuccessful attempt last summer to strike a grand bargain to stabilize the national debt with House Speaker John Boehner.

The two principals were nearing a framework that would have included higher tax revenues, unpopular cuts to Medicare and other spending reductions when the talks failed. That resulted in the debt limit deal and the ongoing fight between the parties over the federal safety net and taxes on the wealthy.

One of the Post's new details alarmed progressives.

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Debt ceiling

OLC Gave Guidance To Obama On 14th Amendment During Debt Ceiling Showdown

Ryan J. Reilly | November 29, 2011, 11:00AM

President Barack Obama

The Office of Legal Counsel advised President Barack Obama on whether he could ignore Congress and raise the debt ceiling himself under the 14th Amendment. We just don't know what they told him.

TPM filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for any final memo that OLC issued on whether Obama -- as progressives had wanted -- could continue to pay government obligations if Congress had refused to raise the statutory debt limit.

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Deficit

No Confidence Men: 62 Percent Have Little Or No Confidence In GOP Leaders On Debt

Kyle Leighton | September 26, 2011, 6:28PM

House Speaker John Boehner said that he got 98 percent of what he wanted in the final debt ceiling deal this summer. But the percentage of Americans that trust the GOP to do what's right on the deficit is significantly lower than that -- nearly three times lower.

As Americans' stomachs turn at the possibility of a government shutdown over yet another spending battle, everyone seems to be at fault. On Monday morning Gallup released the news that more people are dissatisfied with the way government is being run than they were after Watergate, a very high (or low) bar that Washington has hit a few times during the last decade or so. Later on Monday the Pew Research Center released some delineations about that sentiment.

Pew conducted a survey on how Americans feel about political leaders' ability to handle the deficit, an issue that has been eclipsed as the highest priority by jobs, but is still a major concern. The data showed that only 35 percent of Americans have confidence that GOP congressional leaders will do the right thing on the deficit, 43 percent thought the same about congressional Democrats, but a majority of 52 percent felt that President Obama will do the right thing on the issue.

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Rick Perry

Rick Perry's 1st Campaign Video: Obama Caused The S&P Downgrade

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 15, 2011, 3:24PM

Rick Perry TV Ad "Rick Perry: Time to Get America Working Again"

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is kicking off his presidential campaign with a bit of creative spin on S&P's downgrade of the U.S. credit rating: turns out President Obama did it.

In his first and bio-heavy campaign video of his presidential campaign, Perry places the blame for the downgrade squarely on the shoulders of Obama. This comes despite the fact that S&P itself says the slew of congressional Republicans who were (at best) apathetic about default were responsible for the rating agency's controversial decision.

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2012

Believe It! Bachmann Unveils New Iowa Ad

Benjy Sarlin | August 3, 2011, 9:14AM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

It's all sun and smiles for Michele Bachmann's latest Iowa ad, except for the dialogue. Titled "Believe It," the spot features Bachmann discussing her vote against raising the debt ceiling and slamming her colleagues for "looting the treasury and bankrupting the nation." Like the rest of the presidential field, Bachmann is rallying her supporters for the crucial Ames Straw Poll on August 13, and the ad asks voters to come join her for the big day.

Debt ceiling

Study: Tea Partiers Outworked Democrats In Debt Fight

Benjy Sarlin | August 2, 2011, 5:49PM

Remember that enthusiasm gap from the 2010 election that was oh-so-deadly for Democrats? It looks like it hung around for the debt ceiling fight as well.

A telephone poll by the Pew Research Center for People and Press found that Republicans and Tea Party-affiliated respondents both paid more attention to the debt negotiations and were more likely to take action to influence the outcome.

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Wisconsin Recalls

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: How The Debt Deal Could Hurt The Wisconsin Recalls

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 2, 2011, 6:00AM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Even as Democrats in Washington struggle with what many progressives see as one of the biggest losses their side has suffered in years, liberals in the Midwest are preparing to hand the left one of the biggest wins it has had in ages.

But the perceived progressive failure in DC over the debt ceiling deal could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the wild and crazy Wisconsin recalls, leading to the kind of political domino effect left-leaning critics of the debt deal fear most.

Here's how the scenario works: as they're still licking their wounds from a national fight that in the eyes of many Democrats went the Tea Party's way, progressives in Wisconsin will be trying to pull out their voters for a round of recalls on August 9. That electorate could be underwhelmed now, folks familiar with the recalls say. And that could be the difference between flipping the Wisconsin state Senate away from Governor Scott Walker (R) and keeping it in Republican hands.

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Joe Biden

Report: Biden Told Dems That Tea Partiers 'Have Acted Like Terrorists' In Debt Ceiling Debate

Ryan J. Reilly | August 1, 2011, 5:33PM

Vice President Joe Biden told the House Democrats he met with today that Tea Party Republicans had "acted like terrorists" in the debt ceiling debate, Politico reported.

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Debt ceiling

GOP Reps Uneasy About Triggered Defense Cuts

Benjy Sarlin | August 1, 2011, 4:11PM

Emerging from a meeting with party leaders, House Republicans cited potential defense cuts as a top concern in the bipartisan debt ceiling agreement.

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Harry Reid

Harry Reid: The Debt Ceiling Deal Shows The Senate Works (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 1, 2011, 12:02PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

The weeks-long slog toward the the very brink of economic disaster -- a slog that may still result in some very serious economic consequences -- was an example of Congress functioning exactly as it should, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says. So quit your whinin'.

Speaking on the Senate floor the morning after a deal was finally reached to raise the debt ceiling and pay bills Congress had already wracked up, Reid pushed back against "all kinds of pundits and commentators who
talk about how the system is broken."

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Debt ceiling

Obama: We'll Get Those Revenues Next Time [VIDEO]

Benjy Sarlin | August 1, 2011, 12:00PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama admitted in a video message the debt deal is "far from satisfying," but he comforted supporters by suggesting they won't get rolled as badly the next time around.

Under the White House's agreement with Republican leaders, the bulk of its deficit reduction would be determined by a bipartisan commission that must either pass a second package in Congress this year or trigger automatic cuts to defense and Medicare. Obama said this group would be critically important to achieving Democrats' ultimate goal of higher taxes on the wealthy to help cover the budget gap.

"I've said from the beginning that the ultimate solution must be balanced. Big corporations and the wealthiest Americans shouldn't be exempt from kicking in," he said. "That's just fair."

He also hinted at some more bitter pills on entitlements, however, talking up the need "to make modest adjustments to health care programs like Medicare so they're around for future generations."

Both of these issues would be tackled by the committee, he said.

"That's why the second part of this agreement is so important," he said. "It establishes a bipartisan committee of Congress to report back by November with a proposal to reduce the deficit even further, which will be put before the entire Congress for an up or down vote. No tricks, no games, no delays."

He concluded: "This chapter is over. But that work and that debate continues."

Mitt Romney

Romney Breaks Debt Ceiling Silence: 'Cannot Support This Deal'

Benjy Sarlin | August 1, 2011, 10:45AM

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney (MA)

After a week of attacks from left and right alike over his failure to take a position on the latest round of Republican debt ceiling proposals, Mitt Romney has made up his mind on the final deal: he's against it.

"As president, my plan would have produced a budget that was cut, capped and balanced - not one that opens the door to higher taxes and puts defense cuts on the table," he said in a statement. "President Obama's leadership failure has pushed the economy to the brink at the eleventh hour and 59th minute. While I appreciate the extraordinarily difficult situation President Obama's lack of leadership has placed Republican Members of Congress in, I personally cannot support this deal."

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Debt

Grover Norquist Backs The New Debt Deal

Thomas Lane | August 1, 2011, 6:00AM

Grover Norquist

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has at least one powerful ally in his latest effort to sell the GOP on a debt deal: tax hater extraordinaire, Grover Norquist.

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Benjamin Cardin

Cardin On Debt Ceiling Deal: Disappointed On Revenues, But 'Priorities Have Been Protected'

Ryan J. Reilly | July 31, 2011, 8:56PM

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD)

TPM caught up with Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) just after Senate leaders announced a deal to raise the debt ceiling limit.

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Debt ceiling

NOT GOOD ENOUGH: Conservatives Still Want More In Debt Ceiling Deal

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 31, 2011, 4:38PM

RedState's Erick Erickson

Over on the progressive side of politics, they're nursing their wounds and drowning their sorrows as details of the deal to increase the debt ceiling emerge. They feel like they lost to a Republican party that dug in and used the debt ceiling to achieve their goal of dramatically shrinking government spending and solving the deficit problem without raising a single penny in new revenue.

So they might be surprised to know that conservatives don't think they won, either. The right, despite apparently negotiating Obama into a corner that pits him against large parts of his base, still isn't satisfied.

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Debt ceiling

Progressives Recoil At Reported Debt Ceiling Deal

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 31, 2011, 3:45PM

President Barack Obama meets with Republican and Democratic leaders

Progressive groups are speaking out against the debt ceiling deal currently being hashed out in Washington. The response from two of the nation's largest organizations goes essentially like this: really?!?

Progressives are more than a little upset that the deal does not include new revenues upfront, a line in the sand President Obama drew early on in the process and apparently had to abandon as the cogs of the legislative machinery turned hours before the nation went into default. They're casting the deal outlined on the Sunday talk shows this morning as a huge win for Republicans -- and (yet another) agonizing defeat for the left.

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Dianne Feinstein

Feinstein: Current Debt Ceiling Plan Is A 'Very Different Sausage Than When We Started'

Ryan J. Reilly | July 31, 2011, 2:45PM

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) told reporters on Sunday that she wasn't thrilled with the way the negotiations to reach an agreement to raise the debt ceiling were happening, but thinks the final outcome could be good.

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Dick Durbin

Durbin: Defense Cuts Should Stay On The Table In Debt Ceiling Deal

Ryan J. Reilly | July 31, 2011, 2:30PM

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) told reporters on Sunday afternoon that military cuts should be on the table as part of a deal to reduce spending and raise the debt ceiling.

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Debt ceiling

FED UP: Just Do The 14th Amendment Thing Already, Democrats Beg Obama

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 30, 2011, 7:34PM

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the ongoing debt ceiling debate in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington on July 5, 2011.

It's getting late on Capitol Hill this Saturday evening. And it's only going to get later -- the Senate vote on Majority Leader Harry Reid's plan to raise the debt limit is coming after midnight, meaning members of Congress are cooling their heels and getting frustrated.

That might be the reason more and more Democrats are calling on President Obama to handle this debt limit fiasco unilaterally by ignoring the debt limit via a reading of the 14th Amendment popular with progressives.

Another reason may be that the scheme is actually in the mix as negotiations over how to raise the debt limit grind on as the deadline gets closer and closer.

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Debt ceiling

Mixed Messages On Debt Talks As Clock Ticks Towards Default

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 30, 2011, 5:42PM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (R-NV)

As Saturday wears on, mixed messages are emerging about how close Republicans and Democrats may be to a compromise on how -- or indeed whether -- to raise the debt ceiling.

On the one hand, Republican leaders began to signal that it's time to make a deal.

Meanwhile, the White House is once again playing a part in the process. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell indicated he had engaged in a discussion with President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden.

However, Senate Majority Reader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi were also engaged with the White House. They were summoned for urgent talks. When Reid returned to the Capitol he struck a downbeat note.

"The question is, are we closer to an agreement," Reid said upon returning. "The answer is 'no.'"

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Debt ceiling

Debt Debate Drags On As Reid Seeks Republican Votes

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 30, 2011, 3:37PM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

House Republicans struck a partly symbolic blow against the debt plan of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) by voting it down Saturday afternoon. It's partly symbolic because the vote happened before the Senate moved on the bill, so it's possible a slightly fiddled version can pass that chamber later and then return to the House.

However, it's not a hopeful sign for Reid, who has been summoned to the White House for urgent discussions on the matter.

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Debt ceiling

Democratic Leaders Head Back To The White House For More Debt Ceiling Talks

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 30, 2011, 3:37PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

At a press conference in front of his entire caucus Saturday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that he had been summoned back to the White House for another round of conversations about raising the debt ceiling. Reid will meet with President Obama as well as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

The high-profile chat comes as Reid tries to wrangle his debt ceiling plan through the Senate. As it stood officially at the start of the presser, Reid is three votes short on attaining cloture for his bill after 43 Senate Republicans went on record in a letter saying they refuse to support it. Four Republicans did not sign the letter.

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Debt

Reid Aims For GOP Support By Adopting McConnell Debt Limit Plan Fallback Plan

Brian Beutler | July 29, 2011, 8:59PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

The Senate adjourned late Friday night without an agreed-upon framework for raising the debt limit. Shortly before this, a source passed to TPM a blueprint of what Democrats hope will be the way out of this imbroglio. It's a copy of what could be Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's final offer to Republicans in the debt limit standoff.

The gist: Reid hopes to entice Republicans to support his plan in two ways. First, with slightly deeper cuts. Second, by adopting an idea, first proposed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, that would delegate the authority to raise the debt limit to President Obama -- and give Congress the prerogative to attempt to block Obama from taking that action.

It does not include any penalties or triggers to force Congress to enact entitlement and tax reforms in the coming months.

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2012 elections

Hunstman Gives Bachmann A Debt Ceiling Shoutout Really Aimed At Romney

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 29, 2011, 7:53PM

Jon Huntsman

Only two of the Republican candidates running for president actually played a direct role in the fight that has locked Washington in an endless cycle of procedural votes and late-night pizza runs for the past week. And in the end, each came down on a different side of the fence.

Other candidates are necessarily on the sidelines of the debt limit scrum. But Jon Huntsman's campaign got involved anyway, using Friday's House vote to score some political points.

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Debt ceiling

Twitter Ambush! White House Calls On The Social Media Grassroots To Push Debt Ceiling Deal

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 29, 2011, 12:37PM

President Obama's suggestion that Americans call their members of Congress about the debt ceiling last week (a request he re-upped Friday) went so well that his campaign is expanding the operation to a whole different communications platform.

Enter #compromise, the Obama 2012's latest attempt to turn Republicans in Congress from stubborn partisans into handshaking legislators.

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Debt ceiling

Harry Reid Moves Senate Debt Ceiling Bill Forward

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 29, 2011, 9:52AM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid just can't wait any longer. In a frustrated speech on the Senate floor Friday morning, Reid promised to file cloture on his compromise bill to raise the debt ceiling today, before the House GOP (maybe) finishes cobbling together support for Speaker Boehner's plan.

"This is likely our last chance to save this nation from default," Reid said.

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Van Jones

Liberals Rally Against Debt Ceiling Deal Cuts To Social Security, Medicare (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | July 29, 2011, 9:00AM

A day after a poorly attended Tea Party rally against House Speaker John Boehner's debt ceiling plan, liberal organizations and unions gathered outside the Capitol Building to demand Congress not gut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid while keeping the U.S. from going into default.

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Debt ceiling

Nerd Alert: GOP Drops Star Wars, Tolkien References In Debt Fight

Benjy Sarlin | July 29, 2011, 5:50AM

Maybe it's the epic scale of Congress' debt limit fight or just politicians' natural geekiness coming out, but the last week is producing more fantasy and science fiction references than a Kevin Smith movie.

The Wall Street Journal got the ball rolling with a Lord Of The Rings themed editorial comparing Tea Partiers to Frodo and the gang:

"The idea seems to be that if the House GOP refuses to raise the debt ceiling, a default crisis or gradual government shutdown will ensue, and the public will turn en masse against . . . Barack Obama. The Republican House that failed to raise the debt ceiling would somehow escape all blame. Then Democrats would have no choice but to pass a balanced-budget amendment and reform entitlements, and the Tea Party Hobbits could return to Middle Earth having defeated Mordor."

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Debt ceiling

With Default Closer Than Ever, Labor Targets GOP With New Ad Blitz

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 29, 2011, 12:00AM

"Thank Rep. Eric Cantor When Your Check Doesn't Come" TV Ad

It's fair to say that if they're not paying attention already, the debt ceiling crisis will likely be on the minds of Americans this weekend as the August 2nd deadline for default draws nigh. And as they tune in, a coalition of labor groups hope to use a new TV ad campaign to remind Americans of their side of the story.

The coalition -- made up of AFSCME, SEIU, the NEA and Americans United For Change -- has dropped ads on eight states targeting Republican politicians over the debt ceiling crisis, which seems destined to drag on until the bitter end -- or maybe after, taking the nation into default. The message from labor: "If the Social Security checks, veterans' benefits, military pay Americans are counting on don't arrive after August 2, thank Republicans in Congress."

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Michele Bachmann

Should He Stay Or Should He Go? Bachmann Silent On Boehner's Future

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 28, 2011, 4:36PM

As he works to cram through a debt ceiling plan many on the tea party right don't like, reporters have started asking Republicans if Speaker John Boehner should keep his job. On Wednesday, Herman Cain -- who opposes raising the debt ceiling -- said he should.

A day later, Michele Bachmann, who is publicly opposed to Boehner's debt plan in the House as well as a boost in the debt ceiling under any circumstances, was not so eager to defend Boehner.

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Debt

White House: Boehner, aka The Grinch, Already Spoiling Christmas In July

Susan Crabtree | July 28, 2011, 12:41PM

Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is secretly channeling the Grinch with his plans to spoil Christmas and wreak havoc on the economy during the pivotal holiday buying season, White House officials warned Thursday.

Democrats' attempts to plaster Republicans with the Grinch label is nothing new, especially when it comes to cutting the deficits and slashing entitlement spending. But this time, the label is particularly apt. Boehner's two-step bill could very well blow-up the legislative process in December as Congress wraps up works and tries to leave town for a two-week holiday break. And, well, Boehner does have a certainty affinity for bright lime green ties...

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Debt ceiling

Pelosi: GOP Goal Is 'Unraveling' Of Middle Class

Benjy Sarlin | July 28, 2011, 12:12PM

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi accused Republicans of failing to negotiate in good faith on Thursday, telling reporters that the GOP used debt negotiations as a Trojan Horse to attack the middle class.

"I believe that the reason that the agreement wasn't reached is because of the two different reasons to come to the table," Pelosi said at a press conference at the Capitol. While she said that Democrats legitimately wanted to reduce the deficit, "the real reason they didn't connect is because Republicans all along have used deficit reduction as an excuse for the unraveling of progress made for the middle class over the past fifty years."

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Debt ceiling

Tea Party Rally Against Boehner Plan Draws Big Crowd Next To Nobody

Benjy Sarlin | July 27, 2011, 3:40PM

Tea Party Rally In Washington DC

During the health care debate, Tea Party groups mobilized thousands of members to rally against the bill right on lawmakers' doorsteps in Washington, DC. Now the movement is again at a crossroads as Republicans struggle over how far they're willing to push Democrats on spending cuts before raising the debt ceiling.

You wouldn't know it, however, from their rally on Wednesday.

Despite featuring Tea Party icons Sens. Jim DeMint (R-SC), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Rand Paul (R-KY), among others, a gathering outside the Senate organized by the Tea Party Express to urge Republicans to stand firm against a compromise bill drew only a handful of attendees.

Reporters, many of whom came to interview presidential candidate Herman Cain, appeared to easily outnumber protesters. And despite being the most prominent attendee, Cain ended up not addressing the crowd and instead watching from the sidelines.

The dismal showing comes as Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations are waging an aggressive campaign against a plan by Republican leaders to raise the debt ceiling with a two-tiered set of cuts and no promise of a balanced budget amendment.

While the proposal by Speaker Boehner looked to be in serious jeopardy on Tuesday, especially after the CBO found it reduced the deficit less than its backers hoped, the bill appears to be gaining some momentum Wednesday as rank and file members push back against the hardline insurgents.

Debt

GOP Establishment Starts Leaning Hard On Internal Rebels

Thomas Lane | July 27, 2011, 1:50PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

The fast-developing Republican civil war appears to have wracked up its latest injured, the most prominent of which is Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (OH). Following his attacks on Speaker Boehner's debt limit proposals, reports indicate he himself came under heavy assault. Meanwhile, the RSC's executive director, Paul Teller, was facing calls for his sacking over his emails opposing Boehner.

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Debt ceiling

Tea Party Leaders: If Default Hurts The Tea Party, So Be It

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 27, 2011, 11:23AM

Jenny Beth Martin

The tea party is so hell-bent on getting America's finances in order, they're willing to suffer the personal consequences of a government default. That's according to leaders of the Tea Party Patriots, who spoke with reporters in Washington this morning as the city remains gripped in debt ceiling stalemate.

Jenny Beth Martin, a co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots (the grassrootsier wing of the movement) agreed that default -- and the requisite end in government payments for the programs that go with it -- could hurt the thousands of tea party voters she represents. But she said her members are willing to take the hit.

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Debt ceiling

GOP Demand Obama Protect Social Security, Cut Something Or Other

Benjy Sarlin | July 26, 2011, 2:43PM

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA)

Republican lawmakers from the House and Senate gathered on Tuesday to repeat demands that the Treasury Dept shield seniors, soldiers, and bondholders from any ill effects of a default crisis. They've created legislation to this effect as well, which they urged the White House to back. Once again, however, the top sponsors of the measure are silent on what should be cut back instead.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) was asked repeatedly by reporters what payments Treasury Department should suspend to make up for the guarantees to Social Security and troop pay. He offered no specifics.

"There's room for other payments to be made," he said. "It is not our intent to specify every last dollar, but rather to identify these vitally important programs and avoid default on our debt."

The Treasury Department has said that Social Security payments may be suspended to deal with a default crisis if the debt ceiling is not raised by August 2. While Social Security, troop pay, and interest payments would not take up all the revenue projected to come into the Treasury on their own, the Bipartisan Policy Center (which Toomey cited in his press conference as well) has warned that the process will be so "chaotic" that "handling all payments for important and popular programs (e.g., Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, defense, active duty pay) will quickly become impossible."

Michele Bachmann

Michele Bachmann: No Boehner Debt Ceiling Plan For Me

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 26, 2011, 2:28PM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) says Speaker John Boehner's latest plan to raise the debt ceiling days before the nation defaults on its debts doesn't have what it takes to get her support. Bachmann has said unequivocally that she won't vote to raise the nation's borrowing limit, despite the looming threat of default, and it seems that Boehner's plan to unite his caucus and get the crisis ended hasn't moved her to change her mind.

"This Republican will not vote to raise the debt ceiling," Bachmann told reporters at an Iowa presidential campaign stop, according to ABC News. "My colleagues will have to come to their own conclusion."

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Nancy Pelosi

'We Get The Sacrifice, They Get The Wealth': A Fired-Up Pelosi Tears Into GOP Deficit Plan

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 26, 2011, 1:18PM

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Speaking to a crowd of union workers on Capitol Hill today, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi unloaded on Republican plans to lower the deficit through deep cuts to government services in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. Frustrations are running high in Congress with the default deadline rapidly approaching, and Pelosi spoke with a fire that suggested the endless debate over the debt ceiling is taking its toll on her patience.

"This isn't just about them saying we should reduce the deficit," she said, adding: "This is an excuse. The budget deficit is an excuse for the Republicans to undermine government plain and simple. They don't just want to make cuts, they want to destroy. They want to destroy food safety, clean air, clean water, the department of education. They want to destroy your rights."

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Default

Boehner: Obama Has Created A 'Crisis Atmosphere'

David Kurtz | July 25, 2011, 9:36PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

The text of Speaker John Boehner's televised remarks regarding the debt ceiling talks, as prepared for delivery:

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Barack Obama

Obama: Default Would Be 'Reckless And Irresponsible'

David Kurtz | July 25, 2011, 9:09PM

President Barack Obama

The text of President Obama's nationally televised address on raising the debt ceiling, as prepared for delivery:

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