Former New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg doesn’t think his fellow Republicans over in the lower house of Congress will make a deal until they see proof of how much pain not raising the debt ceiling will cause:
Former Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) says Social Security checks will need to be halted before House Republicans will agree to a deal to raise the debt limit.
A deficit hawk and former Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Gregg turned down an offer from President Barack Obama to be his Secretary of Commerce.
Now an analyst with Goldman Sacks, Gregg said on a conference call this morning that there is a better than 50 percent chance that Congress will not reach an agreement before August 2nd.
Gregg said that if that were to happen, it “would put the blame on the Republicans,” saying House GOP’ers are the biggest obstacle to a deal.
“In the Senate, you’ve got a center of 40 members who are willing to sign on to something dramatic AND you have the President endorsing it — that’s good news. We have agreement on the problem and a resolution,” he said.
“BUT the House is nowhere near an agreement. The Gang of Six plan will not come to fruition in the next few weeks — maybe not even until the next election. The best thing that could happen is that a special committee might be set up to continue to work on the Gang of Six agreement. Ultimately, it won’t affect the debt ceiling debate in the short-term.”
Gregg added that he wasn’t any more optimistic about the “last-ditch” plan put forward by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).
“The McConnell-Reid is too political; people say it’s a fallback, I think that’s wishful thinking.”
