Klobuchar: Grand bargain on deficit still within reach

There is still time for Republicans to find common ground with the White House and congressional Democrats for a grand bargain on the deficit, a top Senate Democrat said Sunday. 

When asked point-blank on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” whether she believed a grand bargain could be reached, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) replied: "I do." 

"The American people will not stand for this anymore," said of the fiscal stalemate that has blocked lawmakers from a deal. 

"There are [several] things we can do" to trim government spending, such as closing a number of corporate loopholes in the current tax code ,while ensuring critical social welfare programs remain viable, she added. 

However, House and Senate Republicans would have to acknowledge that tax increases must be part of that equation, she insisted. 

Klobuchar’s optimism was matched by Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker, who told “Fox News Sunday” that he sees a four to five month window in which to obtain a grand deficit bargain.  

“I think Republicans if they saw true entitlement reform would be glad to look at tax reform that generates additional revenues," said Corker. 

But "that doesn't mean increasing rates that means closing loopholes, that . . . means arranging our tax system so that we have economic growth,” he added. 

Their comments come after President Obama’s week-long effort to reach out to lawmakers from both parties. The president visited Capitol Hill to speak with Democrats and Republicans from both chambers on a wide range of issues, but with a focus on building a framework to reach a deficit deal.

Despite those efforts, House Majority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) remained unconvinced either side will be able to come together on a large-scale deficit deal. 

“I don't know whether we can come to a big agreement,” said Boehner in an Sunday interview on ABC’s “This Week.” 

“If the president doesn't believe that the goal oughta be to balance the budget over the next ten years-- I don't-- not sure we're gonna get very far,” he added. 

But the battle between congressional Republicans and the Obama administration does not mean House and Senate lawmakers cannot come up with their own bipartisan plan, according to Boehner. 

"Hopefully, we can go to conference on these budgets and hope springs eternal in my mind,” Boehner said.

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GOP Senator: Republicans Are Open To Tax Increases In Grand Bargain

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN)

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) believes Senate Republicans would be open to increasing revenue through tax reform as part of a “grand bargain” to reduce the deficit. During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Corker argued that entitlement reform should be a top priority, but left the door open to reaching bipartisan consensus on deficit reduction in the next few months.

In past negotiations, the GOP leadership has repeatedly walked away from the table due to unwillingness to reach an agreement that included more revenue and, since the fiscal cliff deal, Republican leaders have insisted that the “the discussion about revenue … is over.”

Host Chris Wallace asked whether Corker and his party would be open to a compromise that include tax increases:

CORKER: I think there–by the way–is a chance on a deal. I know the president is saying the right things and we have an opportunity over the next four-to-five months. I think that we’ll know when the president is serious by virtue of a process is setup where he is actually at the table or he has a designee and whether he begins to say publicly to the American people, to all Americans, that he understands that Americans are only paying one-third of the cost of Medicare and that has to change for the program to be here down the road. But look, Chris, I think Republicans — if they saw true entitlement reform — would be glad to look at tax reform that generates additional revenues. And that doesn’t mean increasing rates, that means closing loopholes. That also means arranging our tax system so that we have economic growth. And I think we’ve been saying that from day one.

Sen. Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL), also on the program, praised Corker’s comments as “honest and constructive,” and noted that the savings need to be done in a way that does not obliterate the system, as would be the case in the “Paul Ryan voucher approach.”

Corker is exaggerating the problems facing the Medicare program. According to the program’s 2012 annual trustee’s report, Medicare’s dedicated revenue fully pays for its costs and will do so until at least 2024. Even then, revenue will cover 87 percent of Medicare costs. At the current pace, by 2086, revenue would only be sufficient to cover 69 percent of costs — but even that 75-year figure would be more than two-thirds of the program’s costs.

The Affordable Care Act both reduced the costs of Medicare by hundreds of billions and improved its coverage for seniors. He has also recommended specific reforms that would save $57 billion annually from Medicare (more even than recommended by the Bowles-Simpson commission) and hundreds of billions in entitlement savings overall.

House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) poured cold water on the idea of increasing taxes during an appearance on Meet The Press, saying, “There are no new tax increases because you don’t need it.”

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