◼ Debt Negotiations Proceed Without an Adult in the Room; Update: A Reid Plan w/no Tax Increases?
◼ As deadline looms, both parties craft debt plans - Coburn: Short-term deal the ‘only answer’ - Washington Times
Drudge headline: SENATE DEMS CAVE: REID TO OFFER $2.7 TRILLION IN SPENDING CUTS, NO TAX INCREASES...
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he is working on a plan to raise the debt limit by $2.7 trillion, coupled with an equal reduction in projected future spending. In a concession to Republicans, he said that plan would not include tax increases, but that the new debt level would last through the 2012 elections.
That date has become a critical marker for Democrats — so much so that President Obama’s advisers said he would veto any bill that doesn’t last that long.
◼ Boehner preparing to move on debt limit - AP
Officials said Boehner's legislation would likely add about $1 trillion to the debt ceiling, enough to last about six months, accompanied by a slightly greater amount of spending cuts and the prospect of more savings later - in effect a dare to the Senate and Obama to reject it. Those elements were part of a plan that congressional and White House negotiators discussed over the weekend but never completed because of clashes over how the future, deeper spending cuts would take effect.◼ Boehner Weighs Balanced-Budget Amendment
"I would prefer to have a bipartisan approach to solve this problem," Boehner said on Fox News Sunday. "If that is not possible, I and my Republican colleagues in the House are prepared to move on our own."
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner told fellow Republicans on Sunday that he is considering a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution as part of a bill that would raise the debt ceiling, a source who heard his message said.
That could be a sign that the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate remain far apart in tense negotiations to avoid an Aug. 2 default.
