Reid to Boehner: Negotiations could include agriculture
October 02, 2013 | 03:07 PM
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has written a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, today proposing that the House pass the Senate resolution to reopen the government to be followed by the large-scale negotiations on budget policies.
The letter also says, “You and your colleagues have repeatedly cited these fiscal issues as the things on which we need to work. This conference would be an appropriate place to have these discussions, where participants could raise whatever proposals — such as tax reform, health care, agriculture and certainly discretionary spending like veterans, national parks and NIH — they feel appropriate.”
The inclusion of agriculture in the first part of the sentence rather than in the discretionary spending section of the sentence would appear to be a reference to the farm bill.
In response to Reid’s letter, Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, said,
“The entire government is shut down right now because Washington Democrats refuse to even talk about fairness for all Americans under Obamacare. Offering to negotiate only after Democrats get everything they want is not much of an offer. Today, the House will continue to pass bills that reflect the American people’s priorities. The Senate passed the troop funding bill this weekend — will they now say ‘no’ to funding for veterans, our national parks and the National Institutes of Health?”
President Barack Obama, meanwhile, has invited the congressional leaders to a meeting at the White House at 5:30 p.m.
In response to that invitation, Steel said, “We’re pleased the president finally recognizes that his refusal to negotiate is indefensible. It’s unclear why we’d be having this meeting if it’s not meant to be a start to serious talks between the two parties.”
The letter also says, “You and your colleagues have repeatedly cited these fiscal issues as the things on which we need to work. This conference would be an appropriate place to have these discussions, where participants could raise whatever proposals — such as tax reform, health care, agriculture and certainly discretionary spending like veterans, national parks and NIH — they feel appropriate.”
The inclusion of agriculture in the first part of the sentence rather than in the discretionary spending section of the sentence would appear to be a reference to the farm bill.
In response to Reid’s letter, Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, said,
“The entire government is shut down right now because Washington Democrats refuse to even talk about fairness for all Americans under Obamacare. Offering to negotiate only after Democrats get everything they want is not much of an offer. Today, the House will continue to pass bills that reflect the American people’s priorities. The Senate passed the troop funding bill this weekend — will they now say ‘no’ to funding for veterans, our national parks and the National Institutes of Health?”
President Barack Obama, meanwhile, has invited the congressional leaders to a meeting at the White House at 5:30 p.m.
In response to that invitation, Steel said, “We’re pleased the president finally recognizes that his refusal to negotiate is indefensible. It’s unclear why we’d be having this meeting if it’s not meant to be a start to serious talks between the two parties.”
