The GOP's Two Main Options On The Debt Ceiling Just Blew Up
By Brett LoGiurato 4 hours ago
AP
House Republicans' two main options for dealing on raising the
debt ceiling are dead, a GOP aide confirmed Wednesday.
Republicans had planned to tie a debt-limit increase — something
that Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has said needs to happen by late February — to
either the approval of
the Keystone XL Pipeline or a repeal of a provision of the Affordable Care Act
known as "risk corridors."
But in a meeting on Wednesday, House Republican leaders
acknowledged that neither proposal would have the required 218 votes to
pass.
Right now, there
are no clear options moving forward. But a House Republican leadership aide
said it was too early to assume that the House would pass a so-called
"clean" debt-limit increase without strings attached." I expect so, yes. That’s what we’re working on right now," the aide told Business Insider.
Some conservatives that have made the debt-limit one of the main
vehicles of the opposition have even
urged House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican leaders to pass a
clean increase and avoid "theater."
"We should
bring up a clean debt ceiling, let the Democrats pass it, and just move
on," Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) told The Washington Post's Robert Costa
on Tuesday. "Our constituents are fed up with the political theater. If
we’re not going to fight for something specific, we might as well let the
Democrats own it."
Democrats are privately gleeful that Republicans have been so
openly divided on their strategy. Senate Democrats are waiting to let House
Republicans move first on a debt-limit increase.
"We are hoping this is all a kabuki dance to show their
members that a clean bill is the only option," a Senate Democratic
leadership aide told Business Insider. Don't be surprised, the aide said, if
some Senate Republicans come out for a "clean" increase to avoid the
so-called theater.
Any option on which House Republicans decide would need
near-unanimous support from their caucus. It's likely that very few, if any,
House Democrats will vote for anything other than a "clean"
debt-ceiling increase.
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