Harry Reid's Takes Entitlements---OFF THE TABLE---Debt Proposal Will Leave Benefits Untouched

[kpete]

Harry Reid's Debt Proposal Will Leave Entitlement Benefits Untouched

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) $2.7 trillion debt ceiling proposal will not include reforms to the benefit structure of entitlement programs, several Democratic sources confirmed on Monday.

The plan, which is being crafted as a last-minute attempt to break through the political impasse on a deficit reduction package, would instead lean heavily on cuts to discretionary spending. The package will also reportedly include roughly $1 trillion in savings that will come from the drawdown of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (which the Congressional Budget Office does score). Reid's office was notably hesitant to confirm that detail, cautioning reporters to wait until the final package is unveiled. That said, if entitlement programs remain more or less untouched in the plan, there would be few other areas from which to draw ten-year savings.

Word that Reid is taking entitlements off the table will come as welcomed news to Democrats who are still smarting from the idea that the party has gone from demanding a "clean" debt ceiling bill to willingly backing $2.7 trillion in cuts without measures to increase revenue.The Obama administration had offered to support an increase in Medicare's eligibility age, the means-testing of certain Medicare programs, cuts to Medicaid benefits and a restructuring of the payments of Social Security benefits as part of a grand bargain with Republicans. GOP leadership ultimately rejected that proposal over complaints that the president was insistent that additional tax revenues be added to the mix to round out the plan.



the rest:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/25/harry-reid-debt-ceiling_n_908596.html

MORE:
REID CATCHES GOP BY SURPRISE
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/07/gop-stumbles-over-surprise-dem-debt-limit-offer.php?ref=fpblg

.............

...while Reid’s plan doesn’t raise taxes, it also doesn’t take tax increases off the table. Currently, the Bush tax cuts are scheduled to expire in 2012. If Reid’s all-cuts plan passes, that still leaves the door open to significant revenue increases.
http://thinkprogress.org/yglesias/2011/07/25/277811/harry-reid-calls-house-republicans-bluff/

[iwishiwas]

1. His proposal is similar to Pelosi's. good for them.

[woo me with science]

23. No. No. No. This is a Trojan Horse Plan.

It contains a Super Congress, which will remove our ability to defend ourselves from future attempts to cut SS and Medicare.

This plan would be a gift to corporate thieves who are trying to change the structure of our representative government to bypass the people and take our money.

[iwishiwas]

29. I missed that one. Sorry but thanks for the head's up.

[mfcorey1]

2. Way to go, Harry!

[SugarShack]

3. good, now they can stop scaring the shit out of everyone!

[ljm2002]

4. The headline says the proposal will leave benefits "untouched"...

...and the text says that it "will not include reforms to the benefit structure of entitlement programs.

As I said in another thread, I hate weasel words. It looks to me like you could drive a truck through that mish mash. In other words, it leaves plenty of room for things like raising the age of entitlement (for example), since one could spin that as not changing the "benefit structure".

Guess we'll have to wait and see. And of course there's a good chance the Republicans won't accept it anyway.

[leveymg]

5. Reid's plan calls for $2.4T cuts in discretionary programs. Still like it?

That's cuts to all federal assistance except SS/MED/Title programs. Most war spending is off-budget "supplementals" - isn't it nice to know that we can still afford to get into new optional wars?

[EFerrari]

7. This is like being in a negotiation without a negotiator.

All our choices are the other side's.

[EFerrari]

6. This is good news. I hope it's accurate. n/t

[BobbyBoring]

8. This whole thing is so simple

Bohener is just dead wrong when he says DC doesn't have a revenue problem. This is something anyone can prove to themselves by doing the following:

If you have a job, reduce your hours or somehow lower your income.

Start spending like a drunken sailor

See what happens

This is what Bush did plain and simple.

I'm so sick of hearing about over taxing teh job producers. If this shit worked, we'd have over employment!

[Uncle Joe]

9. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[Kingofalldems]

10. K and R for good news

[WI_DEM]

11. cry baby Boehner will find a way to oppose it.

[SaveAmerica]

12. R'ing, but dude Reid, you should have done this the day they shut you out of negotiations

[guruoo]

13. Team rope-a-dope. As expected. nt

[myrna minx]

14. K&R n/t

[blkmusclmachine]

15. Welcome if true, but take Reid with a huge grain of salt.

[murielm99]

16. Does Reid have a spine after all?

Let's hope so.

[dawg]

17. A true compromise should leave no one happy.

This sounds like one. Spending cuts in the face of 9% unemployment are not wise, but as long as they involve no cuts to Social Security or Medicare benefits, I think I could live with this. It is the price we pay for losing the House in 2010.

[jtown1123]

18. What about that 12-Member Committee? That's not too reassuring...

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/07/25/the-reid-plan-includes-a-catfood-commission/#comments

[proverbialwisdom]

21. Reid and Schumer didn't mention it during their press conference but BLOOMBERG NEWS did earlier.

EXACTLY!!

[Blue_In_AK]

19. This is good news.

Will it get through the House?

[BlueCheese]

20. The quality of good news has really declined.

Now giving up $2.7 trillion in spending cuts without tax increases is good news, because we don't take a hatchet to SS and Medicare just yet? Two weeks ago, before Obama put up SS and Medicare as bargaining chips, this would have been declared a total victory for the Republicans.

[neoralme]

35. Yep. Total screw-up by the white house.

[DesertFlower]

22. thank you harry. nt

[cstanleytech]

24. This could also be an attempt to force

the GOP to accept the compromise that Obama offered by making it appeal more reasonable, regardless a thumbs up to Reid.

[seeker4ever]

25. Bullshit!

They really think... um know, Americans are idiots. How does this make any sense logically? It doesn't! You can bet this is NOT what it seems!

Remember Harry and Nancy from the Bush years? LOL! C'mon!

[mzmolly]

26. So it's on to the next freak out... "on noes, it's the super congress!!!"

Or, "there are no tax increases for billionaires!"

Obama's time in office is not over. Taxes on the wealthy, will be increased by the time he finishes his second term. ;)

[librechik]

27. I thought Reid's plan has the chained CPI in it, which reduces benes by hundreds-1000s

as you age.

[mzmolly]

30. Why did you think

that?

[trud]

28. Is this from the Onion? n/t

[senseandsensibility]

31. I'm getting whiplash

from following all the items put on and taken off the table. All by our side, of course.

[mzmolly]

32. If one dismisses the rumored table setting vs. the actual table

setting, the whiplash is far less damaging. ;)

[FourScore]

33. Let's hope so, but it doesn't really matter anyway. n/t

[sulphurdunn]

34. Don't add up

Unless my calculations are remiss, if military and security spending are off the table, and "savings" from a reductions in our wars does not materialize, that leaves $270 billion annually (assuming these cuts are to be realized over 10 years) to come out of the 40% of discretionary spending that is not military related, which amounts to about $496 billion of the $1.24 trillion annual discretionary budget and would amount to cuts in annual non-military discretionary spending of 45%.