Sperling: Obama Won’t Negotiate With Republicans on Extending Unemployment

GARRETT: "As you know, Republicans want this offset; $6.5 billion for the three months. In any way, shape, or form is the Administration open to negotiating an offset of $6.5 billion for those three months and then using that as a precedent to offset the much larger cost, $35 billion over a full calendar year?"
SPERLING: "We have just an urgent situation right now. We have, as I said, today is the day. People have been cut off, but today is the day they find the check not there. The president believes that we should pass this right away with no strings attached. Now that's more in line with precedent than anything else. Fourteen of the last 17 times in 20 years that it's been extended, there's been no strings attached. All five times -- all five times that the previous President Bush extended emergency unemployment benefits, there was no paid for strings attached and the unemployment rate was lower each of those five times than it is today. So I think that the compromise that is inherent in the Heller-Reed bipartisan legislation is, let's move quickly and pass this three-month extension now. This will help Americans immediately and this will give us more time to have a larger conversation about what happens after the three months are over.”
GARRETT: “Would you be willing to offset a calendar year if not the three- months? Are you offsetting under every circumstance?”
SPERLING: “What I said is that let's move quickly now because we are in urgent situation. We did not get it passed in December. If we take this step now, we will -- that will leave more time to have a broader discussion about how best to do it for the remainder of 2014 after that.”
GARRETT: "Can you rule it out?"
SPERLING: “Our focus right now is on the legislation that is up there. It’s the only bipartisan plan that's been there. There has been talk, but there has been one bipartisan plan, and it's to extend for three months on an emergency level. That’s where our focus is, that's what we want to encourage people to support with the understanding there will be time to discuss what to do when that three months is over.”
KARL: “So just to clarify. Are you opposed -- is the White House opposed to negotiating those offsets? I know you want this short term, do it now, but if the Republicans draw a line on this like they are saying right now, they want it offset, is that something the White House is willing to negotiate on?”
SPERLING: “Our focus right now, Jon, is to get this passed.”