Talking Points Memo reports that Nancy Pelosi is drawing a line in the sand on what cuts the upcoming debt ceiling commission can make:
At a pre-recess press conference Tuesday afternoon, TPM asked House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) whether the people she appoints to the committee will make the same stand she made during the debt limit fight -- that entitlement benefits -- as opposed to provider payments, waste and other Medicare spending -- should be off limits.
In short, yes.
"That is a priority for us," Pelosi said. "But let me say it is more than a priority - it is a value... it's an ethic for the American people. It is one that all of the members of our caucus share. So that I know that whoever's at that table will be someone who will fight to protect those benefits."
The question now becomes, "Will Harry Reid follow suit"? If he does then Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will be protected. If even one of his selections, as TPM author Brian Beutler points out, doesn't hold firm to the same standard as Pelosi, then cuts are almost certain to come.
