–Senate Majority Leader: GOP Budget Would ‘End Medicare As We Know It’
–Sen. Reid: Dems Won’t Let GOP ‘Weaken’ Medicare
–Senate Minority Leader: ‘Stark’ Differences Remain on Issue of Taxes
–Sen. McConnell: GOP Will Push For July Vote On Balanced Budget Amend
–President Obama, VP Biden To Meet With Senate Dems Weds Afternoon

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Underscoring the fact that the current state of
budget negotiations is partisan positioning, Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took turns
Wednesday blasting the fiscal agenda of the other party.

In speeches on the Senate floor, both Reid and McConnell advanced
budget criticisms they have been making about the other party for
months.

Speaking first, Reid pounced on the budget of House Budget
Committee Chairman Paul Ryan which most Senate Republicans voted for
this spring in the Senate.

Reid said Medicare provides critical services to 47 million
Americans and must be protected. But he said Republicans are trying to
dismantle the program, adding the Ryan budget would effectively destroy
the program.

“Today Medicare is under siege. Republicans would trade away the
health and safety of today’s seniors for the sake of tax breaks for
billionaires, wealthy oil companies and corporations that ship jobs
overseas,” Reid said.

Reid said the GOP’s “ideological budget would end Medicare as we
know it.”

Reid said Democrats will resist the GOP’s attempt to “weaken and
undermine Medicare.”

Following Reid, McConnell hammered the White House and
congressional Democrats for a massive “spending spree.”

McConnell said Democrats are continuing to push additional taxes as
part of a deficit reduction plan that would be linked to the debt limit
vote. He said some Democrats are also talking about the need for another
stimulus package.

“The differences are stark” between the two parties on the issue of
taxes, McConnell said, adding that the budget debate so far has “done a
lot to clarify” the fiscal philosophies of both parties.

Democrats, he said, want to keep spending money and boost taxes.
“They want to borrow and spend more money as a solution to the problem.
This isn’t a negotiation. It is a parody. In a discussion about debt,
they want to increase spending,” McConnell said.

He said Republicans will continue to resist tax increases and will
demand deep spending cuts as a part of any debt limit agreement.

McConnell also said that all 47 Senate Republicans support a
balanced budget constitutional amendment and will push for a Senate vote
on the amendment after the July 4th holiday.

He said the constitutional amendment would provide a “spending
straightjacket.”

House Republicans have scheduled a vote on a balanced budget
amendment in the House the week of July 25.

The U.S. has already reached its $14.29 trillion debt ceiling.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said that Congress must pass
legislation increasing the debt ceiling by August 2. Treasury may adjust
this deadline by a day or two on Friday.

Obama is holding a press conference at 11:30 a.m. ET Wednesday and
fiscal issues are expected to be the central topic.

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will meet with Senate Democrats
at 3 p.m. today to discuss budget matters.

Budget talks led by Biden sought to develop a deficit reduction
package that could be developed to coincide with this summer’s vote on
debt ceiling legislation.

Democrats in the Biden budget talks argued that additional revenues
should be part of the discussion. Republicans have said tax increases
should not be part of the talks.

Budget experts expect high volume budget jousting to continue, but
also expect quiet talks to resume on the fiscal framework that Biden
developed during six weeks of budget talks with congressional leaders.

According to one member of the Biden group, Republican senator Jon
Kyl, the talks led by the vice president identified between $1 trillion
and $1.5 trillion in discretionary savings and between $500 billion and
$1 trillion in entitlement savings over a decade.

Kyl said the Biden talks broke down over a Democratic push to
include about $400 billion in additional revenues.

Several budget experts have predicted the final deficit reduction
deal that Obama negotiates this summer will be based on the Biden
framework, but will make adjustments to secure Republican support.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **

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