Debt Talks

'Big Deal' Back on Table

But clock ticking as McConnell preps Plan B.

Most news reports Monday are pessimistic about the prospects of a debt-ceiling deal, except for ABC News, which says a “big deal” to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion is back on the table. According to the network, House Speaker John Boehner is once again discussing such an option and wants President Obama to lay out specific cuts to entitlement programs. But, ABC News notes, “many Republicans doubt such a plan can get through Congress.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, is preparing a backup plan that will allow President Obama to raise the debt ceiling three times over the next year to a total of $2.5 trillion. In The New York Times, Ross Douthat calls the proposal “a procedural gimmick that would try to pin the responsibility for raising the ceiling on President Obama.”