TPMDC Mike Crapo
Super Committee
Senate Republicans Toss DeMint Under The Bus On Tax Increases
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)
Something you don't see very often in the Capitol: a Wednesday morning press conference with dozens of House and Senate members of both parties - including Republicans - acknowledging that they'd support a big deficit reduction proposal that includes higher tax revenue.
But wait, aren't several of those Republicans the same ones who recently signed a letter, written by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), asking that the Super Committee recommend "no net tax increase"?
Indeed they are. And asked to address the inconsistency, one of those signatories basically said they don't feel bound to DeMint's demands.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Jim DeMint, Mike Crapo, Super Committee, Taxes
Debt Ceiling
Democrats Eye Potential GOP Supporters Of Reid's Debt Limit Bill
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
John Boehner's debt limit bill, dead-on-arrival in the Senate, is on autopilot for passage in the House this evening. If as expected he sends it over to the upper chamber to be killed, he will actually speed up the process by which the Senate can pass its final debt limit bill, for parliamentary reasons outlined at the bottom of this post.
So the great guessing game in the Capitol right now is figuring out 1). Which Republican Senators will ultimately support Harry Reid's debt limit bill, and 2). What changes will have to be made to it between now and midnight to make sure enough of them are on board so the bill doesn't go down in flames in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
Right now, Democrats are looking to about 11 gettable GOP votes: Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Susan Collins (R-ME), Bob Corker (R-TN), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Scott Brown (R-MA), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Tom Coburn (R-OK). The last three were the Republican members of the Gang of Six deficit reduction group.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Bob Corker, Debt, Debt Ceiling, Deficit, Entitlement reform, Entitlements, Harry Reid, John Boehner, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Lamar Alexander, Lisa Murkowski, Mark Kirk, Medicare, Mike Crapo, Olympia Snowe, Saxby Chambliss, Scott Brown, Susan Collins, Taxes, Tom Coburn
Gang of Six
Source: Coburn Ditching Gang Of Six Over Plan To Cut Medicare
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Not since David Lee Roth left Van Halen has a defection augured so poorly for team success. On Tuesday, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) told reporters he was stepping away from the Gang of Six negotiations -- a bipartisan working group of senators putting together a plan to reduce the deficit and debt -- over their inability to agree on entitlement spending cuts.
After a bit of confusion over Coburn's status in these talks, his spokesman John Hart confirmed the departure in a statement, "He has decided to take a break from the talks."
A source with knowledge of the negotiations says Coburn ultimately broke ranks after members of the group rejected his proposal to introduce a global cap on Medicare spending that would have cut $150 billion from current beneficiaries.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Debt, Debt Ceiling, Deficit, Dick Durbin, Gang of Six, Harry Reid, Joe Biden, Kent Conrad, Mark Warner, Medicare, Mike Crapo, Mitch McConnell, Saxby Chambliss, Spending, Tom Coburn
Social Security
Parsing The Game Of Six: Will They Try To Cut Social Security Benefits?
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
The bipartisan group of six senators privately drafting a debt and deficit reduction plan have been unusually tight-lipped about their negotiations. That's probably necessary internally if the group's goal is to come to an agreement. But it's led to intense speculation about what's on the table, what shape their policy options are taking, and whether progressives will get a raw deal.
Of the six -- Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mark Warner (D-VA), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Tom Coburn (R-OK), and Mike Crapo (R-ID) -- only Durbin could be fairly described as a progressive. So the race is on to figure out where his bright lines are, and to what, if any, extent he's willing to walk away if the final agreement completely undermines progressive interests. But while his public statements in recent weeks don't lay out exactly what those bright lines are, he's tipped his hand in two important ways.
One big tell was his official public response to the House Republican budget, which doesn't meaningfully touch Social Security but basically obliterates Medicare and Medicaid, while not raising any new revenue, and lowering taxes on wealthy Americans.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Dick Durbin, Kent Conrad, Mark Warner, Medicaid, Medicare, Mike Crapo, Saxby Chambliss, Social Security, Tax Breaks, Tax Cuts, Taxes, Tom Coburn, Treasury, White House
Social Security
Meet The 18 People Who Could Determine The Fate Of Social Security
President Obama meets with the leaders of his bipartisan debt commission, Democrat Erskine Bowles, on left, and former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, on right.
Last week former Republican Senator Alan Simpson, who co-chairs the White House's fiscal commission, drew a storm of criticism for comparing Social Security to a "cow with 310 million tits." But Titgate isn't really about language. It's about both Simpson himself -- who has long viewed Social Security as a bloated program for spoiled old people -- and about the commission as a whole. Comprised of nine tax-averse Republicans and nine Democrats, many of whom have expressed support for Social Security changes in the past, the commission will almost certainly be biased toward benefit cuts, and away from raising taxes, when it presents its report on December 1. Below, the cast of characters who will be making the calls.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Alan Simpson, Andy Stern, Barack Obama, David Camp, Debt, Debt Commission, Dick Durbin, Erskine Bowles, Fiscal Commission, Jan Schakowsky, Jeb Hensarling, John Spratt, Judd Gregg, Kent Conrad, Max Baucus, Medicare, Mike Crapo, Paul Ryan, Social Security, Tom Coburn, Xavier Becerra
Financial Reform
GOPers So Opposed To Wall Street Regulation That They Voted For Bailout Continuation
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) speaks with Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) on Capitol Hill.
Republicans have spent the better part of two years distancing themselves from bailouts and hitting Democrats for supporting them. But given a choice between continuing the 2008 bank bailout and regulating Wall Street, several Republicans voted last night (and almost all of them will ultimately vote) to keep the bailout alive.
Last night, in a scramble to save the bill in the wake of Sen. Scott Brown's (R-MA) objections to the conference report, Democrats worked with moderate Republicans to figure out a new way to pay for Wall Street reform. What they came up with was pretty simple: end the TARP legislation (i.e., the much-maligned bank bailout) early. Every Republican negotiator on the conference committee objected, some vociferously.
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) called it "fraud on the American people."
Not to be outdone, Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) called it "smoke and mirrors."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Bailout, Bob Corker, Financial Reform, Judd Gregg, Mike Crapo, Republicans, TARP, Wall Street
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