Since January six Senators have engaged in difficult negotiations
and made painful concessions in the hopes of achieving bipartisan
compromise to control the nation's mounting debt of $14 trillion
and growing.
Yesterday, Senator Tom Coburn (R. OK) withdrew from the working
group, saying the Senators could not overcome the polarizing
political pressure that each faces. The group's two other
Republicans said it would be hard to continue without Coburn.
Coburn said that he doesn't see how the group can reach agreement
and that his colleagues were not willing to cut enough from
benefit programs such as Medicare. Senators Coburn, Saxby
Chambliss of Georgia, and Mike Crapo of Idaho were willing to
agree to revenue increases of about $1 trillion over the coming
decade as the price for getting Democrats to accept cuts to
Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
Their ideas met with cool reception and Republicans controlling
the House have said all along that they would never consider
tax increases.
Sheila McKinney
