Hearst exclusive: Biden blames GOP newcomers for creating ‘difficult’ budget climate

Republican newcomers with an inflexible social agenda have created a “difficult” climate for political negotiations in Washington, Vice President Joe Biden said today.

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Meredith McDermott/Hearst Newspapers

Vice President Joe Biden

Speaking to an audience including editors and publishers of Hearst Magazines and Hearst Corp. CEO Frank Bennack, Biden said the insistence by some House Republicans on eliminating federal funding for Planned Parenthood, National Public Radio and environmental enforcement further complicated already complicated negotiations.

“This is difficult,” Biden told the Hearst executives. “It’s a difficult moment now because we have a Republican-run House of Representatives that has strongly held views on a whole range of issues.”

Without mentioning the Tea Party movement specifically, Biden said the newcomers don’t understand that “massive social policy changes are determined” customarily by separate legislation and not as attachments to spending measures.

“They (the social issues) unfortunately are part of this ,,, budget debate,” he said, “so it’s difficult to sort through.”

Biden spoke to the Hearst executives about 14 hours before the federal government was scheduled to shut down because of a months-long impasse between House Republicans and congressional Democrats on the still-unresolved 2011 federal budget.

House Republicans have insisted that they will not agree to any budget-cut deal unless Planned Parenthood receives no government money. Senate Democrats are insisting on a “clean” spending package without so-called policy “riders” involving women’s rights or the environment.

Biden praised his boss, President Obama, for maintaining his cool amid the heated political rhetoric in the nation’s capital.

“I marvel at the president’s equanimity,” Biden said.

Richard Dunham