Senate leaders spar over upcoming fiscal debate
CNN Wire Staff
Washington (CNN) - The top Senate Republican on Tuesday laid out a hard-line negotiating stance on upcoming budget battles, rejecting any tax increases and demanding "significant" reforms in exchange for his vote to raise the debt ceiling.
"We're going to require as a condition for raising the debt ceiling something really important about the debt," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, told reporters.
Without providing specifics, McConnell said it would take "something the markets would view as significant, something the American people would view as significant, something foreign countries would view as significant" in order for him to vote to increase how much the United States can borrow.
Congress must reach an agreement on the debt ceiling before the United States reaches its legal borrowing limit of $14.29 trillion.
McConnell said the Treasury Department has indicated the nation would reach its debt ceiling "sometime between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July."
He called for "something real, something measurable" that will begin to reduce the national debt.
McConnell also made clear that he opposes generating more revenue through higher taxes to tackle the deficit and debt problems.
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Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow |
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Anderson, your doing a fantastic job...
On taxes, SS and Medicare cuts, why don't we start with all the people in Washington who are behind on their taxes? 18,000 just on Capital Hill;84,034 Military Retirees owed 1.5 billion.
40,000 civilians retiress owe $454 Million.
Not counting how many Congressman and Senators are behind in theirs. Look how many had to drop out of Presidential appointments because they owe back taxes.
Huge amounts are going to foreign aid, within their budgets they also have 11 billion, funds for development, humain and military efforts in Yemen and Somalia to help keep terrorists. This would be nice, but everyone knows it does not work, most of this money never goes to the people who really need it.
Worried about Terrorist? The gate is wide open on our Southern border, now after the 2 Border officers went to prison, our goverment never backs them.
I, among other Americans are concerned that they are putting more financial pressure on Americans who are already suffering.
They need to start with themselves before they have the nerve to ask Americans to dig even deeper in their already empty pockets.
Thank you so much for listening to my bla, bla, bla, your an angel!
Sincerely,
B.J
RE: Raising the debt ceiling.
I am against Congress raising our Nation's debt ceiling, even though it would be catastrophic, because our Nation has been in debt for so long that Congress needs to really "Wake up" and sit down together bipartisanly to create budget cuts that will bring our Nation's budget closer to a balanced budget over time. I know it will take a long time to accomplish this; but, Congress needs to get its act together and create budget cuts now, not later!
Oh My Golly......Why are all of these senators and congress people wasting time...The American people don't give a damn about fiscal budgets and tax reforms if THEY DON'T HAVE A JOB....If the americans have jobs, then they pay taxes and then there is no need for any tax reforms and we have money to pay down the debt...They need to be fired..PERIOD...the important thing is to get jobs...Wake up all you decision makers in washington, or move over and the people will take back AMERICA...Mr. president is now on a re-election campaign with his sister on cnn, he needs to be creating jobs for americans, so that we have money to pay for gas to go vote.