Fox News
Expand
Browse All Video
Watch Live

You're watching...

Senate Committee reacts to president's fiscal cliff plan

Details

  • Description

    Texas Senator John Cornyn speaks out

  • Duration 6:49
  • Date

Clips

Also in this playlist...

America Live

Auto-advance: ON

Auto-advance
View All

Transcript

This transcript is automatically generated

Good to see if and there's new information about the senate budget committee's reaction.

When Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner outlined the president's proposal yesterday this is the proposal that spend so -- that.

Since it.

First was unveiled.

As Ed just mentioned once -- on the status of negotiations is that the senate -- -- leader Mitch McConnell actually burst into laughter.

Upon hearing the president's plan.

Texas senator John Cornyn who was inside that meeting with our Treasury Secretary joins us now senator welcome back to the program.

Thanks right so Geithner comes up by mr.

Geithner comes up on -- -- with you and is this essentially the plan he put forward.

Yeah -- he he.

-- Geithner can't make this deal -- closes deal this is one the president himself needs to be engaged in and as you point out.

He does continue his campaign.

He needs to come back to Washington sit down with the John Boehner and Mitch McConnell and to -- Take this off the table.

No one in their right mind.

Would be so irresponsible as to threaten to take the American people off this fiscal cliff.

Plunges back into recession.

And a lot of people out out of work so.

This is a very disappointing.

And I'm just I wish we weren't where we are but.

It takes two parties to negotiate in good faith and frankly at the president's been -- -- Do you believe the president wants to go off the fiscal -- Unfortunately the by judging from his behavior.

I'm beginning to believe he does.

And that I think would be a profoundly irresponsible lacked an economist song of all stripes have told us that we will be plunge from the recession.

We don't know in light of this fragile economy.

Whether would be it's a small dip or whether it would spiraled out of control so it's just something we should not be toying with.

That's why it's so discouraging to see the president secretary Geithner.

Increased their demands not come closer together given the fact that our side has put revenue on the table something.

That frankly we don't want to do we know we don't have a just a taxing probably have a spending problem and we see no commensurate.

Action from the president or his party dealing with the the big problems that confront the country particularly.

The unsustainable.

Medicare and Social Security spending.

The president is is not proposing a whole lot of ways proposing no spending cuts right now he says later.

You can talk about a 400 billion dollar.

Savings.

And that he -- entitlement policies that he proposed in his last budget which didn't.

Get any votes.

In favor of it even from Democrats and in the senate.

But he is at least putting that out there this 400 billion dollars in savings that he couldn't get through before.

What are you guys putting out what what -- the proposed spending cuts that the Republicans.

Want.

We'll make it I'm not surprised in my colleague senator McConnell laughed.

At that proposal we've seen this before where were asked for money or right -- who were spending now.

And -- will take care the cuts next year.

It doesn't happen.

And we know that that's not a serious proposal so it does -- really call for I think us to negotiate against ourselves what we need.

Is some realistic ways to sustain and preserve.

Medicare and Social Security for future generate -- and other respect senator you want him to come up with that.

I guess we do we -- proposed the the budgets were passed last year by the Republicans in the house.

And voted on by Republicans in the senate.

The president hadn't had a budget.

That's passed the senate for almost four years now.

So we feel like we've gone the extra mile by putting revenue on the table we'd like to see the president.

Perhaps embrace the recommendations of his own bipartisan fiscal commission Simpson Bowles.

The minute she -- there -- a lot of good ideas out there but the president still on the campaign trail and doesn't appear to be serious about averting this fiscal cliff.

Diving exercise.

Come the end of the year.

Posit that the president may want -- go off the cliff because then we all get tax hikes middle class gets tax hikes.

You know the so called rich people who make more than 250000 dollars attacks like everybody does.

And so then he's gonna come -- USA are right now -- hikes and gone up for everybody taxes gone up.

So now you've got to agree to lower taxes on the middle class and you won't be blamed with failing to stop them from going up on the rich.

And at that point how could you say now.

Well it's not that simple because part of this equation as well involves things like the sequestration.

Which goes in effect in January 1 point two trillion dollars in cuts in federal spending.

Combined with the fiscal cliff is going to put us in a recession as I said earlier that we've got the debt ceiling.

I'll limit which is -- mid February early march but we need to wrap all of this up into a common sense bipartisan.

A grand bargain.

And so just.

Gaming this out by saying we're gonna dive off the fiscal cliff without regard to what it means.

In terms of putting Americans out of work damaging our economy putting us in a recession worse or worse is profoundly irresponsible.

Think it has requested.

Cut cut congress out of the process when it comes to raising the debt limit he wants a blank check now to just raise it when he needs still.

And you know your thoughts on that.

Well it's outrageous it's like saying we've maxed out our credit card so I'm gonna get a new credit card with no -- -- like keep spending.

There needs to be some accountability here so far.

We're spending 42 cents out of every dollar in Washington and borrowed money.

And that's money that our kids -- grandkids are gonna have to pay back its profoundly irresponsible.

So.

That's so that's a crazy idea.

And I'm amazed that secretary Geithner had the courage to to -- that yesterday and hence the laughter from senator McConnell I think that's -- kind of response to deserve.

I got around but I want to ask you quickly -- and -- the president wants.

Tax rates to be -- on the rich.

The Republicans have said we don't really want that we'll talk about eliminating deductions and loopholes but we don't really want a reason rates.

Our youth are you sensing any wavering on the GOP side on that issue.

I am not because we said while word what -- the revenue on the table we're not ruling to raise rates because -- a lot of small businesses that pay.

Business income on -- flow through basis on an individual tax return and that would discourage them from growing their businesses creating jobs and depress economic recovery.

So we think that's a very bad idea -- many economists.

Back to supplement.

It's going to be an -- December senator cornyn thanks so much.

Thanks -- -- have season.

Load More