Obama Warns Super Committee Co-Chairs Not To Change Triggers In Deal

WASHINGTON -- With the deadline fast approaching for the congressional super committee to make its deficit reduction recommendations, President Barack Obama phoned the committee's two co-chairs on Friday to urge swift action.

The White House released a sparse summary of the president's separate phone calls to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), made from aboard Air Force One. But one detail notably stood out.

The President also made clear that he will not accept any measure that attempts to turn off part of the sequester. The sequester was agreed to by both parties to ensure there was a meaningful enforcement mechanism to force a result from the Committee. Congress must not shirk its responsibilities. The American people deserve to have their leaders come together and make the tough choices necessary to live within our means, just as American families do every day in these tough economic times. The President urged the leaders to get this done.

There has been a lot of chatter on the Hill about changing the parameters of the trigger currently in place so that the cuts to the defense budget -- that would be made a year after the committee fails to reach a deal, should it fail to reach a deal -- would be softened. And the expectation among Democrats is that enough lawmakers within their party would join with Republicans to do just that.

The president's congressional outreach on Friday reaffirmed the White House's stance: that the triggers were put in place for a reason and shouldn't be adjusted. But the fact that Obama felt the need to make the point again, both privately over the phone and publicly in the form of a White House statement, suggests that the administration, too, is feeling the pressure to make changes.

In a briefing with reporters on Thursday, a senior administration official explained the president's thinking on this front. "Our view has always been that Congress should do its job," the official said. "These trigger mechanisms serve a purpose, which is to force action and we have always been opposed to efforts to take away the consequences for Congress' failure to act."

Added another official at the same briefing: "They just voted on this a couple months ago. To me, this is an issue where folks are looking for an easy off-ramp. Our view is the only way to avoid the sequester is to do the job that they have been mandated to do."

Comments

[treadway123]

12:17 PM on 11/13/2011

I don't remember the Constitution allowing our Government to HIRE a Super Congress with in our Congress that ALL americans have a right/duty to hire ONLY 1 sitting Congress to work as a whole!

[Michaela19801]

02:10 PM on 11/13/2011

Congress would still vote on any agreement they come to .

This only prevents a filibuster.. if they come to any agreement which is doubtful

[whirlybird]

11:30 AM on 11/13/2011

A stupor committee composed mostly of the 1%. Is there really any doubt how this will turn out?

[treadway123]

12:15 PM on 11/13/2011

you know that 9% approval they enjoy? Well it will be 0% if they can't do this one job considering what has happened in the past 18 mo in congress! A lot of jobs on the line here!

[whirlybird]

04:06 AM on 11/14/2011

I dunno. The only thing worse than their inaction...is when they actually do something!

[buddbo1]

02:50 AM on 11/13/2011

I hope the Demos find their spines and make sure this committee doesn't cut a highway in the budget for more tax breaks towards the rich. The tax codes should be adjusted more fairly so that corporations, and the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes at the same rate as the middle class. There should be an elimination of the loop holes which prevents their paying their fair share !

[OldKatt]

12:44 AM on 11/13/2011

With all due respect. Congress is a bunch of spoiled, manipulative brats.

[Michaela19801]

02:11 PM on 11/13/2011

No respect is due, that's ok

[ForVivi]

08:23 PM on 11/12/2011

Super-committee = less government officials to be bought off by lobbyists.

[Okillia]

08:12 PM on 11/12/2011

Nobody seems to remember that the end of the Cold War came about because Russia put too much of its spending towards it military to the point that it bankrupted the country. We are simply traveling down that same road.

[Wong23]

06:54 PM on 11/12/2011

Defense contractor lobbyists are desperate to stop the mandatory cuts to programs that a post-Cold War America neither needs nor can afford.

It is not surprising that more than a few Democrats are in their pockets along with all the GOP

[Wong23]

06:40 PM on 11/12/2011

Finally,.. the President is showing leadership and certainty about what needs to be done and the path to get there.

This is the Obama I voted for.

[Profficer1979]

08:03 PM on 11/12/2011

Wong 23:

In my view, he never went anywhere.

[liberalcomesfromliberty]

10:19 PM on 11/12/2011

The Obama I voted for is the one that has performed exactly the way the President is performing that's why he will absolutely get my vote again.

[panobuz]

07:18 AM on 11/13/2011

I agree but with one (huge) exception, he should have let the Bush tax cuts expire.

[richinkle]

09:25 AM on 11/13/2011

The president that I voted for will not agree to any plan that allows the Bush Tax Cuts for the Wealthy to be extended ever again. That was his pledge, and he must fulfill it.

[SaveRMiddle]

06:32 PM on 11/12/2011

The triggers are a joke. Set up to kick in January 2013. That's pressing.

Gotta love the Obama threats. Free re-election press. It's going to be a long year.

[spacedoggg]

06:20 PM on 11/12/2011

If there's no cuts in defense then there should be no cuts in entitlement spending.

[OldKatt]

12:47 AM on 11/13/2011

That's such common sense, that I'm sure it's lost on these 12 stooges.

[jabber60]

06:18 PM on 11/12/2011

I HOPE OBAMA STAYS IN HIS HOME STATE! TAKE A YR'S VACATION MR PRESIDENT, YOU EARNED IT!MAYBE BY THE IME VACATION IS OVER, THE JOBS WILL COME BACK!

[spacedoggg]

06:20 PM on 11/12/2011

idiot.

[Wong23]

06:42 PM on 11/12/2011

F&F

[shakylegs]

11:53 AM on 11/13/2011

No, wait. Even though Jabber60's comment was incoherent, he does have a point. Name just one thing he has accomplished since the Health Care bill. Obama is rapidly becoming irrelevant.

[BOBINMO]

06:27 PM on 11/12/2011

They are coming back.Didnt FOX tell you that?

[spacedoggg]

06:16 PM on 11/12/2011

Congress is just entirely useless.

[littleblackcat]

07:17 PM on 11/12/2011

Um Hm!

Groups: We have a

FLOCK of sheep.
HERD of cattle.
MURDER of crows
GAGGLE of geese.
PACK of wolves.

and a

CONGRESS of BABOONS.

[OldKatt]

12:54 AM on 11/13/2011

Or even a flaccid of congress.

[election2012]

05:54 PM on 11/12/2011

"[Wall Streets] Big Lie is that banks and investment houses are merely victims of the crash. Indeed, the arguments these folks make fail to withstand even casual scrutiny. But that has not stopped people who should know better from repeating them."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/what-caused-the-financial-crisis-the-big-lie-goes-viral/2011/10/31/gIQAXlSOqM_story.html?wprss=rss_economy

[alohageedub]

06:07 PM on 11/12/2011

When you saw mortgage ad's for no down payment, no employment or income verification, what did you think was going to happen. Where was the SEC, FTC, bank regulators all the other "Government" watch dogs during all this. Where was Congress, after all they were repeatedly warned! How many of the banksters have been prosecuted?

[election2012]

06:14 PM on 11/12/2011

I just assumed that those ads were fraudulent.

[cjjanis]

06:15 PM on 11/12/2011

There are banksters being prosecuted, the problem being when they passed the Gramm/Leach/Biley act they made much of what these crooks did legal or dam near impossible to track down. Credit swaps notes for example are non-reported, only the buyer and seller know of the deal. This lack of regulations was compounded by Bush who made it clear regulations would not be a high priority during his run.

[Erdgeist]

05:53 PM on 11/12/2011

The problem is not out of control spending as the Republican allege - it is an irresponsible tax policy that rewards the rich while forcing the middle class to make a choice between 'having less' or 'having nothing'.

[BOBINMO]

06:26 PM on 11/12/2011

True. The spending issue is just a smoke screen.

[shepony]

09:52 PM on 11/12/2011

...and the Repubs actually think we can't see through it.

[GJCO-JMH]

06:16 PM on 11/13/2011

correction:

In other words, even if tax revenue increased another $500 Billion to what it was in 2000 (with no small thanks to the Housing and DotCom bubbles) we'd still have run a $1.3 TRILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT due to increases in spending.

[GJCO-JMH]

06:13 PM on 11/13/2011

Wrong.

"The federal budget picture has collapsed over the past decade. In 2000, Washington collected $2.6 trillion, spent $2.3 trillion and ran a $300 billion surplus. One decade later, in 2010, Washington is set to collect $2.1 trillion, spend $3.6 trillion and run a $1.5 trillion deficit (all numbers adjusted for inflation)."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/20/riedl-a-decade-of-historic-spending-increases/?page=all#pagebreak

In other words, even if tax revenue increased another $500 Billion to what it was in 2000 (with no small thanks to the Housing and DotCom bubbles) we'd still have run a TRILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT due to increases in spending.

[alohageedub]

05:39 PM on 11/12/2011

That shaking felt in Washington was the Super Committee shaking in their boots.