UPDATE: House Speaker Boehner will release a plan tomorrow.
Word from House Speaker John Boehner’s call with House Republicans is that he’ll have details Monday -– not today -- of a new proposal to cut spending and raise the debt ceiling, reflecting the principles of the "Cut, Cap and Balance" plan the House passed last week.
Boehner also assured his members that there are no secret talks going on with the White House, according to participants on the call. Boehner told those on the call that a "grand deal" isn't possible with President Barack Obama.
House Speaker John Boehner warned House Republicans that avoiding a federal default will require some of them to make sacrifices, a participant in his conference call said. Mr. Boehner didn't specify what those sacrifices might entail, but he reminded his members that avoiding default requires a vehicle that can pass the Democratic Senate.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor indicated in his remarks during the conference call that Republicans don’t want to give President Barack Obama a debt-ceiling deal that lasts past the 2012 elections. Mr. Cantor called the president's insistence on a deal that carries through the election purely political and indefensible.
Mr. Boehner framed the situation this way: The president wants a $2.4 trillion debt-limit increase all at once with no guarantees of cutting an equal amount of spending.
According to Washington Times reporter Emily Miller, Boehner told House Republicans earlier, "If we stand together as a team, our leverage is maximized, and they have to deal with us."
Another debt ceiling deadline has passed as Congress and the President didn't meet Speaker Boehner's request for a new debt plan by 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, however, talks are ongoing as Obama is meeting with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi at the White House at 6 pm to try and come up with something. GOP leaders weren't invited to talks at the White House, making a bipartisan deal look even more unlikely today. The Wall Street Journal is reporting Harry Reid may be coming up with a "back-up" plan that would cut $2.5 trillion over the next 10 years in exchange for an immediatte $2.5 incease in the debt ceiling.
