White House to House GOP: The Ball’s In Your Court

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the ongoing debt ceiling debate in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington on July 5, 2011.
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The White House is squarely backing a proposal by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) that would raise the debt limit through 2012 while making $2.7 trillion in spending cuts — and providing no tax revenue.

The onus is now on Republicans to sign onto Reid’s deal or continue to test the financial markets’ stability as the clock runs down on the Aug. 2 deadline to raise the nation’s borrowing limit or face default.

“Sen. Reid’s plan is a reasonable approach that should receive the support of both parties, and we hope the House Republicans will agree to this plan so that America can avoid defaulting on our obligations for the first time in our history,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement Monday afternoon. “The ball is in their court.”

President Obama had been pushing for a grander bargain — a deal that would reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over ten years by cutting domestic and Pentagon spending, making adjustments to entitlement programs such as Medicare, closing tax loopholes and raising taxes on the wealthy.

That working proposal won support from Democrats and Republicans in the Senate last week, and the White House was trying to convince House Republicans to sign on until Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) walked away from the talks, accusing the President of moving the goal posts and pushing for an additional $400 billion in revenue raisers from the tax stream.

“Now, faced with the “my way or the highway,” short-term approach of the House Republicans, Sen. Reid has put forward a responsible compromise that cuts spending in a way that protects critical investments and does not harm the economic recovery,” Carney said. “All the cuts put forward in this approach were previously agreed to by both parties through the process led by the Vice President.”

Reid’s plan also meets the “contrived dollar-for-dollar criteria” Republicans have demanded, as well as removing the chance of a default and its impact on the economy through 2012, the White House said.

“The plan would make a meaningful down payment in addressing our fiscal challenge, and we could continue to work together to build on it with a balanced approach to deficit reduction that includes additional spending reforms and closing tax loopholes for corporations, millionaires and billionaires,” Carney added.

Follow this reporter on Twitter: @susancrabtree

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