Boehner Looks To Obama To Help Curb Sequester

Following the collapse of super committee negotiations, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is looking to the Commander-in-Chief to help curb automatic cuts in military spending. 

Though President Obama has already threatened to veto any bill that aims to soften the impact the nation’s defense budget, Boehner continued Thursday to push for curbed sequestration, citing repeated warnings from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta over the detrimental effects cuts would have on the Pentagon. 

“I really believe the president has some responsibilities here as well,” Boehner told reporters. “He is the Commander-in-Chief, he knows what those cuts will mean to the military.”

Boehner, who agreed to the across-the-board cuts when negotiating with Obama on increasing the debt ceiling, is facing growing pressure from his own conference to curb defense cuts. 

“There are a lot of members who are concerned about the defense cuts,” he said. “I understand the concern, but the president is the Commander-in-Chief… I believe there’s a role he plays in this process as well.”

Super Committee Stumbles Two Weeks Before Deadline

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.”