PRESS RELEASE
GOP Steps Up Push for Deal with Obama
To Carry Out Catfood Commission Diktats
Feb. 2, 2011 (EIRNS)—Proponents of the genocidal budget cuts proposed by President Obama's Catfood ("fiscal") Commission continued to press for an alliance between Tea Party Republicans and the White House, in order to force through such draconian austerity measures. If Obama is not quickly forced out of the White House, these fascist schemes could become a reality.
Yesterday morning, almost one-half of U.S. Senators attended an 8:30 A.M. briefing on the debt crisis, with many openly talking about bringing Obama to the table with the new House GOP majority, according to Politico. "I think we will make it easier for him [Obama] to jump in," said Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) gushed that "if we can bring the White House to the table on Social Security, the House will be there."
A few hours later, at a Senate Budget Committee hearing, Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), who has been calling for a budget summit with the White House, said: "What I said at the last hearing, I think even more strongly today. It has to start somewhere. And in a Congressional process, we are it... I think we have to prepare ourselves to begin crafting a plan here." Conrad's scenario is that the annual spring budget resolution would be expanded to 10 years and would effectively adopt the deficit reduction targets set by the Catfood Commission.
Even deeper cuts are projected in a bill introduced on Tuesday by Senators Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), which would phase in a federal spending cap of about 20% of GDP over ten years. This would require even deeper cuts in Social Security and Medicare than those sought by the Catfood Commission, Associated Press reports. Many Senate Democrats immediately denounced the McCaskill-Corker bill.
Another scheme, coming from Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), seeks to transform the Commission's report into legislation. "You have to start with a document. You have to start with something," Warner said, and Chambliss made clear that all elements, including revenues, have to be part of the mix. "We've got to have a comprehensive package," Chambliss told Politico. "There is no silver bullet. Fixing Social Security will not do it. Raising taxes won't do it. Spending cuts won't do it. You have to have all of the above. It's going to take every leg of the stool being on the table for debate."
