As we reported yesterday, Mitch McConnell went to the White House to cut a debt deal. I imagine that over the past two and a half years, he's learned it's easier to negotiate (meaning get what he wants) when dealing with the President. And, the NYT reports:
The deal they were discussing, this person said, resembled the bill that Mr. Boehner won approval for in the House on Friday more than it did the one that Mr. Reid had proposed.Yep, that does look quite similar to Boehner's bill. Everything has been on the GOP's terms in this debate, since the President pretty much adopted the GOP's debt/deficit talking points.
It would immediately raise the debt ceiling by about $1 trillion, accompanied by a similar range of spending cuts, and set up a new bipartisan committee that would work to find deeper cuts in exchange for a second debt limit increase that would extend through the 2012 election.
A failure of the new committee to win enactment of its proposal could then set off automatic spending cuts across the board, including to entitlement programs.
Here's what Jonathan Karl from ABC News reported some details of the latest incarnation of the deal last night, noting:
The details are still being worked out, and a senior White House aide tells ABC News, "talks continue but there is no deal to report."None of the House Democrats voted for Boehner's bill on Friday. He's going to need some this time for his new bill.
Congressional leaders plan to brief their members on the framework tomorrow. The reaction from both parties' rank-and-file will determine whether this tentative deal becomes a final deal.
