Asked by ABC News' Jake Tapper and other White House reporters how President Obama plans to pay for his jobs plan, White House press secretary Jay Carney continued to dodge the question and give an answer.
Tapper inquired if the White House planned to use tax increases and Carney said "no, it will be specifically paid for.
CBS' Norah O'Donnell asked if the plan will be paid for with immediate cuts. Carney says "I said it would be paid for." Transcript of the exchange below:
Jake Tapper, ABC News: "When you that -- the point that I'm trying to drill down is the idea that they (jobs proposals) will be paid for as opposed to previous stimulus plans in the last 10 years, whatever, 20 years that weren't necessarily paid for. When you say it's going to be paid for, how specifically is it going to be paid for? Is it going to be paid for by contemporaneous cuts? In tax increases? Will it be paid for by 'and we expect Congress in 5 years to raise this much money?"
Jay Carney, White House: "No, it will be specifically paid for."
Tapper is done and it's time for CBS News' Norah O'Donnell to ask questions. She picks up right where Tapper left off, asking Carney to clear up his vague answer.
Norah O'Donnell: "On that very question, it will be paid for with immediate cuts?"
Carney: "I didn't say -- uh, I said it would be paid for."
O'Donnell: "Or long-term cuts?"
Carney: "I'm not going to get in to specifics. Again, immediate means what exactly? And, the fact of the matter is the President will make clear -- and the supporting material that we supply to you will make clear that he is proposing both policies that Congress should act on, that will help the economy grow. It will create jobs. And a mechanism to pay for them. It's credible and measurable. And I think that meets the standard that the American people expect him and Congress to meet."
O'Donnell: "Can you address then the concern that's been raised that if the $300 billion cost that the President is going to propose, if that's the amount, that if it were not immediately paid for it runs the risk of busting the debt ceiling early before next year's election?
Carney: "Again, it will be paid for. We're not going to bust the debt ceiling. It is important to remember throughout these analyses as you go forward. There are a lot of complexities involved -- short-term measures, long-term measures. Let me take you back, painfully I'm sure, to the summer when we were discussing grand bargains and other proposals to get a hold of our deficits and debt. There were upfront, near-term discretionary cuts involved in all of the proposals. Big and small. And the ultimate one that was agreed on and signed into law by the president. The grand bargain fell through. There were also discussions of entitlement reform, tax reforms, balancing of revenue and other measures, cuts and revenues, that obviously did not take effect immediately and relied on a duration, on triggers and that sort of thing. So, it is a false assumption to say 'Well, wait a second. Why aren't you reducing the deficit and debt by $3 to $4 trillion tomorrow? That was never envisioned by anybody that was engaged in serious negotiations either outside through Simpson-Bowles. Or in the inside with the Speaker of the House and the President of the United States."
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