U.S. President Barack Obama and opposition Republicans have called on each other to offer "serious" plans to solve the nation's financial problems.
The two sides appear far from agreement, and face an August 2 deadline to raise the $14.3-trillion legal limit on the amount of money Washington can legally borrow.
During his weekly address on Saturday, Obama challenged Congress to share what he called his willingness to compromise in solving the debt problem. He said any solution should be a shared sacrifice.
Earlier, Obama said he is willing to consider cuts in popular social programs, including pensions and health care for the elderly, and aid to veterans. In return, the president wants Republicans to vote for higher taxes on wealthy Americans and large corporations.
In the Republican weekly address, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah rejected the president's suggestion of a tax increase and blamed Democrats for the financial mess. Senator Hatch also advocated a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution as the only long-term solution to restraining government spending.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican John Boehner, said Friday the House will vote next week on a $2.4-trillion measure to raise the debt ceiling. The Republican-sponsored measure is intended to cut spending, cap expenditures and seek to amend the constitution to require balanced budgets.
President Obama said getting such major cuts without new revenue will require unacceptably deep cuts in programs that are vital to many Americans. He also said elected officials do not need a constitutional amendment to make the tough spending decisions that are a key part of their jobs.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
leave comment for this article...