Democrats, Republicans seem more ready to compromise on deficit deal
Published November 12, 2012
Democratic and Republican leaders appeared Sunday to draw closer to reaching a compromise on keeping the country from going off the fast-approaching “fiscal cliff” -- with closing tax loopholes for America’s highest earners emerging as the potential middle ground.
Republican Sen. Bob Corker suggested that getting more revenue from the country’s highest-earners should be part of the mix but only by closing loopholes, not increasing taxes, and only if Democrats agree to cut federal spending.
"I am optimistic," Corker said on "Fox News Sunday." "I think there is the basis for the deal.”
The Tennessee senator also said party leaders could find likely compromise on generating revenue but the real challenge will be cutting back on such government programs as Social Security and food stamps, known as entitlements.
Economists and others warn the country could go over the fiscal cliff in January when tax cuts for many Americans expire while nearly $1 trillion in federal cuts begin.
The automatic, across-the-board cuts are the result of Congress and the White House failing to compromise on a more measured way to cut the federal deficit.
Congress is under pressure to reach a deal in its so-called lame duck session because an estimated $600 billion in federal spending cuts and tax increases take effect at the end of December. And President Obama has invited congressional leaders to the White House on Friday to discuss the issue.
The president wants to extend tax cuts for families that make less than $250,000 annually.
New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer said Sunday he agrees with House Republicans who steadfastly say more cuts to federal spending are needed. However, he disagreed with the idea that tax cuts result in deficit reductions and increased government revenue.
“It doesn't make sense,” he said on NBC's "Meet the Press. “I call it Rumpelstiltskin, after the gnome who turned straw into gold. It's a fairy tale.”
David Axelrod, a top adviser on Obama’s reelection campaign, said he was encouraged by House Speaker John Boehner signaling willingness last week to close the loopholes to help cut the deficit.
“I think there are a lot of ways to skin this cat, so long as everybody comes with a positive, constructive attitude toward the task,” he said on CBS's "Face the Nation."
A similar plan was suggested by the commission created by Obama and led by Republican Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowles.
Democrat Kent Conrad, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee also expressed optimism but suggested Congress agree on plan that would at least give lawmakers enough time to reach a more comprehensive deal to overhaul the entitlement program and the tax code.
"You can't settle every detail in these next few weeks,” he said on Fox. “What you can do is agree on a framework."
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Israeli Air force strikes multiple terror targets in Gaza
Attacks ordered after terrorists fire more than 30 rockets at southern Israel and after an earlier attack injured four soldiers near the border
By AP and TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF November 11, 2012, 4:11 am
The IDF targeted a weapons manufacturing facility, two weapons storage facilities, and two rocket-launching sites in the northern Gaza Strip early Sunday morning, the IDF Spokesman’s Office reported.
The air strikes came in response to a barrage of rocket fire from Gaza Saturday night, during which southern Israel was bombarded by more than 30 rockets and mortars.The cross-border fire followed an earlier terrorist attack that injured four soldiers, two of them severely.There were no reports of injuries in the rocket fire, although a woman in Ashdod broke her leg running to a safe area as a rocket alarm sounded.
A car took a direct hit in a town in the Sha’ar Hanegev region adjacent to the Gaza Strip.Schools were ordered closed Sunday in the town of Gan Yavne. Commercial traffic through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into Gaza was also canceled.
The IDF targeted a weapons manufacturing facility, two weapons storage facilities, and two rocket-launching sites in the northern Gaza Strip early Sunday morning, the IDF Spokesman’s Office reported.
The air strikes came in response to a barrage of rocket fire from Gaza Saturday night, during which southern Israel was bombarded by more than 30 rockets and mortars.The cross-border fire followed an earlier terrorist attack that injured four soldiers, two of them severely.There were no reports of injuries in the rocket fire, although a woman in Ashdod broke her leg running to a safe area as a rocket alarm sounded.
A car took a direct hit in a town in the Sha’ar Hanegev region adjacent to the Gaza Strip.Schools were ordered closed Sunday in the town of Gan Yavne. Commercial traffic through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into Gaza was also canceled.
The mayors of Ashdod and Ashkelon were deliberating early Sunday morning whether or not to open schools.
Rockets fell in the Hof Ashkelon and Eshkol regions, with at least one rocket reported to have landed near a kibbutz. One rocket hit a power line in a town in the Eshkol region, causing local power outages.
Alarms also sounded in the Ashdod and Ashkelon areas. The Iron Dome missile defense system shot down three rockets heading toward residential areas in Ashdod and Ashkelon.
Residents of communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip were told to remain within 15 seconds of sealed rooms or other safe areas.
Residents of communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip were told to remain within 15 seconds of sealed rooms or other safe areas.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the IDF had responded severely to the terrorist fire and will consider additional responses in the upcoming
days.“We will not let such border incidents go unanswered,” said Barak.
days.“We will not let such border incidents go unanswered,” said Barak.
Earlier Saturday the IDF reported that it targeted and hit a rocket-launching squad in the northern Gaza Strip just after the squad had fired rockets. The spokesperson’s unit did not report on casualties. Palestinian sources said one member of the squad was killed and one was injured; they said the crew were likely from Islamic Jihad.
Palestinian media reported that Islamic Jihad’s military wing, the al-Quds Brigades, claimed responsibility for the majority of the rockets fired at southern Israel, while the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s Abu Ali Mustafa Brigade and various other factions claimed responsibility for the remainder.
Hamas said it had ordered its facilities evacuated in anticipation of the air strike.
The dramatic escalation came after an anti-tank missile fired from the Gaza Strip struck and penetrated an Israeli army jeep patrolling some 200 meters inside the Israeli border with Gaza, injuring four soldiers on Saturday evening.
Retaliatory strikes by the IDF against terrorists in the Gaza Strip left four Palestinians killed and roughly 30 wounded.
Ashraf al-Kidra, a Gaza health ministry spokesman, said all four Palestinians killed were civilians between the ages of 16 and 18 and that among the wounded were some children.
Ashraf al-Kidra, a Gaza health ministry spokesman, said all four Palestinians killed were civilians between the ages of 16 and 18 and that among the wounded were some children.
In a text message to reporters, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum threatened to respond.
“Targeting civilians is a dangerous escalation that cannot be tolerated. The resistance has the full right to respond to the Israeli crimes,” he said.
The upsurge in rocket attacks followed soon after.
A statement issued by Hamas, which rules Gaza, said all Israeli military targets were “legitimate” objects of attack.
A senior Islamic Jihad official said, following the attack on Gaza, that Gaza terrorist groups “will not give the Zionist enemy calm for free.”You Might Also Like::
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