WASHINGTON, D.C. (MCT) — The co-chairs of the congressional debt-reduction committee seemed doubtful on Sunday that the panel would reach a deficit-reduction accord by Monday’s deadline, each blaming the other party’s unwillingness to budge on the issues of taxes and entitlement spending.
In separate appearances on television talk shows, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said they held out hope for last-minute progress, but saw little chance of the impasse being broken.
“Nobody wants to give up hope. Reality is to some extent starting to overtake hope,” Hensarling said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Unfortunately, what we haven’t seen in these talks from the other side is any Democrat willing to put a proposal on the table that actually solves the problem.”
“There is one sticking divide, and that is the issue of what I call shared sacrifice, where everybody contributes in a very challenging time for our country,” Murray said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “That line in the sand, we haven’t seen any Republicans willing to cross yet.”
Wednesday is the deadline for the 12-member Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to vote on a deficit-reduction package of at least $1.5 trillion. But any plan must be made public 48 hours earlier and be evaluated by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, giving lawmakers little more than a day for a breakthrough.
If no deal is reached, the debt-ceiling accord calls for automatic spending cuts to domestic and defense spending. Whether those would be realized is unclear; Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said on CBS’ “Face The Nation” that it was important to “change the configuration” of the planned cuts to soften the blow on the Pentagon, in particular. Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., said on Fox that it would be “wimpy” to undo the so-called triggers.
