Retiring Speaker John Boehner I wanted to do it before he left public life, but a problem arose. Had a vote was planned on raising the debt ceiling until Republicans did not have enough votes to pass (via appeal): :
The proposal, dubbed the “Lending Conditions Act,” had the imprimatur of the Republican Study Committee and seemed an ideal conservative starting point for demanding concessions as a condition for extending the state’s borrowing powers – before Republicans finally had to swallow a neat bill.
However, Wednesday night’s whip count showed that the RSC dissolution did not get the GOP votes to proceed.
Sources familiar with the discussions say conservatives can smell a “show vote” when they see one, and say they will only support a debt ceiling bill that would outline policy elements that could legally get Democrats in trouble.
Leadership ally Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., expressed another concern about the RSC bill: He told reporters Thursday afternoon that he was concerned that such a sophisticated piece of legislation was moving through the legislative process without even the slightest bit of attention. committee-level hearing. The RSC introduced the bill Monday amid an atmosphere of will-he, won’t-he intrigue over a potential bid by Ways and Means Chairman Paul D. Ryan for speaker.
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The RSC debt limit proposal, the only one formally introduced so far, has been shelved. The center-right Tuesday Group is considering its own ideas for raising the debt ceiling, but has not provided any official information.
The deadline for Boehner to sort out this mess for his successor is speedy approaching. He is expected to leave Washington on October 30; Congress must raise the debt limit by November 3. And it’s not just about the debt ceiling. Another law should also be passed to finance federal highways. CBS News reported that conservatives were already planning to challenge the speaker if he decided to raise the debt limit without provisions that would cause further cuts in government spending.
The GOP has no official plan. What’s next? Boehner probably intends to raise the debt limit with the support of Democrats. He left. He has nothing to lose. So for the conservatives who wanted to bash Boehner, you succeeded. He will continue to augment the debt limit, with no guarantee of spending cuts, because there is no leverage in this fight. He’s close to retirement and doesn’t want to leave a mess for Republican Paul Ryan:
In an interview with “Face the Nation” after announcing his resignation, Boehner indicated that his impending departure could give him more freedom to act in his final weeks on Capitol Hill.
“I expect to be able to work a little better with some of the townsfolk to try and get as much done as possible. I don’t want to leave my successor a dirty barn. So I want to clean up the barn a little before the next person arrives,” he said.
Sarah Binder, a congressional expert at the Brookings Institution, said that if Boehner does indeed free himself from pressure from the far right of his party, “you would think he would use it to try to move the debt limit bill.”
“The government’s debt arrears despite all this policy…seems to be too extreme an outcome and that both [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell and Boehner would recognize,” she added.
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One option under consideration is a substantial deal that combines a debt limit augment into a package that includes spending cuts, highway funding and a long-term spending bill. However, since there are several business days until November 5 in Washington, there may not be enough time.
Yes, conservatives will probably get irate, but Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is not shirking from meeting the deadline. (By Los Angeles Times):
Reaching an agreement with Democrats would enrage conservative GOP lawmakers who prefer a fight, but it shows the speaker no longer feels beholden to the party’s far-right flank, something that forced his early retirement.
“The speaker has made it clear that he wants to resolve several outstanding issues before he leaves,” said a Boehner aide who was not authorized to discuss private deliberations. “No decisions have been made, but a resolution on the debt ceiling is certainly possible.”
In the Senate, GOP Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Tuesday that the “preference” is not just to raise the debt ceiling; however, he declined to propose an alternative and said the Senate would “wait and see how the House handles this.”
Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew warned Congress not to wait until the deadline to act.
Since the debt limit was reached earlier this year, the Treasury Department has suspended the issuance of some securities and is instead juggling its “emergency appropriations” bills to temporarily fund the government and pay bills.
However, the money is expected to run out by November, putting the government at risk of defaulting on the commitments it has already made.
So here we go again. Since Boehner and McConnell are opposed to allowing the country to default, we shouldn’t be shocked if Boehner decides to raise the limit – with complete inaction – just as he’s moving that revolving door before the trip back to Ohio.
