Friday, July 8, 2011
The New York Times reports that Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl backs away from a deal to shave $4 trillion from the deficit because it involves tax hikes:
For all the battles over the budget, the meeting on Thursday was, by all accounts, cordial and businesslike. Mr. Obama, seated between Mr. Boehner and the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, told the lawmakers he would not sign an interim deal, only one that extended through the 2012 election.
Then he surveyed the eight leaders about their preference for three deals of different sizes — the largest being up to $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade, according to aides briefed on the discussion.Six of the eight expressed their support for the biggest deal, the aides said. But Representative Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, and Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, favored the midrange $2 trillion, voicing doubts about how they could sell a $4 trillion deal to their rank and file, officials said, since it would involve tax increases.
Sen. Kyl: If you're serious about deficit reduction, you need to show some leadership within your party.
Tags: kyl , obama , debt , deficit reduction , debt ceiling