Cut, Cap, and Balance
Brian Darling /
The House Republican Study Committee (RSC) has deployed a new theme to be introduced into the debt limit increase debate: “Cut, Cap, and Balance.” The debt limit is expected to be considered by both chambers of Congress by August 2. House conservatives have drawn up a list of demands in consideration for allowing the debt limit to be increased.
The fault lines are clear in the debate right now. The Los Angeles Times reports today that there is a standoff between the two parties on a debt limit deal, and no comprehensive deal on taxes and entitlement reform is expected.
The standoff over raising the nation’s nearly $14.3-trillion debt limit may conclude this summer with a more limited round of spending cuts and promises of future reform, pushing off the tough choices about taxes and Medicare until after next year’s election. Republicans, by not compromising on taxes, can continue to campaign on the no-new-taxes stance that is a cornerstone of their political strategy, while attacking Democrats and President Obama for their proposed tax increases on the wealthy. Democrats, whose political prospects have brightened since House Republicans proposed deep cuts in Medicare, have all but ruled out any deal that would relinquish the issue as a political weapon. (more…)