Supercommittee talks at impasse

By NBC's Frank Thorp and Libby Leist

Negotiations within the congressional supercommittee charged with finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction appear to be at an impasse after both Democratic and Republican members of the panel rejected each other's proposals as not serious.?

Democratic members of the 12-member panel huddled together in the Capitol Wednesday afternoon as prospects of a supercommittee failure seem to be growing. They were "on message" after the meeting, arguing that the latest Republican offer of $300 billion in new revenue was not enough.?

But the supercommittee's Republicans have also rejected Democrats' plan combining tax increases and entitlement cuts, raising the specter of a stalemate heading into the group's Nov. 23 deadline.?

The committee's Democratic co-chair, Washington Sen. Patty Murray, said Democrats have made clear to Republicans they want another offer.?

"They clearly understand that the proposal that was given to some of our members is not fair and balanced, and they understand that they need to bring back a fair and balanced proposal," she said. "I believe that they understand the dynamics of where we are, that the American public expects a fair and balanced approach and that is what we're waiting for."

A GOP aide counters that ?Democrats have effectively walked away from the negotiations. They remain intransigent.?

The aide said Democrats informed the GOP members last night they wanted to take a break from negotiations but offered no timeline as to when they would return to the negotiating table.?

At the same time, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, had praised the GOP proposal as a potential "breakthrough," since it even broaches the subject of new revenue. (Durbin is not a member of the supercommittee.)

?I believe the fact that Republicans have mentioned the word 'revenue' is a breakthrough," told the Reuters Washington Summit.?"Now, I have not endorsed their proposal, nor do I think it?s the endgame by any means. But the fact that they have put revenues on the table is an important step forward."

Still, despite indications that talks are at a standstill, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, laughed off the GOP assertions that Democrats have walked away from negotiations.?

"All we're doing is waiting for them to come back with a realistic, fair, balanced proposal with adequate revenue. We've been very clear to them," he said.

Source: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/09/8722341-supercommittee-talks-at-impasse

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