Politico...
Kent Conrad: Short
term debt hikes may be needed
By David Rogers
5/9/11
With Senate Budget Committee action stalled, Chairman Kent Conrad said
Monday that his goal remains to cut projected deficits by $4 trillion
over the next decade but Congress may need to raise the debt ceiling in
short-term increments before the plan can be put in place by the end of
this year.
“In order to have a credible plan completed,” the North Dakota Democrat
told reporters, “I can see a circumstance in which there would be some
short term [increase in the debt ceiling] so the overall plan can be
given the consideration that it deserves.”
“I could see something that carried you toward the end of the year so
that the overall plan has a chance to be put in place by the committees
of jurisdiction.”
“I will not support any long term extension of the debt without a
credible plan to deal with the debt, and by credible plan, I don’t mean
on just the spending side of the equation,” Conrad said. He conceded
that the chances of his committee acting this week are now “low” but
his basic construct of what constitutes that plan has not changed
despite continued divisions over how to get there.
“I think it takes something that is a blueprint for where we have to go
as a country to get this debt threat off our backs,” Conrad said. “And
I believe that is a package of about $4 trillion of debt reduction from
what would otherwise occur in the next 10 years.”
Conrad doubles as both Budget chairman and as a key player in the
Senate’s bipartisan “Gang of Six” which was to meet again Monday
evening on its own effort to meet the same 10-year goal of about $4
trillion in deficit reduction.
This standard was first set by the presidential debt commission report
in December on which Conrad and three other members of the Gang of Six
served. But that commission—like Conrad—insisted that new tax revenues
be part of the picture together with spending cuts—something hard to do
without more support from Republicans.
Conrad has all but conceded that he doesn’t expect GOP support now for
his budget plan, but that puts a huge burden on his committee Democrats
who may be reluctant to commit themselves to such a large $4 trillion
undertaking without Republican votes. These Democratic concerns could
yet force the chairman to scale back his proposal just to get out of
committee. But from his comments late Monday, he hadn’t yet made that
decision.
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