As elected officials return from their Fourth of July recess, a divided Congress and White House are vying to take a leadership role in the upcoming legislative battle over expiring tax provisions and spending cuts that would represent nearly 4% of U.S. Gross Domestic Product.
With this in mind, National Journal has an excellent analysis of the key participants, timelines, and issues, and how some of the likely scenarios of action may unfold.
National Journal finds that all signs point to the federal government reaching the debt ceiling at the end of the year, just as the so-called fiscal cliff of tax provisions and spending cuts is set to expire.
After last summer’s debt-ceiling talks ended with the Super Committee’s failure to reach an agreement on the long-term U.S. fiscal outlook, many commentators observed that the dysfunction in Washington had reached an all-time high. Reporter Nancy Cook says now the key question to ask is, “How long can elected officials punt pressing issues before Wall Street, the business community, consumers, and the global marketplace begin to panic?”
