–In Interview With Iowa Paper, Obama Sees $4T Deficit Deal In Reach
–Getting Deal Will Be ‘Messy,’ Won’t Be ‘Pleasant’
–Fiscal Cliff Will Be Key ‘Forcing Mechanism’
By John Shaw
WASHINGTON (MNI) – President Obama said this week he’s “absolutely
confident” that if re-elected he will be able to secure a sweeping $4
trillion deficit reduction agreement.
In an interview Tuesday with the Des Moines Register, Obama said
the fiscal cliff provides a “forcing mechanism” to bring both sides to
the negotiating table to resolve “what is the central ideological
argument in Washington right now and this is: How much government do we
have and how do we pay for it.”
The White House released Wednesday the transcript of the
president’s interview with the editorial board of the Des Moines
Register.
In the interview, Obama said he believes a big deficit deal can be
reached in the first six months of 2013.
“It will probably be messy. It won’t be pleasant. But I am
absolutely confident that we can get what is the equivalent of the grand
bargain that essentially I’ve been offering to the Republicans for a
very long time,” he said.
“We can credibly meet the target that the Bowles-Simpson Commission
established of $4 trillion in deficit reduction and even more in the
out-years,” the president said.
The fiscal cliff refers to the convergence of several significant
events: the expiration of the Bush era tax cuts and dozens of other tax
provisions at the end of this year; the first round of across-the-board
spending cuts that are scheduled to begin in January; and the need to
increase the statutory debt ceiling in the coming months.
** MNI Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **
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