In the end?
The Debt ceilling WILL BE raised….
There WILL be some budget cuts…..
There WILL be angst and posturing….
There WILL a piece of paper for President Biden to sign…..
All this IS quite Normal….
Top White House officials and Republican lawmakers were closing in on Thursday on a deal that would raise the debt limit for two years while capping federal spending on everything but the military and veterans for the same period. Officials were racing to cement an agreement in time to avert a federal default that is projected in just one week.
The deal taking shape would allow Republicans to say that they were reducing some federal spending — even as spending on the military and veterans’ programs would continue to grow — and allow Democrats to say they had spared most domestic programs from significant cuts.
Negotiators from both sides were talking into the evening and beginning to draft legislative text, though some details remained in flux.
“We’ve been talking to the White House all day, we’ve been going back and forth, and it’s not easy,” Mr. McCarthy told reporters as he left the Capitol on Thursday evening, declining to divulge what was under discussion. “It takes a while to make it happen, and we are working hard to make it happen.”…
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The amount offered in a cut would be 1/8th of the $80 Million allocated to the IRS …..
Negotiators have been at loggerheads over GOP demands that would substantially cut federal spending on programs such as nutrition assistance, rental aid and scientific research, which White House aides fear could spark a revolt among Democrats.
Aiming to minimize those cuts, Biden aides have instead opened the door to repurposing some of the $80 billion approved last year for the IRS as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. It is unclear exactly how much the final agreement might strip from the IRS, but one of the people familiar with the matter said it is unlikely to be more than $10 billion. White House officials think the potential cuts would not compromise the administration’s goals to significantly improve enforcement actions against wealthy tax cheats and boost the agency’s customer service, according to a third person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reflect internal deliberations.
The concession could give House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) a key victory to sell to his conservative base, which had already sought to remove the IRS funding. Any reductions in the IRS budget could also mean less savings, since increased funding to the tax collector ultimately reduces the federal deficit by bringing in additional revenue.
And any measure to reduce the IRS funding could alarm Democrats in Congress and around the country. But one person familiar with the matter referred to the IRS changes as likely minimal and a “fig leaf” to help McCarthy sell the deal to his base….
Biden won’t resort to the 14th Amendemnet for the Budget/Debt deal….
He’s telling Democrats to stop shopping this in the media….