White House, GOP draw red lines in debt debate

(AP) White House, GOP draw red lines in debt debate
By ANNE FLAHERTY
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
Struggling for the upper hand in the next round of debt talks, Republicans and Democrats this weekend drew lines in the sand they said they’d never cross when it comes to the U.S. debt limit.

The tough talk on the Sunday morning talk shows doesn’t bode well for voters who are frustrated by the political gridlock.

Last week’s deal to avert the combination of end-of-year tax increases and spending cuts known as the “fiscal cliff” held income tax rates steady for 99 percent of Americans but left some other major pieces of business unresolved.

By late February or early March, the Treasury Department will run out of options to cover the nation’s debts and could begin defaulting on government loans unless Congress raises the legal borrowing limit, or debt ceiling. Economists warn that a default could trigger a global recession.

Also looming are deep automatic spending cuts expected to take effect at the beginning of March that could further erase fragile gains in the U.S. economy. Then on March 27, the temporary measure that funds government activities expires, and congressional approval will be needed to keep the government running. That’s one more chance to fight over spending.

Republicans say they are willing to raise the debt ceiling but insist any increase must be paired with significant savings from Medicare, Medicaid and other government benefit programs. President Barack Obama has said he’s willing to consider spending cuts separately but won’t bargain over the government’s borrowing authority.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi made a similar remark Sunday in insisting the two issues _ raising the debt ceiling and reducing spending _ shouldn’t be coupled.

But Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said spending cuts would have to be part of the equation if the proposal was to get any kind of GOP support.

McConnell on Sunday suggested Republicans were prepared to see the nation default on its spending obligations.

Meanwhile, Democrats said further tax increases for the wealthiest Americans were still possible as Congress looks to close the gap between revenues and expenditures. They say Obama has already agreed to significant spending cuts, and that the latest deal only gets the nation to about half of the revenue it needs to resolve the red ink.

But McConnell bluntly declared that the “tax issue is over” after last week’s agreement.

McConnell spoke on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” ABC’s “This Week” and CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Pelosi was on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Durbin and Graham appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union.”