For all the talk and reports of Obama demanding congressional leaders come up with a plan by the weekend, the Republicans have come up with numerous plans: Paul Ryan’s Plan for Prosperity budget proposal and a more immediate Cut, Cap & Balance Act to deal with our debt and deficit, just to name a few. Where’s the Democrat plan?
Well, we found that out in one buried report by Andrew Stiles in the National Review yesterday. Their plan is to spend more, even as we burst through the debt ceiling, they can’t restrain the addiction!
In an interview with National Review Online, Senate minority whip Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.) explains that even at the height of national concern over the country’s debt and deficit problem, Democratic negotiators are insisting that additional spending measures be included in a deal to increase the debt limit.
In discussions this week, Kyl says, Democrats proposed extending unemployment insurance for another 99 weeks at a cost of $43 billion. In addition, they requested another $10 billion to spend on research projects overseen by the National Institutes of Health. Democrats have not, Kyl says, offered to offset the new spending with additional cuts.
These measures come on top of the increased spending Democrats proposed in negotiations led by Vice President Joe Biden, which included a $33 billion increase in Pell Grant funding and $27 billion — a number Kyl says was never explained and is much higher than Republican estimations — for the so-called “doc fix” to restore Medicare payments to physicians.
Can you believe that?! This is another important piece of info you’re not hearing from the media at large, but thankfully, Levin also discussed this on Thursday’s program…
