President Obama and a bipartisan group of congressional leaders failed to reach agreement Friday to avoid the steep budget cuts known as the sequester, reductions that Obama denounced as “arbitrary” and “dumb.”
In a news conference at the White House after the meeting, Obama blamed congressional Republicans for the impasse, saying they insist on preserving what he described as tax breaks and loopholes for the well-off and well-connected.
“We shouldn’t be making a series of dumb, arbitrary cuts to things” that businesses and workers depend on, Obama said. “It’s unnecessary, and ... it’s inexcusable.” While “not everyone will feel the pain of these cuts right away,” he cautioned, “the pain ... will be real.”
Predicting that the cuts would “cause a ripple effect throughout our economy,” Obama said: “The longer these cuts remain in place, the greater the damage to our economy.” He said it would amount to “a slow grind” that would accelerate with each passing day, eventually costing more than 750,000 jobs and reducing economic growth by at least one-half of 1 percent.
After meeting with Obama for about an hour, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), one of the participants, told reporters that Republicans continue to disagree with Obama’s prescription of revenue increases as part of a “balanced approach” to resolve the issue.
“The discussion about revenue, in my view, is over,” Boehner said. He said the problem is federal spending that must be curbed. He also said the House would move a continuing resolution next week to fund the government past March 27 and avert a government shutdown. He then walked away without taking any questions.
In his news conference, Obama charged that the sequester is “a choice that Republicans in Congress have made,” because they “refuse to budge on closing a single wasteful loophole.” He added: “There is a caucus of common sense on Capitol Hill. It’s just a silent group right now.”
Ultimately, Obama said, “my view is that common sense prevails,” and that both parties eventually will move forward on a comprehensive plan that also addresses entitlement reform and tax reform.
But right now, “this is not a win for anybody,” he said. “This is a loss for the American people.”
He said later: “We will get through this. This is not going to be an apocalypse. It’s just dumb, and it’s going to hurt.”
Ahead of the meeting, convened on the day that the cuts are due to take effect, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) effectively dashed any remaining hopes for a sequester-averting agreement, saying that “there will be no last-minute, back-room deal and absolutely no agreement to increase taxes.”
Also participating in the White House meeting were Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
House Republicans are already turning their attention to the next deadline on March 27, drafting a measure that would avoid a government shutdown while leaving the sequester in place through the end of September.
Obama, congressional leaders fail to reach deal on sequester
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Obama, congressional leaders fail to reach deal on sequester
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