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House Republicans are discussing the prospect of a short-term extension in the nation's debt limit to avoid fault and give negotiations between lawmakers and the White House more time to succeed.
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman and erstwhile GOP vice presidential candidate, told reporters at House Republicans' retreat that members were "discussing the virtue of a short term debt limit extension."
Ryan elaborated that the idea would be to raise the nation’s borrowing authority for a few months and tie the matter into discussions with the White House and Senate on the other fiscal issues facing the country, such as the automatic spending cuts associated with the sequester and how to fund the government in the next fiscal year.
The comment is a significant development because it suggests there is movement in the House GOP Conference to avoid the debt limit when it's scheduled to hit in February, and instead shift the political battle in their favor by transforming the debate into a fight over shutting down the government or offsetting $110 billion dollars in cuts to defense and domestic programs.
When asked by NBC News whether he believed the House GOP Conference was unified enough to not have a repeat of the fiscal cliff fiasco, when many Republican lawmakers were reluctant to support plans by the GOP leadership, Ryan said, “We want people to have clear view of what's coming so there are no surprises, that means setting expectations accordingly so we can move forward in a unified basis.”
Ryan spent the morning with House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., briefing members about the upcoming “triple threat” of fiscal issues to be played out in Washington over the late winter and spring. GOP aides tell NBC News the talks are part of an effort by the Republican leadership to gauge the mood of the conference as well as map out the best possible path for the party in the next few months, so far they consider the response from members to be "positive."
The retreat is the House GOP’s annual occasion for members to talk to leadership, relax with their spouses and kids and also learn from communication professionals about to contour their message to fit the electorate. In light of the drubbing the GOP received amongst women and minorities in the 2012 election, the retreat will feature a seminar titled: “Coalitions-Discussion on Successful Communication with Minorities and Women.”
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Yeah, let's just delay it for another six months to a year and have the same damned situation.
Eventually the GOP will have to fight the battle for the future of America and the free enterprise system. At present, they are losing. When the GOP gets around to it, Obama won't compromise, being more than willing to send the credit of the USA down the tubes under the firm belief that he can blame the GOP for it and wipe them out in the 2014 election. One of his congressional zombies is already trying to introduce legislation to enable Obama to run for a third term.
Wake up America!
So you don't seem to understand that this money has already been appropriated.
If congress doesn't extend THEY are the ones messing with the US credit rating.
Conspiracy theorist alert ya'll!!
Common Sense- 4 U
I don't think they do...they seem to think Obama is just trying to make a money grab.
They also are mischaracterizing Obama's comments made when he was Senator...he said we need to get spending under control, and quit having to borrow from others to pay our bills. Nothing has changed, things have only gotten worse in the spending department, and it's sure NOT all the Democrats and the President's fault. Some unfunded wars contributed...
Obama has already demanded complete control of the Debt Limit and apparently has no desire to reduce federal spending. Where will that take us? Those Democrats who are not Socialists or Freeloaders should wake up and stop this disasterous nonsense. Quit living in the past and face up to our dubious future.
compromise is defeat one step at a time. The democrats are not interested in cutting spending. The democrats are walking this country to financial clapse. republicans need to stop the insanity now. It will not get any easier in the future.
You do realize that raising the debt limit is to pay back debt already created? Were you this outraged when the republiCONS were doubling the debt from 2001-2009?
Let me just pay my maxed out Visa with my new Mastercard.
JohnWaynePolitics
What do you suggest? Don't pay?
ummmm restructure?
Restructure...great idea, but not when we are up against a wall.
Congress had no problem racking up the bill, now they have to pay.
Then they need to work TOGETHER and restructure...
I thought Paul Ryan was dead. Someone should hang that NAZI.
Carl? that's german isn't it? Is this the pot calling the kettle black? yavole
Sorry Adolph.
lebster, that was the most classless comment I have ever seen on newsvine, and that's saying something. Modern germany is one of the most democratic and capitalist countries in the world. They'd like to sweep the nazi era under the rug but they can't. They constantly try to outlive that image so how dare you call someone with a german name a nazi? HOW F@CKING DARE YOU?!
You want to hang someone, hang Timmy G., he started robbing the Federal Employee Pension Fund to pay America's debt on Jan. 15, 2013. Good ole Timmy G. said he'd replace the money after the debt ceiling has been raised. Same ole from both sides, borrow from Peter to pay Paul. Fat chance that the money will be replaced, just like they replaced it in social security.
Patrick,
You do realize Carl suggested "hanging" Paul Ryan, right?
And HE called Ryan a "Nazi"...
I don't like Paul Ryan in the least, but I don't wish him dead.
Patrick
If you think lebster's comment was the most classless comment you have ever read on "newsvine", you haven't read too many comments including your own. And what language! Your mother should wash out your dirty mouth with soap.
I say shut it down. Republicans keep saying they want to cut spending but fail to hold the Democrats feet to the fire.
The less government we have the better off we are, besides it might motivate some of those individuals sucking off the government teat to get off their butts and find a job!
Yeah, lets just put another few million or so out of work, that will solve the economy.
If I am out of work I will live off my emergency fund for two years and then maybe dig into retirement. Obama's supporters will have starved by then. Shut it down. Shut it all down. No social security. No pay for Government workers. Tell the Chinese to sue us. Lets do it and stop the chit chat. Let Obama preside over the mess because in the end no one ever recalls who was in Congress 10 years ago, but we all knew who was President. Call the bluff. Shut it down.
In 2011, 174 House Republicans voted for the automatic sequesters if congress failed to act. It didn't and now the automatic spending cuts will materialize starting March 1st. Let them happen ~ its the only way we will see any real reduction in federal spending. But there is a thorn in the roses for Republicans. None of the sequestered cuts involve Social Security and "entitlement" programs which they have targeted to replace cuts to Defense and non-discretionary spending. Its all the more important that defense contractors be pampered by Republicans ~ especially Boeing ~ since its entire fleet of 787 aircraft have now been grounded worldwide and the cost of that fiasco could rise to several hundreds of billions of dollars. In case you have forgotten, 174 House Republicans voted for the Budget Control Act and its mandatory sequesters. The Act passed congress 343-187.
Not much Energy on this topic in the Country. The gun thing got 3500 comments. Wish spending was just as important!
Agreed but dems don't want to cut spending. Thier only interest is to break the bank so they can re-make America into a lib@!$%#z utopia of government welfare.
No, it is the republiCONS that want to break the bank, by not covering our existing debts. And to cut social services so the "real amercans" can keep more money.
Not covering our existing debt? You must be one of those people who pays off debt with a credit card to make yourself feel better.
What constitutes a "real american"? The new majority? No job with no motivation to look for a new job?
Why extend the debt ceiling? Just implement the spending cuts promised to the American people when Obama got his tax increase.
In fact the above is an out right lie. But what can you expect from the biggest lier to be in the white house, even bigger then Nixon and Clinton.
This should scare even the lib@!$%#z, "Washington must increase the limit to pay its bills". If we have to borrow to pay the interest on the money we have already borrowed, this puts the US in a very difficult position and every single American should be very affraid. This might be why the Germans are demanding back thier gold that the US is holding. When the US economy goes down, they don't want uthe US hold thier gold.
If we have to borrow to pay our bills then we really do have a SPENDING problem.
It is not a lie.
Too many facts for me to disprove your point raddave.
The GOP is going to look for everything where the kicking the can down the road option can be applied. The result will be a yearly crisis occurring every 6-months, and then every month, until somebody will forget to look and all this bad stuff will happen. Whatever happened to passing a budget. Wasn't the last one like two years ago?
Enough with the can kicking. I say let the worst happen. There is no stopping it. Everybody knows we are at an end of Fiat Currency. Let the end come.
That is 4 years. There has been no budget passed since Obama took office. The government has been running on CR's (continuing resolutions) every since and I see no budgets in the near future as long as Reid is in control of the senate and Obama is in Office.
Obama was handed everything he ever attained simply because as Joe Biden said: "he's a clean,articulate black man". Unfortunately for him he finally reached a position where he had to do something andwork with others and never having done so he couldn't and he failed.
And is still fully supported by his sheeple...where is the logic in that?
Paul Ryan is @!$%#in jugghead.
And Paul Ryan is about as useless as tits on a Tomcat !!!!!!!
I was just saying the same thing about Dirty harry Reid. Go figure.
Harry Reid who preached that raising the debt ceiling would be detrimental to America during the Bush administration. Now he says that raising the debt ceiling will be Americas saving grace.
Under Bush II the debt ceiling was raised 11 times. So go spread your crap someplace else.
The whole government needs to be fired. The Republicans are King obamas punching bags. They cant even stick up for themselves or the country. Only their own self interest.
well the republicans are no better than the democrats. you keep waiting until we have no choices and you don't initiate spending cuts so you are all the same. My new party is the NRA
You must be in the majority of NRA members that support stronger gun regs.
And you wonder why the Republicans LOST. This is why. They have a perfect opportunity to make a change and what do they do. NOTHING. Unbelievable! Newt recently had a great idea. Give the Democrats an extension and a small raise in the debt ceiling and in return eliminate or cut 10 programs that are wasting money. What are the Republicans doing. NOTHING. They might as well give the Democrats what they want now. If not they might look bad on CNN. Oh No! Republican is a code word for PU$$Y
There in no hurry to solve the debt problem. On Jan 15, 2013, good ole Timmy G. started borrowing from the Federal Employee Pension Fund to pay the bills. Timmy said he would replace the money borrowed when the debt ceiling is raised. Yeah, sure just like they replaced they money borrowed from social security.
While we all were discussing gun control, ole Timmy G. had his hand in the cookie jar.
This is the first intelligent words I have heard from Republicans for over a year!
I'm a Republican and believe me there is no intelligent life in Washington and certainly none in the Republican party. What ever happened to the men that stormed the beaches of Iwa Jima. We could use them now.
Like it or not congress has already incurred this debt and OWES this money to our debtors. Suggesting doing anything other than honoring our debt is nothing short of dishonest. Purposely avoiding paying our debt would damage our good standing and make doing business in the future more expensive through higher interest rates. Apparently some of you have never run a business before. It works the same as when you owe for charges on your credit card. If you're late, it cost you a lot more in the long run. Working on solutions to reduce our debt going forward is another issue altogether. Quite frankly I don't think Republicans in congress can afford the public backlash if they obstruct, they are already on the voters sh*t list.
"Do Nothing" isn't working for ya, GOP Con gress? Is it?
well here go the gutless wonders again. nobody will stand up to that (LEADER) HHHHHha ha in the white house. there careers are more important, then doing anything for our country. what a sham.
The GOP putting TWO WARS on the credit card for oil and lithieum, and expecting the tax breaks for big business and the top 5% and take social security and medicare away after the miidle class has paid for it ,this is more reason to help destroy the middle class, vote REPUBLICAN !!!!!!
Wake up you idiots. It is called a negotiation. They have to start somewhere.
There was no negotiations needed when the GOP raised the debt limit 18 times under Reagan and 15 times under GW Bush!
Yep. Kick that can down the road some more. Because this "strategy" has worked so well in the past (fiscal cliff), I can see why Congress is so willing to accept this non-solution. How "bout you just get to work and do your jobs for a change.
The debt is 100% the responsibility of the Republicans. They have, for over three decades, intentionally run up the debt as part of their "starve the beast" philosophy. That tactic has completely failed in its objective to reduce the size of government (in fact GW Bush massively increased the size of the federal government, even creating a new cabinet level bureaucracy) however they have succeeded in running up a huge debt.
Below is a right winger ADMITTING that their strategy is to INTENTIONALLY increase the debt.
Peter17
“The real winner with this legislation is the Tea Party and Grover Norquist. Their mission has NEVER been to protect the top 2% or anyone else. It is to force the end to "Big Government" in Washington DC.
The Tea Party was born because neither Democrats or Republicans were ever in the mood to cut spending and reduce the size of government. By handing out the pork to the folks back home, they kept on getting re-elected. That means the TP needed a different approach, and they found one - "Starve the Beast". If you cannot get Congress to pass legislation to lower spending, prevent them from raising the tax revenue needed to run "Big Government". Therefore they oppose tax increases of any kind on anyone. Less money will eventually mean smaller government.
So what does Obama do?? He makes almost all the Bush tax cuts permanent, cutting federal tax revenue over the next 10 years by $4 trillion. The TP probably cannot believe it because Obama has signed a "death warrant" on big government. Can you imagine anyone voting to raise taxes by trillions of dollars any time soon??? Not likely. The only way to get the country onto some kind of sustainable financial course now will be even more trillions of spending cuts than people were anticipating. Say goodbye to big government over the next 10-20 years. There now is no way to fund even a scaled back big government in Washington DC, thanks to Obama.”
It's been interesting watching the GOP/TP in their attempt to commit "Suicide by Stupidity" the last few months. They just can't handle they lost the WH, 10 House Seats, and two Senate seats last Nov.
The GOP vs TP infighting will start to get interesting. C-span should show them in a cage matchs!
Ryan wasn't he just complaining about kicking the can down the road, even did a little sing song about it? Ryan you are a hypocrite and your Ayn Rand beliefs tell us all we need to know, protect the rich at all costs and the hell with the rest of us!
The republicant party: a mind is a terrible thing to waste, wish between you all you had one sound mind, oh that's right you drum anyone out of the party that has any rational thought, or is willing to compromise for the good of the country!
Hey republicants the country has spoken start doing your jobs, not for big money groups the lobbyists, Grover Norquist or the NRA!
Is Obama a hypocrite for wanting to expand the debt ceiling? What about when he said that expanding the debt limit was unpatriotic?
It really doesn't matter to me and most others if the Dems feel the GOP is being obstructionist. I am sure the constituents that have GOP senators and congressmen/women view it as representing their interest and trying to restore some fiscal sanity in Washington. So since we have already incurred the bills, we have to pay them THIS time. Going forward, Congress and the President are going to have to make a commitment to reduce spending in all areas. What is troubling is that our nit wit President and Reed don't think we have a spending problem.