In the weeks following the election, the Democrats have done very little to solve the looming fiscal crisis, presenting a budget deal that is “non-serious,” according to Speaker of the House John Boehner.
“The President and the White House have had three weeks and this is the best we’ve got?” Boehner said on “Fox News Sunday” with Chris Wallace.
Boehner spoke with Wallace about reaching a budget agreement that would solve the fiscal crisis. Multiple times during their conversation, the Speaker stressed that the Democrats had not come up with a reasonable budget, expressing his surprise at the proposal they suggested.
“I was flabbergasted,” he said about seeing the proposed budget from Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner. “I looked at him and said, ‘You can’t be serious.’ I have never seen anything like it. You know, we’ve got seven weeks between Election Day and the end of the year and three of those weeks have been wasted with this nonsense.”
Boehner said the Republicans have put forth a genuine offer, but the Democrats have responded with “virtually nothing.” And the increased tax revenue the Democrats are seeking — roughly $1.6 trillion, double what was originally asked for — would not go to paying off America’s debt. “If we gave the President $1.6 trillion of new money, what do you think he’d do with it?” Boehner asked. “He’d spend it.”
The Speaker said Republicans would do everything within their power to make sure America does not go over the fiscal cliff, saying it would be “not fair to the American people.” He added that the issue of the fiscal crisis is not about the two-party system, but about the nation as a whole. When Wallace pressed further about what would happen if the Obama administration did not want to deal with the debt problem, Boehner said they were going to stop it sooner or later.
“I don’t want any part of going over the cliff,” he said. “I’m going to do everything I can to avert that, but we are going to solve America’s debt problem.”
When Wallace asked about the Geithner’s request that Congress give up all power in voting to increase the deficit, Boehner was adamant that it would not happen. “Congress is never going to give up this power,” he said.
Geithner, who appeared on five Sunday morning television shows including “Fox News Sunday,” said Republicans were in a “tough position,” but defended the Democrats’ budget as being “very detailed” and “carefully designed.”
He agreed with Boehner in saying going over the fiscal cliff would be detrimental to the country. “It’s very damaging to the average American, it would be very damaging, and there is no reason it should happen,” the Secretary said. “Again, the only reason why it would happen is if a group of members of Congress decide they’re going to block an agreement because they want to extend tax rates for the rich we cannot afford. That is the only reason it will happen.”
With only four weeks left in the year, and Democrats and Republicans still miles apart, the fiscal cliff is terrifyingly close.
