The Leader's Ledger

State Of Play: House Republicans Propose A Two-Step Approach To Cut Spending and Begin To Get Our Fiscal House In Order

House Republicans Unveil Two-Step Common Sense Approach To Deficit Reduction. House Republican leaders briefed members on a comprehensive deficit reduction plan Monday afternoon that would raise the debt ceiling and cut spending by up to $3 trillion over ten years without increasing taxes. The plan calls for a two-tiered approach ... Authorizes a debt-limit increase of about $1 trillion, giving the government sufficient borrowing authority until February or March 2012. Imposes statutory caps on discretionary spending over ten years that would yield about $1.2 trillion in savings. Failure to abide by these caps would trigger automatic, across-the-board reductions. ... In addition to these two steps, the plan would require both chambers to vote on a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution sometime after October 1. National Review

• View The GOP’s Two-Step Approach HERE

Speaker Boehner: The GOP’s Two-Step Approach Is A Common Sense Plan Ensures That Spending Cuts Are Greater Than Any Debt Increase and No Tax Increases. House Speaker John Boehner said his two-step plan to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and cut and cap discretionary spending is a “responsible, common-sense proposal that meets our obligations to the American people and preserves the full faith and credit” of the U.S. The Republican plan would allow a debt-limit increase of $1 trillion, to be followed later by about $1.6 trillion, while larger spending cuts would be required. “This plan is far from perfect, but it adheres to our principles of ensuring that spending cuts are greater than any debt hike and it includes no tax increases,” Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said in a statement. Bloomberg

Leader Cantor: The Republican’s Two-Step Approach Sets In Motion A Process For Real Spending Cuts. Republicans defended Speaker John A. Boehner’s proposal Monday as an appropriate step to address the fiscal crisis. “It sets in motion a process for real cuts so that we can live up to our obligation to the people that sent us here,” said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor , R-Va. CQ

• Leader Cantor: The Republican Plan Enacts Real Spending Cuts, Caps Future Spending. In this new framework, we will achieve spending cuts that exceed the amount of the debt limit increase, cap spending for the next ten years and offer a path to achieve serious reforms through a bipartisan, bicameral commission. Our plan will responsibly prevent default and meet the President's full request for a debt limit increase over time. The President's reason for opposing this common sense plan is to avoid an election year fight on spending and taxes. Though he has warned Congress not to call his bluff, I remain hopeful that he and his party will work with us to move forward on this common sense plan and won't leave the strength of the economy and millions of American jobs hanging in the balance for election year political posturing." Leader Cantor

State Of Play(2): President Obama Refuses To Acknowledge That His Out Of Control Spending Sparked A Debt Crisis

Speaker Boehner: President Obama Will Not Simply Receive A Blank Check. The sad truth is that the president wanted a blank check six months ago, and he wants a blank check today. That is just not going to happen. You see, there is no stalemate in Congress. The House has passed a bill to raise the debt limit with bipartisan support. And this week, while the Senate is struggling to pass a bill filled with phony accounting and Washington gimmicks, we will pass another bill – one that was developed with the support of the bipartisan leadership of the U.S. Senate. Speaker Boehner

• Speaker Boehner: President Obama’s Spending Spree Sparked A Debt Crisis. President Obama came to Congress in January and requested business as usual — yet another routine increase in the national debt limit — we in the House said ‘not so fast.’ Here was the president, asking for the largest debt increase in American history, on the heels of the largest spending binge in American history. Here’s what we got for that spending binge: a massive health care bill that most Americans never asked for. A ‘stimulus’ bill that was more effective in producing material for late-night comedians than it was in producing jobs. And a national debt that has gotten so out of hand it has sparked a crisis without precedent in my lifetime or yours. Speaker Boehner

President Obama’s Refusal To Accept A Two-Step Approach Stems From Not Wanting To Discuss His Spending Policies In An Election Year. Americans need to understand precisely what has caused the current crisis: Barack "Don't Call My Bluff" Obama's refusal to accept a short-term hike in the debt ceiling, which Republicans support. ... That sounds statesmanlike — until you understand what lies beneath it. If Washington raises the debt ceiling only enough to last a few months, then it will have to revisit the issue next year, during a presidential election campaign. Questions about the country's astronomical debt would draw attention to the president's policies, which have increased federal spending 30 percent in the past three years. Richmond Times-Dispatch

By Next Year, President Obama’s Spending Spree Will Have Caused The Public Debt To Raise From 40% To 72%. Mr. Obama wants to avoid any accountability for the spending blowout of the last three years that has raised the national debt held by the public—the kind we have to pay back—from 40% in 2008 to 72% next year, and rising. This will be the real cause of any downgrade. The Wall Street Journal

The Obama Economy: More Americans Hold President Accountable For His Failed Policies

More Americans Hold President Obama and His Failed Economic Agenda Responsible For The Current Economic Conditions. More than a third of Americans now believe that President Obama’s policies are hurting the economy, and confidence in his ability to create jobs is sharply eroding among his base, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. ... The poll showed support for Obama’s economic agenda has begun to slip in the past nine months. The percentage of people who said Obama has made the economy worse jumped six points since October to 37 percent. The Washington Post

• 84% Of Americans View The Economy As Poor and Nearly 60% Of Americans Believe Economic Conditions Will Remain Somewhat Poor For The Next 12 Months CNN

Worries Over Debt Are Rising On Main Street. Just last fall, Americans were feeling better about their personal finances. Now they're starting to worry more about how they'll pay off debts as they feel the nation's economic recovery wobbling. The increased stress represents a reversal from last fall's AP-GfK poll, which found increasing confidence about personal finances. Debt-related stress is up 17 percent from that November survey, bumping such worries back up to levels seen in 2009 and in the spring of last year. The Associated Press

President Obama’s Support For Union Backed TAA Hurts American Business, Stops At Least 250,000 News Jobs From Being Created. President Obama has repeatedly blamed Republicans for not passing several trade deals that could give American businesses greater access to overseas markets and thus help the U.S. economy, which badly needs help. The problem with that claim is that it is the exact opposite of the truth. Republicans want to pass the trade deals, but Obama won’t submit them to Congress. ... Because of his insistence on that expansion (another $1 billion the government doesn’t have), trade deals that the White House says will create 250,000 jobs (the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says 380,000) sit. He has not even submitted them to Congress for approval. ... Europeans are getting our business as Obama holds out for a handout for an important Democratic constituency. He is hurting American businessses for his own political gain. The Union Leader

Off The Beaten Path

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Lions’ Den Update: As NFL Lockout Ends, Lions Have Plenty Of Work Ahead – Detroit Free Press

Deleted Scene From Cowboys vs. Aliens – Not Really