Republicans fail to reach consensus over impasse
Print Edition
Republicans in the US House of Representatives failed to reach internal consensus yesterday on how to break an impasse on the federal budget that could result in an economically damaging default on the country’s debt.
House Republican leaders proposed a plan to reopen the government and avoid debt default but it was rejected in a meeting with rank and file lawmakers. House Speaker John Boehner said they had not reached any decisions on how to proceed, but were determined not to allow a default.
“There are a lot of opinions about what direction to go. There have been no decisions about exactly what we will do,” Boehner told reporters.
Senate leaders said they were close to an agreement on their side that would reopen the government, in partial shutdown for two weeks, and extend the debt ceiling by tomorrow’s deadline when the US Treasury says it will reach its borrowing limit. The confusion complicated 11th-hour talks on the government shutdown and the potential default. Senate Democrats and the White House have rejected the House Republican plan. President Barack Obama was to meet with House Democratic leaders later in the day to discuss their options.
House Republican aides said yesterday’s proposal would have funded the government through January 15, and raised the debt ceiling by enough to cover the nation’s borrowing needs through February 7.
But unlike the Senate, it would include a two-year suspension of the medical device tax included in Obama’s health care law, and a requirement that members of Congress and the administration be covered under the law.
The House version also would not allow the US Treasury to renew its cash management measures to stretch borrowing capacity for months, which had tentatively been allowed under the Senate plan.
The White House said the tentative House plan was not workable and was designed to appease the Tea Party faction in the Republican Party who have demanded that any concessions on the budget be linked to changes in the healthcare law.
“The president has said repeatedly that members of Congress don’t get to demand ransom for fulfilling their basic responsibilities to pass a budget and pay the nation’s bills,” said White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage. “The latest proposal from House Republicans does just that in a partisan attempt to appease a small group of Tea Party Republicans who forced the government shutdown in the first place.”
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