and the cuts should be greater than the accompanying increase in the debt limit that the president has given. we re not talking about billions here. we should be talking about cuts in trillions if we re serious about addressing america s fiscal problems. ok, so there he is in front of the economic club of new york and mid town hotel. he did say trillions. and it sound like republicans are going to ask for at least $2 trillion worth of cuts but we don t know at this point over what period. is it over a year? is it over 10 years? we simply don t know. the debt limit is up next week and joe biden will meet with the speaker today. and this week, we have democratic leaders in the senate meeting separately with the president and republican leaders in the senate meeting separately to see their way forward. i thought geithner pushed the debt limit ceiling. we ll hit the ceiling. it s whether he wants to push it or not, it s up to him. the statutory limit this week, however, they ve m
limit. so nobody is saying we want to see default. we want to get some cuts and controls in spending going forward and that is what we ve been telling the white house. meanwhile, oklahoma republican senator tom coburn argued the debt limit ceiling needs to be tied to a bill. the debt ceiling is ridiculous. when was it not raised? that doesn t mean we limit our debt. that just says we re going to pause and borrow more. what do i need? i noou need absolute certainty that we ve made the critical changes that are in the necessary to put this country back where it needs to go. unless we do that, there s no way i support it. and the fact is, we re going to have a debt crisis either with this or soon thereafter if we don t come together. coburn is part of the so-called goc of six, a bipartisan group that has spent months trying to build consensus on a budget proposal aimed at reducing the nation s debt. yesterday, another senator said
it on january 2nd and then we re going to demand spending cuts which now will have to be fought for in the debt limit ceiling or in the new budget and in the meantime the deficit keeps clicking. president obama on january 2nd. laura: dick, november 2nd happened. it was monumental in the house of representatives. nancy pelosi was on the skids. liberalism was on the run suddenly republicans end up giving in on tax deal that has august of these tax credited extension for american samoa for green energy. none of that is what the voters voted for on november 2nd. in a principled stand by republicans would have, as you said, been defensible and also been winning. i believe there is no way he wouldn t have gone along with that in the end. he would have had to.
it on january 2nd and then we re going to demand spending cuts which now will have to be fought for in the debt limit ceiling or in the new budget and in the meantime the deficit keeps clicking. president obama on january 2nd. laura: dick, november 2nd happened. it was monumental in the house of representatives. nancy pelosi was on the skids. liberalism was on the run suddenly republicans end up giving in on tax deal that has august of these tax credited extension for american samoa for green energy. none of that is what the voters voted for on november 2nd. in a principled stand by republicans would have, as you said, been defensible and also been winning. i believe there is no way he wouldn t have gone along with that in the end. he would have had to.
this country go into default? look, chris, you know, a vote on either side of the issue of debt limit ceiling increase has serious consequences, okay. but before we even get to that vote we are going to have at least three to four months to demonstrate this is going to be a cost cutting congress that we are going to get spending under control. we cannot sit here and continue the path that we have been on over the last 20ments and beyond, continuing to spend money we don t have without any signal that we will get this country back on to a path of fiscal sustainability. that is the job i m going to hopefully be about over the next three to four month montho make sure that we demonstrate our commitment to fiscal discipline which has been sorely lacking here of late. chris: fair enough. i think it is fair to say that the last time the republicans took control of congress in 1995, the gingrich congress they got in trouble by overstepping and you can argue who caused it but the result