(CNN) - Two senators said Sunday the impending 'fiscal cliff' that would automatically slash billions from the U.S. Department of Defense needed to be avoided, but offered different timetables for resolving the problem.
The so-called "sequester," which would force the Pentagon to cut $500 billion from its budgets over the next decade, came about after congressional negotiators failed to agree on a deficit-reduction plan last fall. Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, one of 74 senators to vote for the measure that included the automatic cuts last August, said Sunday he didn't expect any action to take place on staving off the cuts ahead of November's election.
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Washington (CNN) – Two leading senators from opposing political sides agreed on Sunday that the major issues facing the upper chamber, like taxes and spending, will not be addressed before the November elections. But they disagreed on who deserves the blame.
"I think that's an honest appraisal," Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said on CNN's "State of the Union," when asked if it was true the Senate would stall on such topics before the 2012 election.
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Washington (CNN) - Congress will agree to extend the payroll tax cut before it expires at the end of the year, two leading conservative Senate Republicans said Sunday.
The comments demonstrated the GOP shift on a proposal originally opposed by Republican leaders, even as each side continues trying to persuade the other of the best legislative approach to take.
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Washington (CNN) - The Senate's number two Democrat said Wednesday the surprising proposal this week by Republicans to include tax increases for the first time as part of a deficit-reduction deal might be a "breakthrough" that could lead to a hard-sought agreement in the congressional super committee.
The reaction from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois - just two weeks to the day before the committee's November 23 deadline - was in sharp contrast to the response from other top Democrats who panned the proposal. Democratic aides described it as a "joke" aimed more at lowering income rates for the wealthy than raising revenue to pay down the debt.
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New York (CNNMoney) - Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on Tuesday joined a chorus of Democratic officials hitting back at bank fees, saying the administration "will prevail" in the battle over banking reforms.
"There are no surprises, nothing strange about the fact that banks are resisting it - are pushing back," Geithner told CNN's Erin Burnett. "They are trying to weaken those reforms."
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) - Sen. Dick Durbin on Tuesday urged customers unhappy with Bank of America's new $5-a-month debit card fee to take their business elsewhere - calling the fee a golden opportunity for other banks "not as greedy" to drum up new business.
"I believe in something called competition," the Illinois Democrat said on a conference call with reporters.
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(CNN) - Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin pointed his political arrow at House Speaker John Boehner on Sunday over the Republican Party's tax stance.
"I wonder if John Boehner knows what it sounds like when he continues to say the position of the Republican Party in America is that you can't impose one more penny in taxes on the wealthiest people," Durbin said on CNN's "State of the Union." "I wonder if he understands how that sounds in Ohio, to working families who are struggling paycheck to paycheck."
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Washington (CNN) - Even as the impasse over the debt ceiling continues, behind-the-scenes talks are underway between Democratic and Republican leaders about a bipartisan deal to end the crisis, according to two Senate leaders intimately involved in the situation.
"There are still discussions going on," said Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate. "Everybody's talking."
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Washington (CNN) - The top two Democrats in the Senate said they don't think there is enough time before the debt ceiling is reached Aug. 2 to pass the comprehensive debt reduction plan unveiled Tuesday by the Gang of Six debt negotiators.
"The Gang of Six plan has not been drafted nor has it been scored by the CBO (Congressional Budget Office)," said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Assistant Majority Leader and a member of the debt gang who supports the compromise. "It's not ready for prime time."
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Washington (CNN) – Members of a bipartisan group of senators who worked for months to forge an agreement to make deep reductions in the federal debt will unveil a plan to slash trillions of dollars off that debt over the next 10 years.
The former Gang of Six members will reveal their plan privately Tuesday to a group of 40 to 50 senators.
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