President Obama is aiming to relaunch stalled bipartisan discussions by including cuts to entitlement programs and tax increases in his debt-reduction deal, signaling a drastic shift for the White House that could force Democrats to accept substantial changes to Medicare and Social Security.
Lawmakers have hinted that a possible pact has the potential to save roughly $4 trillion over the next decade. While both sides have expressed optimism, they remain far apart on crucial details that resulted in an impasse during negotiations two weeks ago.
“Obviously, there will be some Democrats who don’t believe we need to do entitlement reform,” a Democratic official with knowledge of the White House’s strategy tells The Washington Post.
“But there seems to be some hunger to do something of some significance. These moments come along at most once a decade. And it would be a real mistake if we let it pass us by.”
A compromise would require congressional leaders from both parties to make sacrifices. Some Democrats have promised to protect social-safety-net programs from government spending cuts, while Republicans do not want tax breaks for the wealthy to expire at the end of 2012.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi have publicly stated that Social Security should not be discussed in debt talks. House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell claim their party will stall action on any proposal involving raised taxes.