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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Boehner on sequester: 'I don't think anyone quite understands' how it ends | Boehner on sequester: 'I don't think anyone quite understands' how it ends |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Billions of dollars in sequester-induced budget cuts appear set to stay for the time being, with leading political figures in Washington indicating no early resolution to the impasse, as they eye next year's congressional elections. | Billions of dollars in sequester-induced budget cuts appear set to stay for the time being, with leading political figures in Washington indicating no early resolution to the impasse, as they eye next year's congressional elections. |
| John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, said on Sunday he saw no path to agreement with the president over the $85bn in automatic cuts, about half to military spending, that kicked in on Friday after the two sides failed to agree a package of budget reductions and tax rises to tackle the deficit. | John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, said on Sunday he saw no path to agreement with the president over the $85bn in automatic cuts, about half to military spending, that kicked in on Friday after the two sides failed to agree a package of budget reductions and tax rises to tackle the deficit. |
| "I don't think anyone quite understands how it gets resolved," he said on NBC's Meet the Press. | "I don't think anyone quite understands how it gets resolved," he said on NBC's Meet the Press. |
| Pressed on why he does not agree to the president's demand to increase revenues by closing tax loopholes, Boehner turned the question around and accused Barack Obama of failing to keep his side of the implicit bargain that higher taxes already agreed should be matched with spending cuts. | Pressed on why he does not agree to the president's demand to increase revenues by closing tax loopholes, Boehner turned the question around and accused Barack Obama of failing to keep his side of the implicit bargain that higher taxes already agreed should be matched with spending cuts. |
| "The president got $650bn of higher taxes on the American people on January the first. How much more does he want? When is the president going to address the spending side of this?" said Boehner. | "The president got $650bn of higher taxes on the American people on January the first. How much more does he want? When is the president going to address the spending side of this?" said Boehner. |
| "You can't tax our way out of this problem. We've got to deal with the spending side, just like every American family has to." | "You can't tax our way out of this problem. We've got to deal with the spending side, just like every American family has to." |
| Boehner said he made the same point at a "very frank" but polite meeting with the president on Friday. | Boehner said he made the same point at a "very frank" but polite meeting with the president on Friday. |
| Obama emerged from the encounter saying he saw little prospect of an agreement with Republicans in Congress in the near future. The president, apparently with one eye on the 2014 mid-term elections, predicted that it will take public opinion to shift the GOP. | Obama emerged from the encounter saying he saw little prospect of an agreement with Republicans in Congress in the near future. The president, apparently with one eye on the 2014 mid-term elections, predicted that it will take public opinion to shift the GOP. |
| "What I can't do is force Congress to do the right thing," he said after the meeting. "The American people may have the capacity to do that." | "What I can't do is force Congress to do the right thing," he said after the meeting. "The American people may have the capacity to do that." |
| Obama suggested that voters, sick of lurching from one financial crisis to another, will pressure their representatives. | Obama suggested that voters, sick of lurching from one financial crisis to another, will pressure their representatives. |
| "After some reflection, as members of Congress start hearing from constituents who are being negatively impacted … that they step back and say, all right, is there a way for us to move forward on a package of entitlement reforms, tax reform, not raising tax rates, identifying programmes that don't work, coming up with a plan that's comprehensive, and that makes sense," he said. | "After some reflection, as members of Congress start hearing from constituents who are being negatively impacted … that they step back and say, all right, is there a way for us to move forward on a package of entitlement reforms, tax reform, not raising tax rates, identifying programmes that don't work, coming up with a plan that's comprehensive, and that makes sense," he said. |
| "It's going to mean hundreds of thousands of jobs lost. That is real. We're not making that up. That's not a scare tactic, that's a fact." | "It's going to mean hundreds of thousands of jobs lost. That is real. We're not making that up. That's not a scare tactic, that's a fact." |
| The president has said he did not know how long it will take for the cuts to shift the Republican position. | The president has said he did not know how long it will take for the cuts to shift the Republican position. |
| "It may take a couple of weeks. It may take a couple of months," he said. | "It may take a couple of weeks. It may take a couple of months," he said. |
| Gene Sperling, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Obama called a select group of Republican members of Congress on Saturday who may be more likely to consider "tax reform that raises revenues to lower the deficit". The president also spoke to Democrats open to tackling entitlement spending long-term. | Gene Sperling, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Obama called a select group of Republican members of Congress on Saturday who may be more likely to consider "tax reform that raises revenues to lower the deficit". The president also spoke to Democrats open to tackling entitlement spending long-term. |
| But the Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, said his party will not be backing down and remains committed to $1.2tn in spending cuts over the next decade without increasing taxes. | But the Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, said his party will not be backing down and remains committed to $1.2tn in spending cuts over the next decade without increasing taxes. |
| "I'm absolutely confident we're going to reduce spending the amount of money we promised the American people we would in a law the president signed a year and a half ago," he told CNN. | "I'm absolutely confident we're going to reduce spending the amount of money we promised the American people we would in a law the president signed a year and a half ago," he told CNN. |
| "We said we're open to discussing how to reconfigure those spending reductions without raising taxes … So far I haven't heard a single Senate Republican say they would be willing to raise a dime in taxes to turn off the sequester." | "We said we're open to discussing how to reconfigure those spending reductions without raising taxes … So far I haven't heard a single Senate Republican say they would be willing to raise a dime in taxes to turn off the sequester." |
| A report in the Washington Post on Sunday suggested that Obama had all but given up on attempts to push for bipartisan solutions to problems in Washington. Instead he was focusing on winning back the House in next year's mid-term elections to force through his remaining agenda. | A report in the Washington Post on Sunday suggested that Obama had all but given up on attempts to push for bipartisan solutions to problems in Washington. Instead he was focusing on winning back the House in next year's mid-term elections to force through his remaining agenda. |
| But McConnell said he does not think voters will be swayed against Republicans. | But McConnell said he does not think voters will be swayed against Republicans. |
| "The American people look at this and say: gee, I've had to cut my budget more than this – probably on numerous occasions over the last four years because we've had such a tepid economy now for four long years," he said. | "The American people look at this and say: gee, I've had to cut my budget more than this – probably on numerous occasions over the last four years because we've had such a tepid economy now for four long years," he said. |
| Boehner said he did not know what the long term effect of the sequester will be. | Boehner said he did not know what the long term effect of the sequester will be. |
| "I don't know whether it's going to hurt the economy or not. I don't think anyone quite understands how the sequester is really going to work," he said. | "I don't know whether it's going to hurt the economy or not. I don't think anyone quite understands how the sequester is really going to work," he said. |
| Still, the Republican leaders kept the door open to further negotiation at least on how the sequester cuts are distributed. They are keen to reduce the impact on the military and shift more of the burden to welfare spending which is already severely hit. | Still, the Republican leaders kept the door open to further negotiation at least on how the sequester cuts are distributed. They are keen to reduce the impact on the military and shift more of the burden to welfare spending which is already severely hit. |
| "We're willing to talk to him (Obama) about reconfiguring the same amount of spending reduction over the next six months," said McConnell. | "We're willing to talk to him (Obama) about reconfiguring the same amount of spending reduction over the next six months," said McConnell. |
| Boehner said he did not think the spending crisis would reach the point of a government shutdown later this month, and that Congress will approve the funding to keep federal agencies open after March 27. | Boehner said he did not think the spending crisis would reach the point of a government shutdown later this month, and that Congress will approve the funding to keep federal agencies open after March 27. |
| "We should not have any talk of a government shutdown so I'm hopeful that the House and Senate will be able to work through this," he said. | "We should not have any talk of a government shutdown so I'm hopeful that the House and Senate will be able to work through this," he said. |
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