• GOP senator: Fair to put raising revenue on table

    Karen Bleier / AFP - Getty Images, file

    Senator Lindsey Graham speaking on Capitol Hill on Nov. 14.

    By NBC News staff and news services

    A Republican senator said Sunday "it's fair to ask my party to put revenue on the table" as part of the solution to avoid the looming automatic tax increases and across-the-board spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff."

    South Carolina's Lindsey Graham said he's "willing to generate revenue" by steps such as capping tax deductions, which he says would most affect upper-income Americans. But he says he won't agree to higher taxes — a position shared by most Republicans in Congress.

    President Barack Obama wants to let tax rates rise for wealthy families while sparing middle- and low-income taxpayers.

    Graham told ABC's "This Week" that "for the good of the country," he's ready to violate an anti-tax pledge followed by most Republicans if Democrats agree to big changes in entitlement programs.

    Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said a pledge signed years ago should not necessarily apply in economic conditions that have changed greatly.

    Congressman Peter King discusses the various options available for a compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff.

    "The world has changed, and the economic situation is different. Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill realized that in the 1980s. I think everything should be on the table,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

    King added: “Let's find a way to get resolved as much as possible between now and the end of the year so both the new Congress and the president, in his second term, can start off with a clean slate.”

    Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said lawmakers have made little progress in the past 10 days toward a compromise to avoid the harsh tax increases and government spending cuts scheduled for Jan. 1.

    Without action by lawmakers and Obama, roughly $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts will start to hit households and companies in early January.

    "Unfortunately, for the last 10 days, with the House and Congress gone for the Thanksgiving recess ... much progress hasn't been made," Durbin said on ABC's "This Week.” 

    Still, lawmakers in both the Democratic and Republican parties have been trying to convince the public - and financial markets - that they are willing to compromise and can reach a deal before the end of the year. 

    The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

  • Post Show Thoughts: Politics and the Stanley Cup

     

    A handful of scandals recently across multiple government agencies including the United States Secret Service have raised serious questions about discipline in our government. 

    Six members of the Secret Service have already lost their jobs over the prostitution scandal in Cartagena, Columbia and Homeland Security Committee Chair Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said there could be more to follow.

    "I would suspect within the very near future to have several other Secret Service agents leaving the agency," he said.

    However, even after this embarrassing scandal for the Secret Service, both Chairmen Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Peter King (R-NY), as well as president Obama's chief re-election strategist David Axelrod expressed support for the agencies leader, Mark Sullivan. 

    "We're looking over the shoulder of Mark Sullivan and asking the director to do an exhaustive search. ... And I have great confidence he's doing it," Issa said.

    The other government scandal we discussed was lavish spending of taxpayer money by the General Services Administration (GSA). David Axelrod said the president was "apoplectic" about the it, adding, "It was very enraging to him."

    You can watch our entire program on our website to hear more from our interviews with David Axelrod, Representatives Issa and King, as well as our political roundtable.

    Moreover, you can watch our Meet the Press Take Two with Mike Bolt, the keeper of the Stanley Cup, who made an appearance to talk about the history of one of the sporting world's most storied trophies.

    We'll be back next week. If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.