NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Negotiations between congressional Republicans and Democrats continued as Obama administration officials expressed confidence they’ll agree to a plan to increase the U.S. debt limit by late Sunday, in time to avoid roiling deeply worried financial markets around the globe that open just hours later in Asia.
Coming up with a plan very soon to make sure the U.S. meets its debt obligations is “the only option available,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said. “They’re going to increase the debt ceiling, and we will not default.”
Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) planned an update conference call with House Republicans for 4:30 p.m. Eastern, but it wasn’t clear if he planned to release an outline or details of a tentative deal, according to media reports.
Late Saturday, Boehner said he wanted to unveil such a plan by 4 p.m. Eastern to avoid potential havoc in Asian financial markets, which begin their trading week soon after.
Boehner said Sunday it’s too early to know if a bipartisan deal to raise the debt ceiling is possible, but if not Republicans will go it alone, according to media reports.
The White House has warned that the U.S. could default on Aug. 2 if the $14.2 trillion debt limit isn’t raised by Congress.
“To default would be a tax on all Americans and it would be devastating to the country,” Geithner said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Two outlines of plans that have been discussed would be acceptable, he said. One involves coming up with a comprehensive balance of savings and tax reform to generate revenue. Another is the congressional plan which includes upfront savings and the creation of a special committee “to force Congress or make it easier” to devise a budget.
What wouldn’t work, Geithner said, was a third proposal to raise the debt limit in two phases, with a smaller increase immediately to get the government through the next several months -- but not past the 2012 presidential and Congressional elections. The second increase would come later and depend on the recommendations of special committee.
A plan that still leaves the risk of default in six months would be “deeply irresponsible,” Geithner said. “We do not think that’s acceptable” for the economy. See WSJ story on debt ceiling impasse.
Geithner said he couldn’t agree to a deal proposed by Republicans that would force deeper cuts in Medicare and Medicaid than the administration thought was reasonable.
While there are some very vocal members of the Republican party in favor of forcing a default, Geithner said the leadership recognized that is not a viable option, and that reducing the deficit couldn’t be done with budget cuts alone.
Republican leaders recently acknowledged that coming up with a viable budget plan is going to take to require tax reform that generates more revenue,” Geithner said.
Geithner’s and Boehner’s comments follow crisis talks convened by President Barack Obama on Saturday. The talks lasted less than an hour.
Negotiations between congressional Republicans and Democrats hit a logjam Saturday night over the size and timing of the debt-limit authorization. Read more about Republicans’, Democrats’ plans.
Republicans reportedly were pushing for a two-stage approach, with an immediate increase of about $1 trillion and an additional amount next year to be determined by a commission that would be created to study the issue.
Democrats continued pushing for one authorization of about $2.4 trillion to extend U.S. borrowing authority beyond the 2012 presidential campaign and election into 2013, according to reports Saturday night. |
发表于 2011-7-24 13:12
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发表于 2011-7-24 14:03
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