Boehner's New Offer: $39B in Cuts

Politico reports:

Budget negotiators head back to the White House Thursday afternoon after an exchange of offers overnight that inched closer on spending totals but also highlights what could prove a fatal level of distrust —on top of still big divisions over policy riders demanded by House Republicans.

Speaker John Boehner’s camp presented an offer Wednesday evening pegged near $39 billion in cuts, and after working overnight, the White House and Senate Democrats countered Thursday morning with a package described more in the range of $34 billion to $35 billion.

But within these totals, different assumptions for defense spending can alter the impact on domestic programs, for example, and neither side seemed trusting of what the other had presented.

Democrats were surprised, for example that the new Boehner offer reverted to a higher target for Pentagon spending than House and Senate Appropriations Committees had been assuming for days. Republicans complained that while the White House package accepted more cuts than previously, the portion coming from domestic discretionary appropriations had not changed significantly.

“We made some progress last night, or at least I thought we did,” Boehner told reporters. “But you know, when I see what the White House has to offer today, it’s really just more of the same.”