Tag: Reid

Reid rules out grand bargain

By Erik Wasson – 10/24/13 04:24 PM ET

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday he regrets being “too lenient” in previous budget talks with Republicans.

Reid said he and President Obama were too willing to compromise in talks that took place in 2011 and 2012, and that he intends to drive a harder bargain going forward.

“If you give a bully a dollar today, they ask for a dollar and a half tomorrow,” he said in a radio interview with Nevada’s KNPR. “It has taken a while for all my caucus to come to that understanding. And quite frankly, the president, wonderful man that he is, he doesn’t like confrontation and he likes to work things out with people.

”“I was too lenient. Don’t blame it all on him,” Reid added. He also ruled out the possibility that a budget conference committee convening next week will reach a “grand bargain” that would cut entitlements, raise taxes and reduce spending.  Continue reading “Reid rules out grand bargain”

Why Harry Reid Fears a Long-Term Shutdown Deal

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| Tue Oct. 15, 2013 12:00 AM PDT
Zhang Jun/Xinhua/ZUMAPress

As the week of a possible government default began, talks aimed at ending the shutdown and the debt ceiling crisis revolved around a new wrinkle: the resistance of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his fellow Senate Democrats to an agreement funding the government for a longer, rather than shorter, period of time. Say what?

Why is kicking the can down the road a couple of months a better option than staving off another government-spending showdown for a half year, as Republicans prefer? It’s because the Republican plan would lock in for even longer the $1.2 trillion in budget cuts known as sequestration, which went into effect in March and which Democrats really hate. Continue reading “Why Harry Reid Fears a Long-Term Shutdown Deal”

Senate leaders near deal to end shutdown, raise debt limit

By Erik Wasson and Alexander Bolton – 10/15/13 06:49 AM ET

An emerging deal to reopen the government and raise the nation’s debt ceiling until February gathered political momentum Monday evening after Senate Republicans signaled they would likely support it.

Lawmakers and aides said the legislation would fund the government until Jan. 15 and extend the nation’s borrowing authority until February but leave ObamaCare largely untouched.

One senior Senate aide said it would raise the debt ceiling until Feb. 7 while another said Feb. 15 remains a possibility.

It would also establish a Senate-House budget committee to craft a replacement for the automatic spending cuts known as sequestration, which would have to report its work product to Congress by Dec. 13. Continue reading “Senate leaders near deal to end shutdown, raise debt limit”

Reid, McConnell near deal to end shutdown, raise $16.7T debt limit

By Erik Wasson and Alexander Bolton – 10/14/13 04:20 PM ET

An emerging Senate deal would raise the nation’s $16.7 trillion debt ceiling until mid-February, according to Senate aides.

There were conflicting claims on how long the extension would last, with one aide saying it would go to Feb. 15 and another saying Feb. 7.

It would immediately reopen the government and fund it until Jan. 15, the aides said.

The deal on the table between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would also establish a House-Senate budget committee to come up with a replacement for automatic sequestration cuts. The conference committee would have to report back to Congress by Dec. 13. Continue reading “Reid, McConnell near deal to end shutdown, raise $16.7T debt limit”

Reid hopes to complete fiscal deal ahead of White House meeting

By Alexander Bolton – 10/14/13 12:45 PM ET

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) hopes to have a deal to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling by the time Senate leaders travel to the White House Monday afternoon.

Reid, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) are scheduled to meet with President Obama at 3 p.m.

Asked if Senate leaders would reach a deal by then, Reid said, “[I] sure hope so.” Continue reading “Reid hopes to complete fiscal deal ahead of White House meeting”

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