-Senate Majority Leader Reid: GOP Has Not Offered Any Proposals
-Sen. Reid on Boehner: ‘I Don’t Understand His Brain’
-Sen. Schumer: GOP Has Offered ‘Nothing, Nothing, Nothing’ In Talks
-Sen. Schumer: Boehner Has Offered Only Soundbites, Cliches On Revenues

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – In an angry and defiant response to Republican
charges about Democratic intransigence in the fiscal cliff talks, Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid and his leadership team Thursday ripped into
Republican leaders, saying they’ve offered only soundbites and cliches
during the first phase of budget talks.

“Let them come forward with something,” Reid said at a briefing.

Reid said the Democratic position is that the House should pass a
bill approved by the Senate this summer that would extend Bush era tax
cuts for those making $250,000 or less.

He said this would save about $1 trillion over a decade from the
GOP plan to extend all the Bush era tax cuts.

When asked to respond to a comment made earlier in the day by House
Speaker John Boehner about Democratic intransigence on the fiscal cliff,
Reid offered a quip that succinctly explains the current impasse.

“I don’t understand his brain,” Reid said.

Reid said Democrats will not offer any additional ideas until the
GOP offers a specific proposal.

“We are not going to negotiate with us,” Reid said.

Reid said Boehner is very familiar with the types of spending cuts
and entitlement reforms that are under consideration. “We’ve had rounds
of talks.”

He added any fiscal cliff deal must include an increase in the debt
ceiling.

Reid was joined at his briefing by Senate Majority Whip Dick
Durbin, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Patty Murray.

Schumer said he is “confident” that a fiscal cliff deal will come
together by Christmas and predicted that major Republican concessions on
taxes will be forthcoming.

But he said the GOP has not offered anything yet.

“We need a specific proposal from them. Republicans have not
offered one specific proposal,” he said. “They’ve offered nothing,
nothing, nothing,” Schumer said.

** MNI Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **

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