Obama Budget Is Dismissed by G.O.P. and Attacked by Left

Obama Budget Is Dismissed by G.O.P. and Attacked by Left

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR 1:43 PM ET

Speaker John A. Boehner accused President Obama of holding entitlement programs hostage for tax increases while some liberals vented their own anger over the plan. 

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR

Published: April 5, 2013

WASHINGTON — The House speaker, John A. Boehner, on Friday waved aside reports that President Obama would seek a new budget compromise next week, accusing the president of again demanding tax increases in exchange for “modest entitlement savings.”

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“If the president believes these modest entitlement savings are needed to help shore up these programs, there’s no reason they should be held hostage for more tax hikes,” Mr. Boehner said. “That’s no way to lead and move the country forward.”

At the same time, liberals quickly vented their anger about Mr. Obama’s plans, saying they would not accept changes to Social Security and Medicare that would threaten the programs and harm beneficiaries.

“Evidently the president either does not understand or does not care how critically important Social Security and Medicare are, not just to seniors but to middle-aged and younger workers for whom these programs are likely to be even more crucial,” said Eric Kingson, co-chair of the Strengthen Social Security Coalition.

The sharp reaction was a preview of what is likely to come on Wednesday when the president formally unveils his budget.

The New York Times reported on Friday that the document would call for a deal similar to the final compromise offer Mr. Obama made to Mr. Boehner last year before talks fell apart — cuts to entitlement programs in exchange for new revenues from tax increases.

Among those cuts is a change in the way inflation is calculated for Social Security, called “chained C.P.I.” An administration official said that “things like C.P.I. that Republican leaders have pushed hard for will only be accepted if Congressional Republicans are willing to do more on revenues.”

Republicans quickly dismissed that idea, noting that the C.P.I. change also raises some revenue for the treasury and should not be used as an excuse for other tax increases. Mr. Boehner said that the president had “never lived up to his rhetoric” about being willing to cut entitlement programs.

“In reality, he’s moved in the wrong direction, routinely taking off the table entitlement reforms he’s previously told me he could support,” Mr. Boehner said in the statement. “That’s no way to lead and move the country forward.”

Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House majority leader, also seemed unimpressed. On CNBC’s “The Squawk Box,” he said that if the president agreed with Republicans about some entitlement changes, he should agree to make them without additional tax increases.

Mr. Cantor said he did not understand “why we just don’t see the White House come forward and do the things that we agree on.” But he added: “I am in a wait-and-see mode as to whether this White House is really serious.”

Liberals, however, are not waiting.

Some of the president’s staunchest supporters expressed outrage months ago when Mr. Obama first proposed changing the way inflation is calculated for Social Security. Many Democrats are also against cuts to Medicare that officials said will be embraced in Mr. Obama’s budget.

On Friday, several liberal organizations suggested that the president was unnecessarily giving in to Republican demands for entitlement cuts.

“President Obama’s plan to cut Social Security would harm seniors who worked hard all their lives,” said Anna Galland, the executive director of Moveon.org. “Under this plan, a typical 80-year-old woman would lose the equivalent of three months’ worth of food every year. That’s unconscionable.”

Ms. Galland added: “It’s even more outrageous given that Republicans in Congress aren’t even asking for this Social Security cut. This time, the drive to cut Social Security is being led by President Obama and Democrats.”

For the president, the budget proposal — which comes two months later than the president is required by law to release the budget — appears to be another attempt to test whether Republicans could accept further tax increases under any circumstances.

Mr. Boehner’s reaction suggests that a deal would most likely be elusive, in part because Republicans remain suspicious about how far the president is willing to go in making serious entitlement cuts that will anger his supporters.

The reaction from both sides demonstrates how little space there is in Washington for a bipartisan deal when it comes to taxing and spending issues.

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