Despite an eventful week of trading offers within President Obama’s 12-member “supercommittee,” reported breakthroughs have since been downplayed, indicating that the bipartisan panel is stalling yet again with just two weeks before its Nov. 23 deadline.
On Monday, Democrats proposed a plan that would cut $2.3 trillion from the nation’s deficit, including $1 trillion in hiked revenues. Republicans, for the first time, countered by reducing including revenues by lowering Democrats’ proposed figure to $300 billion.
Earlier in the week, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) applauded the proposal put forth by Republican panel members, saying that this was a great starting point.
“I assume that what we heard from Republicans is a breakthrough that can lead to an agreement, and that’s what we need,” Durbin told reporters Wednesday.
However, not all Democrats share Durbin’s sentiment and argue that the “breakthrough” was not a genuine attempt to reach a deal.
Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.), the remaining two Senate Democrats on the panel, say that the shift from Republicans only reflects minimal changes and do not “raise revenues in a significant way to bring us to a fair [and] balanced proposal.”
To make matters worse, Senate leadership continue to trade barbs over who’s to blame for the committee’s slowed progress. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) continues to point his finger at Grover Norquist, saying Republicans fear potential repercussions of acting contrary to his anti-tax pledge. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has criticized Democrats and the White House for stalling in order to give the President a chance to run opposite a “do-nothing” Congress.
Up to this point, the 12-member panel has shown flexibility with the two sacred cows that have been major factors in creating an impasse within the committee; entitlement programs and taxes. Lawmakers have indicated that, despite recent concession from both parties regarding these key issues, there continues to be a large gap that has stalled movement towards a final deal.
“Republicans have put revenues on the table. Democrats have put entitlements on the table,” Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said, according to the Associate Press. “They both need to more of each on the table.”