With no real compromise in sight on a 2011 budget, lawmakers are growing frustrated with President Obama, saying he failed to take a leadership role to help resolve the months-long fiscal stalemate. “The president ought to play a much greater role,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., following a closed-door meeting of the Democratic caucus Tuesday that centered on the budget. “I think the president doesn’t want to be engaged in this kind of fight, and it’s not right. He has to step up.”
The Senate was scheduled to hold test votes by early Wednesday on two competing measures that would fund the remaining seven months of the fiscal year, but neither bill was expected to garner the 60 votes needed to pass.
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“It’s back to the negotiating table,” said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.
The Republican bill, which passed the House earlier this month, would cut $61 billion from the budget through September, the end of the fiscal year, stripping money from dozens of agencies and programs. The Democratic measure introduced in the Senate would trim $6.5 billion, leaving a $54.5 billion gap that neither party is willing to bridge at this point.
Feinstein’s comments followed a floor speech by freshman Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, in which Manchin questioned the wisdom of holding votes on the two doomed spending proposals and who criticized President Obama’s lack of involvement in the budget standoff.
“Why are we doing all this when the most powerful person in these negotiations — our president — has failed to lead this debate or offer a serious proposal for spending and cuts that he would be willing to fight for?” asked Manchin, who is up for re-election in 2012 and is considered politically vulnerable.
Obama last week tapped Vice President Biden to head bipartisan budget talks. Biden showed up in the Senate for an hourlong meeting and then departed for a weeklong overseas trip.
“I don’t know of anything that came out of Biden’s visit,” Feinstein said.
Another frustrated Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, said his party is not even discussing a compromise plan.
“There was no discussion about a path [to compromise] and I’m not sure there is a path,” Nelson said.
Democratic and Republican aides said talks continue between other White House officials and congressional leaders from both parties.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., both defended Obama’s efforts to end the budget stalemate.
“The president’s engaged in this,” Reid said. “He’s got a few other problems … with what’s going on in the Middle East and many other things.”
The government is operating on a two-week funding measure, “a continuing resolution,” that expires March 18, and House Republicans say it’s likely lawmakers will have to pass another stopgap bill lasting two to four weeks to give Congress more time to work out a deal that would fund the government through Sept. 30.
