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House GOP Signals Little Progress In 'Frosty' Deficit Meeting With Obama


First Posted: 06/ 1/11 03:42 PM ET Updated: 06/ 1/11 04:26 PM ET

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans left Wednesday's meeting with President Barack Obama with no signs of seeing eye-to-eye on how to resolve the country's debt and deficit woes.

Republicans had a "very frank" and "productive" discussion with Obama on the debt limit, deficit reduction and jobs, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said after the meeting. Boehner released a statement earlier Wednesday signed by more than 150 economists backing GOP calls for spending cuts that exceed any increase in the debt limit.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said he urged Obama to focus on economic growth in the debt limit debate and reiterated that tax hikes are still off the table in deficit negotiations. It is "counter-intuitive to believe that you increase taxes on those in the business entities you're expecting to create jobs," Cantor said.

Rank-and-file GOP lawmakers filtering out of the meeting had mixed responses.

Asked to describe the mood of the meeting, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) told reporters, "Frosty is the word."

Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.), when asked if he would give the meeting a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down, replied, "Both."

One GOP lawmaker refused to attend the meeting because he didn't want to be "lectured."

Story continues below

"I don't intend to spend my morning being lectured to by a president whose failed policies have put our children and grandchildren in a huge burden of debt," Rep. Jeff Landry (R-La.) said in a statement. "Until the President produces a responsible deficit reduction plan, I'm not going to the White House to negotiate with myself."

Some had a more positive take: Rules Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) said the meeting was "a great time," while Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said a White House visit "is always worth it."

About half a dozen Members spoke during the meeting. Several lawmakers said the most notable exchange was between Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Obama, when Ryan demanded that the president stop referring to his Medicare overhaul proposal as a voucher plan. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) later tweeted that Ryan got a standing ovation for doing so.

"They were talking about Medicare and how to properly describe that it was not a voucher plan," Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) said of their dialogue. He called it "a great exchange."

Ryan tamped down on the idea that the conversation was testy.

The GOP Medicare proposal has been "misdescribed by the president and many others," Ryan said. "So we simply described to him precisely what it is we've been proposing so ... in the future he won't mischaracterize it."

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney later disputed that Obama has ever misrepresented the GOP proposal. "It is a voucher plan," Carney said during his daily briefing. "What you call it and what it is doesn't change a thing.... It is what it is."

Despite the partisan clashes, some GOP lawmakers said the meeting helped Republicans feel heard by Obama.

"Any day Democrats and Republicans are having a dialogue is a good day," said House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).

Murphy said the fact that everyone was in the same room together was a good step, even though the bottom line is that many will be looking to Obama to reach common ground with them going forward.

"I'm a psychologist," Murphy said. "Let me just say I think it was good for them emotionally. Good group therapy."

But, he added, "We've got a long way to go."

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WASHINGTON -- House Republicans left Wednesday's meeting with President Barack Obama with no signs of seeing eye-to-eye on how to resolve the country's debt and deficit woes. Republicans had a "ver...
WASHINGTON -- House Republicans left Wednesday's meeting with President Barack Obama with no signs of seeing eye-to-eye on how to resolve the country's debt and deficit woes. Republicans had a "ver...
 
Jim Wallis: you can do deficit reduction and poverty reduction at the same time
RT : With unemployment rising and interest rates rising, there's zero reason for DC to be focused on deficit reduction.
9 hours ago from web
With unemployment rising and interest rates rising, there's zero reason for DC to be focused on deficit reduction.
Moody's highlights need 4 immediate deficit reduction plan, POTUS needs to focus on our debt; harms economy & job growth
1 day ago from web
Minoriity Whip Steny Hoyer said of raising debt limit and deficit reduction: "the markets have got to know we're gonna get this done."
1 day ago from web
Lack of "substantial deficit reduction" could "prompt Moody's to change its outlook to negative on the Aaa rating."
1 day ago from web
Carney: We think debt limit/deficit reduction issues are on track to get done at the same time.
1 day ago from web
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COMMUNITY PUNDITS
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peacekitten   10:35 PM on 6/01/2011
ryan's plan wants to defund the part of the president'­s plan that prevents health insurance companies from turning you down for pre-existi­ng conditions­. now, if that provision is gone, and health insurance companies can turn you away for such things, but you're out there with a useless voucher for health care, it becomes MUCH more cost effective to use your voucher to pay as  Read More...
7 minutes ago (5:54 PM)
I will stop saying voucher program when you stop saying Obamacare.
I will stop saying medicare killing bill when you stop calling my political party the Democrat Party and start calling it the Democratic Party.

I will stop using scare tactics when you get Sean Hannity to tone it down.

I have endured the rabid talk show hosts and hyperbolic rhetoric of the Right Wing for too long.
I will be glad to have a discussion when you are ready.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
champagne charlie
Ayn Rand and social Darwinism are Just wrong!
7 minutes ago (5:53 PM)
So "the job killing health care bill' is OK but calling a voucher plan a voucher plan is wrong. Gotta love the right!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
glojet
10 minutes ago (5:51 PM)
would a voucher by any other name smell as foul?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Daniel Kemetick
The lib who has common sense
23 minutes ago (5:38 PM)
AWWWW poor baby!!!! Mr Ryan, you have nothing to lose with this program, you will be taken care of. Stop trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poor. to your friends the Koch brothers and tell them to pay extra into Medicare. See how far that flies.
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hardlyhikin
vidi, vici, veni.
53 minutes ago (5:07 PM)
" It is "counter-i­ntuitive to believe that you increase taxes on those in the business entities you're expecting to create jobs," Cantor said."

To me it seems intuitive that if you purposely cut off a good portion your revenue stream and thereby build in a deficit in your budget, you will get a business community that views the growing deficit with alarm.

That's exactly what we have done and it's a huge reason why we have the deficit that we have.

If you mitigate the effects of the Bush Tax cuts by going back to Clinton era tax rates, and get out of the wars in Iraq and Afghanista­n, most of the deficit goes away. Plus, I would guess the business community would quickly get over their (justified­) fear of the deficit because it would disappear and they would begin to hire people again.

Without, I might add, taking one red cent from Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

Republican­s like to preach that there is only one way to reduce the national debt, I posit that there are at least 14 trillion ways; let's look for ways that do the most for Americans and less for the wealthiest among us.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
glojet
8 minutes ago (5:53 PM)
agreed! the private sector is ruthless and they just send jobs oversees anyways..r­epublicans are intent on ruining the quality of life and safety net programs for middle class workers
54 minutes ago (5:07 PM)
COUPON FOR A CASKET
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
Yarrr
3 hours ago (3:12 PM)
It's a coupon system. You are given coupons, which don't cover a fraction of the cost of treatment, and you can shop around!

Maybe we can have incentives as well. 10 punches on your card gets you a free root canal.
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Weeweed Up
Does this bio make me look fat?
1 hour ago (4:32 PM)
DON'T BE RIDICULOUS­!!! Ryan's plan doesn't include dental care, just dentures :)
54 minutes ago (5:07 PM)
hahahaha nice
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
UserNameJane
My Micro-bio is better than your micro-bio
3 hours ago (2:35 PM)
The Goppers are no more than selfish little children, Its ok for the too slander Obama with ObamaCare, but how dare you say my plan is bad,,, jebus, they are so thinned skinned is sickning
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
Yarrr
3 hours ago (3:13 PM)
All the more reason to slander them mercilessl­y.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Daniel Kemetick
The lib who has common sense
21 minutes ago (5:40 PM)
AMEN!
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hardlyhikin
vidi, vici, veni.
49 minutes ago (5:12 PM)
Exactly. Fanned
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
WarrenPease
It's a long story; like my birth certificate.
4 hours ago (2:06 PM)
Politician­s are acting more like advertisin­g executives­. In advertisin­g and marketing, products are "repositio­ned," i.e. the spinmeiste­rs try to get people to see the product from a different perspectiv­e. They put a cap on a pickup truck and say it's the new station wagon.
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Weeweed Up
Does this bio make me look fat?
4 hours ago (1:58 PM)
Too bad Kevorkian is dead. He could've been the spokeman for Ryan's plan to show the alternativ­e to providing health care for most Americans.
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Weeweed Up
Does this bio make me look fat?
4 hours ago (1:55 PM)
Waaaa Waaa Waaa, says Ryan! Stop the name calling! When have the Republican­s EVER used a slogan or mischaract­erized anything about the Democrat's position? Never, right?
4 hours ago (2:11 PM)
... and calling Ryan's plan a "voucher" is neither a slogan nor a mis-charac­terization­.
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Weeweed Up
Does this bio make me look fat?
4 hours ago (2:19 PM)
It is a fact. Funny, remember when janitors were once referred to as "maintenan­ce engineers"­? Same thing. The GOP wants us to have selective memory.
5 hours ago (1:08 PM)
Any bill that a Republican pushes this ardently cannot be good for the American people.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
ShanaJuly
3 hours ago (3:15 PM)
Exactly...
5 hours ago (1:03 PM)
Stop calling my plan a voucher plan! I'm getting upset! You communist, socialist, terr-ist, Kenyan, America-ha­ter.......­........

Apparently the bile is only supposed to flow from the Right.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
maxwelldog
even if i don't go anywhere, I'll still be late.
4 hours ago (1:45 PM)
maybe he's just miffed by the slight.
After all, he's been driving "Obamacare­" so hard...
was it too much to expect a proper nomenclatu­re?
RYANVOUCHE­RPLAN.
See?
Was THAT so hard?

(you know, I had to add that to my "dictionar­y" but, for some reason...
I think it's going to be worth it)

d=^))
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
UserNameJane
My Micro-bio is better than your micro-bio
3 hours ago (2:37 PM)
As I just stated above.. F and F
31 minutes ago (5:30 PM)
I WILL stop calling it a voucher plan. Let's call it the Doucher's Plan.

Hate that expression­, but sometimes you gotta hold yer nose and tell it like it is.
5 hours ago (12:54 PM)
Lets call it out for what it is: paying for health care with coupons. It's nothing more than another big giveaway to the bloated health care industry.
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Finnegans Wake
riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shor
6 hours ago (11:44 AM)
Ryan demanded that the president stop referring to his Medicare overhaul proposal as a voucher plan.

==========­==========­==========­==========­==

Wahhhhhhhh­h. Quit being meany-cats and telling people the truth about my plan.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
davegstein
5 hours ago (1:26 PM)
Okay Ryan...let­s stop calling affordable health care act Obamacare.­Oops...too late....