Boehner Plan Will Go For A Vote

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans will hold a vote Friday on a revised plan to raise the debt ceiling and cut spending by $22 billion next year, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said.

The viability of the House GOP debt plan, proposed by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), was in doubt on Thursday evening, after it was pulled from the floor just before it was set to go for a vote. It had already been revised once, after an embarrassing Congressional Budget Office score that showed the original bill would cut billions less than it was meant to. The second version of the bill, which leadership called the last-ditch effort to avoid default, was still a few votes short of the 216 needed for passage on Thursday evening.

But by Friday morning, many members who had previously opposed the bill said they will now support it. The key was a change in the Balanced Budget Amendment provision of the bill. While the original plan required a vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment, the new bill will require passage of the amendment in both the House and the Senate to trigger the second tranche of the bill -- a second raise of the debt ceiling set to take place later this year.

"I don't think we're short at all, I think it's going to pass today," Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), a freshman who previously opposed the bill, said after a GOP conference meeting. The Balanced Budget Amendment change "got a lot of additional Republican votes," he said.

Rep. Jeff Landry (R-La.), who also was a "no" vote as of Thursday, said he will now support the bill. He said he is not concerned that the changes to the bill will make it even more likely to fail in the Senate.

"I was sent here to be a part of the House," he told HuffPost. "What they do on that side, you'll have to go put some pressure on them."

Others, though, said they remain unconvinced, though are leaning toward a "yes" vote. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), a vocal critic of the original bill, said he thinks he can now support it.

"I need to read this," he said. "I think I can, but I need to read it."

Even if the bill does pass the House later on Friday, it faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Democrats have vowed to block it. The bill has also received a veto threat from President Obama, who said on Friday that the bill "does not solve the problem and will not become law."

But Gohmert says he is not worried the House is giving up some of its leverage by moving farther to the right on its new plan. With House Republicans seemingly unable to come forward and pass the Boehner-backed bill on Thursday, it is more likely Democrats' votes will eventually be necessary to pass a debt-ceiling increase through the House.

Democrats have vowed not to support the Boehner plan when it comes for a vote.

"Isn't that what a Democracy is supposed to be?" Gohmert said.

HuffPost's Prediction Games HuffPost's Predict The News!

Will Democrats and Republicans strike a deal to avert default?

• Yes

• No

Predict it!

Top Players

Beat your friends!

Connect through Facebook or Twitter and challenge your friends

Connect with Twitter Connect with Facebook

My friends

Comments

[laurelphot]

07:42 PM on 07/30/2011

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConell,
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor,
House Speaker John Boehner,
Three Blind Rats, Three Blind Rats,
See How they run, See how they run,
The all ran after the farmers wife,
She cut off their - - - - s with a butcher knife,
The three GELDED Rats!

[skeakins]

12:12 PM on 08/02/2011

Not clever...typical disrespectful liberal. People like you contribute to the lack of respect shown the US from all over the world. Grow up. Share a real idea.

[laurelphot]

01:51 PM on 08/02/2011

No, NOT a LIBERAL, I just DRAW THE LINE, and these A - - H - - - - have CROSSED IT!

[laurelphot]

02:00 PM on 08/02/2011

Both DISRESPECT and RESPECT are EARNED! CHARITY, SYMPATHY, and SYPHILLIS are GIVEN.

[SuperDaveOsborn]

12:35 AM on 07/30/2011

The U.S. Government NEVER cared about the general good of the people, and was always making partisan decisions at the incredible cost to the rest of us, and this ongoing haggle over the debt ceiling, (which is nothing new in our history but is now being used as a sick bargaining tool ) is a prime example of "Dumb & Dumber" doing their thing while the rest of the world contemplates socking it to us in rasied interest rates for having such disarray in our house ! Whatever these idiots hope to accomplish, (in spending cuts) will be swallowed up by billions of dollars of punishment we recive at the hands of our creditors very soon now - but does anyone even notice ? Nah ! Do the people protest by marching on Washington? Nah ! And though we are all aware of the damage that is being done DAILY - we continue to watch the Boob Tube and shake our heads; until that check that we're all counting on is not delivered, and this to be soon follwed by our creditor neighbors taking over our neighborhoods and pulling the plug on our TV's - and MAN WILL WE THEN BE PEED OFF - for how dare anyone pull the plug on our idiot-making shows, the sex, violence and all the rest of the goodies that we THEN will be willing to die for !!!

[txdmerc73]

11:41 PM on 07/29/2011

US Government dont care about its people anymore, all they care about it the linings in their pockets.

[laurelphot]

07:47 PM on 07/30/2011

This in NOT the Government, but a VOCAL Bunch of BIGOT FANATICS.
Like the German NAZI Party in the 1930's.
Or the Khmer Rouge in the 1970's.
Or the Serbians in the 1990's.
An aberation!
Holding the US Government hostage to thei WARPED IDOLOGY.

[escobar]

11:05 PM on 07/29/2011

The GOP has many position papers from all of their major, "Think tanks" describing a desire to end SS, Medicare, and all remnants of the New Deal. Now we need it the most.
One specifically stated they should drive the government into a bankrupt position to make it happen. Just as the PNAC perscribed 9/11.
They acknowledge they cannot do it with the vote but must do it through economic crisis.
We see the rich richer. Corporate influence greater than democratic government power. We fight wars not to protect us but to further corporate ambition, Bin Landen dead the mother country never even questioned let alone attacked. The idea of social responsibility is dead except as an army recuritment slogan and a whip on the lower class. Who is kidding Whom ? Only a total fool would vote repubilcan. Many will since they are don't see we are all linked as one so they fear those less fortunate as potential burdens, The new rich are simply not suffering enough, yet.
All things will come to pass as it happened before.
The major problem is that the USA will lose it's soverigenity to it's debtors.
It is over for the US.
Time to study sell short positions....it is what the GOP power brokers are doing.

[tsunamicoming]

10:02 PM on 07/29/2011

Reid is addicted to BS as Reid would not allow an UP or DOWN vote on the floor of the Senate. Reid is the one whom obstructed the vote. The House voted and it passed. The Senate aka Reid has not passed one thing as of yet. Democrats are in control of the Senate; therefore, Reid can NOT get his own Democrats to vote on anything as the majority.

[laclone]

09:45 PM on 07/29/2011

It doesn't matter. There's not a single person, political party, or branch of goverment in existence anymore that cares in the least about the Americian people.

"I love my Country, it's my goverment I fear!" - T. Jefferson

[laurelphot]

07:48 PM on 07/30/2011

Reread the Declaration of Independence.
What goes around comes around.

[Betty Alexander]

09:40 PM on 07/29/2011

I think Congress is loving all the attention over this debt crisis. I could almost hear the coins clanging (under the table) as it passed from hand to hand. The Big Corp. and billionaires are veeing for the attention and I am sure they'll win over us--the little guys and the middle class. We don't have any under-the-table-money to dish out. Too busy paying $4 a gal. for auto fuel and higher prices for food on our 5 figure income versus top 6 or 9 figure incomes.

[Tygartman]

09:22 PM on 07/29/2011

Didn't Reid used to demand up-or-down votes? Now it's OK to table votes. I guess the Democrats have become the party of NO.

[Ron Booth]

09:18 PM on 07/29/2011

OK, an amendment titled "An Amendment To Require A Balanced Federal Budget" sound like a great idea, to Dems, Repubs, Independents, everybody.

Let's look at a hypothetical, an amendment that is titled "The Health of ALL American Families Improved for JUST $5 Per Family" sounds fabulous, way better than 'Obamacare ' or any thing else! But, when you read past the title you discover that the mechanism for improving the 'health of your family' is by exterminating any member of your family who is 'unhealthy'. Heck, a bullet is only about 25 cents so the plan would come in well under budget and one the 'unhealthy' members of your family have been eliminated, then the remainder of your family is imminently healthy, right?

If you read beyond the just the title of the proposed Constitutional amendment that just passed the House you'll see that if ever adopted it would essentially destroy this country almost overnight, the nation would be rendered totally dysfunctional, yes believe it or not more dysfunctional than it is now by a factor of about 1,000 times more dysfunctional.

[sw4eq]

09:17 PM on 07/29/2011

There should not be a debate over increasing the nation’s debt ceiling. Prior approval of increases — more than 100 — have been routine, and this time should be no different. Raising the debt ceiling merely authorizes the U.S. government to make good on spending previously authorized by Congress. The country has not recovered from the Great Recession. To fuel a stalled economy and create jobs, the government needs to be spending more money. This is basic Keynesian economics and shouldn't be controversial. If the federal government gives States block grants, they could keep people employed, delivering needed services, retrofit buildings around the country, invest in R&D on solar and wind energy. Cutting spending now will worsen our crisis, pushing more people out of work. It's unconscionable that politicians express concern for imagined future economic problems while ignoring the present suffering. If it continues to grow economically, and if it makes wise investments, the country is going to be significantly richer. It’s not ddifficult to find a few trillion dollars. Over time, we need to reduce the deficit, but much of that will occur automatically, as the country moves back to fuller employment and robust growth. We don't need to touch Medicare or Medicaid. Nor should we tamper with Social Security, which is financed separately from the rest of the federal budget and has nothing to do with the debt.

[Joseph Glackin]

08:55 PM on 07/29/2011

Care to discuss the English language? Let's start with GOP rhetoric.
The GOP/TP decries the Democratic Party for what they call. "Tax and Spend".
That has been their position since Reagan/Bush.
In the English language, "tax and spend" means charge for what service costs.
In short, if you order it, pay for it.
At home, it's called "pay as you go."
To the GOP, not so good.
The GOP prefers to "Borrow and Spend."
Two wars, two tax cuts, a drug deal for big Pharma.
It's all on the tab.
The GOP admires gangsters, apparently,
If they stiffed them this way, they would be "sleeping with the fishes."

[Ron Booth]

08:30 PM on 07/29/2011

During Bush's first term the number of federal employees grew by the largest percentage of any time since Dwight Eisenhower and that's BEFORE you include the creation of the DHS and the creation of the DHS, How did we pay for those massive increases in the size of government? We cut taxes!

In 2003 the GOP created Medicare Part D, Democrats voted for it too, BUT the Dems asked, 'How will this get paid for?' the GOP promised 'Don't worry about it, as soon as it's passed we'll find the necessary cuts somewhere or find the revenues' NEVER happened, in the first year of Part D the Medicare fund faced a $43 billion unfunded liability, last year that unfunded liability climbed to $57 billion and by the time the peak of the baby boomers hit in about another 7-8 years the unfunded liability will reach $74 billion per year.

We went into debt for two wars and again cut taxes, the first time in all of history that any nation ever went to war without raising taxes/revenues to fund/support their war(s).

We've been cutting taxes over and over since the Reagan years and while the size of government grew under Reagan, under H.W. Bush (he grew government but raised taxes and suffered the consequences), under Clinton, and all time historic increases under G.W. Bush.

But the GOTPers want to blame ALL of our fiscal woes on Democratic 'tax and spenders'. Go figure!

[sw4eq]

08:24 PM on 07/29/2011

Why the GOP aims to sink the economy and what Republican Senator Pat Toomey has to say about the debt ceiling about the necessity to raise the debt ceiling:
http://institute.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2011073027/why-gop-aims-sink-economy

[AGENT7511]

08:02 PM on 07/29/2011

The Tea Party has passed YET ANOTHER white-supremacist PIPE DREAM that will NEVER become law.

Putting the RESPONSIBILITY on the SENATE.

Race card WHINING now begin on MY COMMAND.

[sw4eq]

07:56 PM on 07/29/2011

House Republican Tea Partiers are deliberately creating chaos so that they can get more of what they want. I say, go right ahead. You're making it easier to vote for Obama.

[skeakins]

08:16 PM on 07/29/2011

No one in their right mind would re-elect Obama. He's systematically destroying the US.

[sw4eq]

08:35 PM on 07/29/2011

That's your perspective. Mine is that the House is destroying the US.